In this article, we will look at the 25 most spoken second languages in the world. We will also discuss the benefits of bilingualism and an overview of the global translation services market. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can directly go to the 5 Most Spoken Second Languages in the World.
Bilingualism and Multilingualism Trends for 2024
Learning languages as a skill is no longer restricted to the translation services market. The ability to speak and understand multiple languages is gaining popularity as an essential skill among businesses and employees. According to Preply, a leading language learning platform, approximately 43% of the world’s population is bilingual, whereas 17% are multilingual. Moreover, Duolingo Inc. (NASDAQ:DUOL), another key player in the language learning market, reported its daily learners increased by 63% in 2023.
While English ranks as the most spoken second language globally, it also leads the language-learning market, with learners from over 122 countries. As per the report by Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL), almost 49% of its learners report education or work as their key reason to learn English. You can also look at the 25 Most Spoken Native Languages in the World and the 16 Easiest Languages for Spanish Speakers to Learn.
Furthermore, young people, mostly under 30, are taking the lead in learning new languages. According to the report, Gen Z in the United Kingdom is driving the popularity of the Korean and Japanese language courses. Moreover, 72% of the new learners of the Portuguese language at Duolingo Inc (NASDAQ:DUOL) were under 30. The rising trend towards remote jobs and growing opportunities for international jobs is also driving young people to learn new languages. According to Forbes, 12.7% of American full-time employees work from home, whereas 28.7% work in a hybrid setup. Moreover, it is expected that the number of remote employees will increase to 22% by 2025.
Additionally, international employers are seeking people who can speak more than one language. According to a report by Forbes, 9 out of 10 employers worldwide prefer employees who speak at least one language other than English, as they believe it can enhance business outreach and the prospects of doing business internationally. Moreover, the same report further mentioned that 56% of the employers suggested that the demand for bilingual and multilingual people will soar in the next 5 years.
An Overview of the Translation Services Market
Translation and interpreter services are two of the jobs that people with skills in multiple languages can target for employment. According to a report by The Business Research Company, the global translation services market was valued at $23.1 billion in 2023. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 4.8% and reach $29.85 billion in 2028. The factors driving the growth in the market include businesses going international, international trade and cooperation, increased global travel, and multilingual content creation.
The surge in online learning, advancements in translation machines, and the rising demand for non-English languages are driving the translation services market. Online education and e-learning are gaining popularity, especially after the pandemic. Students worldwide are learning new skills and gaining education outside the conventional education environments. According to McKinsey, the enrollment rate in online universities increased by 11% between 2019 and 2020. Translation services are pertinent for e-learning platforms and online universities to provide education for all without a language barrier. Online learning platforms, including Udemy Inc (NASDAQ:UDMY) provide translated transcripts and video lectures to allow users to learn various courses in different languages.
Additionally, the translation services market is divided into distinct segments, encompassing essential components like translation software and hardware, varied types of translation, and applications across legal, medical, tourism, and banking sectors. The global machine translation market alone is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.30% between 2024 and 2029, according to a report by Mordor Intelligence. The growth for this segment is attributed to the advancements in computer-assisted tools and translation software. A key advancement is the use of Neural Machine Translation (NMT), which uses artificial intelligence and tons of data to predict the likelihood of phrases and metaphors while translating. In other words, NMT learns the translation patterns using machine learning and improves with the number of translations conducted. Key players such as Google Translate by Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Bing Translate by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) use NMT to train their translation software. If you want to read more about tech stocks, you can look at the 13 Best American Tech Stocks To Buy According to Analysts and the 10 Best Tech Stocks for the Next 5 Years.
Key Players Leading the Machine Translation Market
Players leading the machine translation market include Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and DeepL SE.
Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google Translate is a free-of-charge translation service provided by Google. On January 24, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) reported that it is launching News Showcase, a recent news product by Google, in Bulgaria. The report further elaborated that Google has collaborated with reporters and publishers from around the globe to support and develop a healthy and independent news ecosystem.
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) develops and markets various software, services, and hardware. Bing Translate is a popular translation software by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) that facilitates users’ translation of various languages. On January 15, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) reported it signed a 10-year strategic partnership with Vodafone Group plc (LON:VOD) to transform the customer experience with generative artificial intelligence and digital and cloud services for more than 300 businesses. The collaboration will strengthen both companies’ standalone Internet of Things business partnership.
DeepL SE is a software-providing company based in Cologne, Germany. DeepL SE uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide various language translation services, including a bilingual dictionary and machine translation for text translation and translation of documents. The company also features an app-based model allowing users to download apps on mobile phones and desktops. On January 25, DeepL SE reported it is adding the Arabic language to all its services. The company states that it is a significant addition to its services as it is the first language in its services that is written and read from right to left. Moreover, this addition is expected to increase the reach of DeepL to more than 400 million Arabic speakers around the globe.
With this context, let’s look at the 25 most spoken second languages in the world.
Photo by Jerry Wang on Unsplash
Our Methodology
We sourced our data from the 22nd edition of Ethnologue. Ethnologue provides a comprehensive database for speakers of over 7,000 languages. The source further categorizes speakers of a particular language into native (L1) and second (L2) speakers. We selected the top 25 languages with the most L2 speakers from Ethnologue to finalize the 25 most spoken second languages in the world. Please note that the list is ranked in ascending order of the number of speakers as a second language.
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25 Most Spoken Second Languages in the World
25. Odia
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 5,300,327
Belonging to the Indo-Aryan language family, Odia is recognized as the official state language of Odisha state in India. Though the Odia language has several dialects, Mughlabandi is recognized as the standard dialect. Odia ranks as the 25th most-spoken second language in the world.
24. Algerian Spoken Arabic
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 5,740,000
Ranking 24th on our list is Algerian Spoken Arabic, a variety of Maghrebi Arabic spoken in Algeria, France, Egypt, and Tunisia. It is spoken as a second language by over 5 million speakers around the globe.
23. Turkish
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 6,017,500
Turkish belongs to the greater Atlantic group of languages and is the official language of Turkey and Cyprus. The Turkish language has a rich history dating back to approximately 2500 years and was first introduced in Turkey by the Ottoman Empire. It is spoken as a second language by over 6 million people around the globe.
22. Ukrainian
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 6,164,000
Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine, and it belongs to the East Slavic subgroup of the greater Slavic language family. It shares vocabulary with neighboring languages, including Russian, Polish, Slovak, and Belarusian.
21. Tamil
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 8,053,000
Belonging to the Dravidian family of languages, Tamil is the official state language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore. It is one of the languages whose speakers migrated to different countries during the colonial period. There are over 8 million people around the world who speak Tamil as a second language.
20. Sudanese Spoken Arabic
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 9,000,000
With 9 million people speaking Sudanese Arabic as a second language, it ranks 20th on our list of the world’s 25 most spoken second languages. Sudanese Arabic is a dialect of Arabic widely spoken across Sudan and borrows lots of vocabulary from the local languages. The Arabic dialect spoken in Sudan closely relates to the Egyptian and Hejazi dialects.
19. Moroccan Spoken Arabic
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 9,620,000
Commonly known as Darija, Moroccan Arabic is a dialect of Arabic spoken in Morocco. The dialect is similar to the ones spoken in Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania. However, it differs greatly from the dialect of Arabic spoken in the East. Over 9.5 million people around the globe speak Moroccan Arabic as a second language.
18. Burmese
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 10,001,840
Burmese is the official language of Myanmar and is spoken in at least eleven other countries, including Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and the United States. It is spoken as a second language by over 10 million people worldwide.
17. Telugu
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 13,015,000
Ranking 17th on our list is Telugu, with over 13 million second-language speakers around the globe. It is more commonly spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, and it stands Second to Hindi in terms of native speakers in India.
16. Kannada
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 15,009,260
Kannada is the official language of the Indian state of Karnataka and belongs to the Dravidian language family. It is one of the oldest languages in the Dravidian language family and is spoken as a second language by over 15 million people.
15. Marathi
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 16,015,600
Belonging to the Indo-European language family, Marathi is commonly spoken in India and is the official language of Maharashtra. Outside India, Marathi is spoken in Israel and Mauritius. With 16 million second-language speakers worldwide, it ranks 15th on our list.
14. Iranian Persian
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 21,431,000
Iranian Persian, also known as Western Persian or Farsi, is the official language of Iran. It is also spoken in other Gulf countries, including Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, and parts of the United Arab Emirates. It is spoken as a second language by over 21 million people around the globe.
13. Egyptian Spoken Arabic
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 25,000,000
Egyptian-spoken Arabic, or Masri, belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family. It is most commonly spoken in Egypt. However, people also speak this language in other Middle Eastern countries, including Iraq, Yemen, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia.
12. Hausa
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 26,776,020
Husa ranks 12th on our list with over 26 million second-language speakers. It is one of the most commonly spoken languages in West and Central Africa and belongs to the Chadic language family.
11. Portuguese
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 27,372,200
It is the official language of Portugal, Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, and Mozambique. Portuguese is a Romance language, which is spoken by over 27 million people around the globe as a second language.
10. Bengali
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 39,019,880
With more than 39 million second-language speakers around the globe, Bengali ranks 10th on our list of 25 most spoken second languages in the world. It is the official language of Bangladesh and belongs to the Indo-Aryan language family. It is also commonly spoken in parts of India, especially West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura.
9. Standard German
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 57,963,800
German is one of the most common languages spoken in Europe, mainly in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxemburg, and Liechtenstein. German belongs to the Indo-European language family and is spoken as a second language by more than 57 million people worldwide.
8. Spanish
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 74,014,930
Spanish ranks as the 9th most spoken second language on our list. It is spoken as a second language by over 74 million people worldwide. Spanish is a Romance language belonging to the Indo-European family and is widely spoken in Spain, Mexico, Colombia, and the United States of America.
7. Russian
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 107,987,980
With over 100 million second language speakers around the globe, Russian ranks as the 7th most spoken second language on our list. Russian language belongs to the Slavic language family and is Russia’s official language.
6. Indonesian
Number of Speakers as a Second Language: 155,447,100
Indonesian is a form of Malay language spoken as an official language in Indonesia. It ranks as the 6th most spoken second language on our list, with more than 155 million people speaking Indonesian as a second language.
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Disclosure: None. 25 Most Spoken Second Languages in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.