5 Most Spoken Languages in the World in 2024

4. Spanish

Total Speakers: 548.3 million

Spanish is the official language of 20 countries, the United Nations, the African Union, and the European Union. Spanish-derived words are also found in several other languages, like Tagalog. It is the second-most spoken language in the US. During the initial years of the 21st century, the highest number of Spanish speakers was found in Mexico, exceeding 85 million. Following closely were Colombia, with over 40 million speakers; Argentina, with more than 35 million speakers; the United States, where the count exceeded 31 million; and Spain, where more than 30 million people spoke the language.