The five most widely used languages in the world.

1, English-the mother tongue of more than 400 million people in the United States, Canada, Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, the official common language of more than half of African countries, India, Singapore and other countries, and the first language for international communication.

2. Chinese-65.438+300 million people in Chinese mainland, 30 million people in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, the mother tongue of tens of millions of overseas Chinese.

3. French-the mother tongue of France, the United States and parts of Canada, and the common language of nearly half of African countries.

4. Spanish-The mother tongue of most Latin American countries such as Spain and its former colonies Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Venezuela is also the first minority language in the United States.

5. Russian-the common language of about 300 million people in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus 15 countries of the former Soviet Union.

Extended data:

1. Geographical distribution of English

Because Britain once had many colonies all over the world, in modern times, English is the common language or one of the official languages of many countries and regions:

English is the first language in Britain, America, Australia, Bahamas, Ireland, Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago. 2 1 century, about 500 million people in the world speak English as their first language (mother tongue).

English is the lingua franca of Canada, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Micronesia (Federated States of), Ireland (Irish), Liberia (African language) and South Africa (Afrikaans and other African languages). The population as a second language (that is, not the mother tongue, but the language of the host country) is about 654.38 billion.

English is the official language (one) of the following countries and regions, but it is not the local language and common language: Fiji, Ghana, Gambia, India, Kiribati, Lesotho, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Malta, Marshall Islands, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

2. Distribution areas in China

Chinese is mainly distributed in China (mainland China, Hongkong, Macau and Taiwan Province Province), Singapore, Malaysia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, western states of the United States and Hawaii.

According to the statistics of UNESCO, the population speaking Chinese is about 654.38+06 billion, ranking first in the world (accounting for one fifth of the world's population) and third in the world (English is the first, Spanish is the second, and more than 50 million foreigners use Chinese as a second language). Chinese is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

3. French Community

French is the first language of France (67 million people speak French, including Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint Pierre and Miquelon) and Canada (12 million people speak French, especially Quebec and New Brunswick)? Belgium (5 million users, Walloon is a dialect of Langue d'Oil, which is significantly different from Belgian French)? Switzerland (German, Italian, romantic)? Guyana Fran &; ccedilaise)？ Haiti.

French is also the main second language in Algeria, Lebanon, Mauritius, Morocco, New Caledonia, Reunion and Tunisia. It is the official language and the only language used in schools in Comoros, Congo, French Polynesia, Gabon and Mali.

4. Distribution areas in Spain

Spanish (espa? Ol) is mainly used in Latin America except Brazil, Belize, French Guiana, Haiti and Spain. There are also a considerable number of users in several southern States of the United States, the Philippines and parts of Africa (including Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara and Spanish African territories, such as Ceuta and Melilla). On seven continents, about 406 million people speak English as their mother tongue.

Spanish is one of the official languages of the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations. Countries that used Spanish as the official language in the 2nd/kloc-0th century included Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela. Spanish is also spoken in the United States, Belize, Gibraltar, the Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago and Western Sahara.

5. Russian distribution areas

Until 19 17, Russian was the only official language in Russia. However, during the period of Soviet socialism and League of Nations, every member and country had its own official language, and Russian became the comprehensive role language of Russia. After the drastic changes in Eastern Europe in 1989 and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 199 1, independent countries encouraged their mother tongue, thus reversing the dominant position of Russian, but its role as a communication between most Eastern European and Central Asian countries has not changed.

In Latvia, there are more than one third of the Russian population, mainly immigrants from Russia and the Soviet Union before the two world wars. The use of Russian in class is still controversial. In Estonia, Soviet-era immigrants and their descendants account for about a quarter of the country's current population.

In Lithuania, the Russian-speaking population accounts for less than one tenth of the total population. However, about 80% of the population in the Baltic region can talk in basic Russian. In Finland, once a part of Russia, there are still several Russian-speaking communities.

In the 20th century, Russian was widely used in schools in Warsaw Pact countries, including Poland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Albania. However, the younger generation is usually not fluent because Russian is no longer used in schools. In addition, influenced by the Soviet Union, some Asian countries, such as Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Mongolia, are still teaching Russian. Russian is still used as a lingua franca in several tribes in Afghanistan.

Baidu Encyclopedia-English

Baidu Encyclopedia-Chinese

Baidu Encyclopedia-French

Baidu Encyclopedia-Spanish

Baidu Encyclopedia-Russian