The most common language in the world by total number of speakers is English, with approximately 1.5 billion speakers globally as of 2025. This includes both native and non-native speakers, as English is widely learned as a second language and is the dominant language in international business, science, and online media
. However, when considering only native speakers, Mandarin Chinese ranks first, with about 941 million native speakers. Mandarin is primarily spoken in China and Taiwan and has a large number of second-language speakers as well, but its global reach is less extensive compared to English
. In summary:
- English : Most spoken language worldwide by total speakers (~1.5 billion), spoken in 186 countries, dominant as a global lingua franca
- Mandarin Chinese : Most spoken language by native speakers (~941 million), primarily in China, with a significant but smaller number of second-language speakers
Other widely spoken languages include Hindi, Spanish, Arabic, and French, but none surpass English in total speakers or Mandarin in native speakers
. Thus, English is the most common language globally when considering all speakers, while Mandarin Chinese leads in native speakers.
