List of countries by English-speaking population

Percentage of English speakers by country.

80–100%   60–80%

40–60%   20–40%

0.1–20%   Not available

The following is a list of English-speaking population by country, including information on both native speakers and second-language speakers.

List

Country	Eligible population	Total English speakers	Total English speakers (%)	As first language	As first language (%)	As an additional language[1]	As an additional language (%)	Comments
United States	296,603,003	283,160,411	95.46	234,171,556	79.0	48,988,855	16.5	Figures are from the 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-year estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau for persons age 5 and older. Total English speakers are those who either spoke English at home (i.e. as first language), or reported speaking another language at home but could speak English "very well" or "well" (i.e. as an additional language).[2]
India	1,028,737,436	125,344,737	12.18	226,449	0.02	125,118,287	12.16	Official Language. 2001 Census figures for population and first, second, and third languages. English as a first language is only spoken by 226,449 people, as a second language by 86,125,221, and as a third language by 38,993,066.[3][4]
Pakistan	188,400,100	108,036,049	57	8,642,883	8	92,316,049	49	Official Language, lingua franca and spoken amongst a wide proportion of the Pakistani Population – 49% as a second language (other estimates).[5][6][7][8][9]
Nigeria	156,493,000	79,000,000	53.34			79,000,000	53.34	Euromonitor International report (2009)
Philippines	100,437,852	64,025,890	63.73	36,935	0.0037	63,988,955	63.72	Total population: Census 2010. Proportion of total speakers: Census 2000, text above Figure 7. 63.71% of the then 66.7 million people aged 5 years or more could speak English.[10] Proportion of native speakers: Census 1995, as quoted by Andrew Gonzalez in "The Language Planning Situation in the Philippines", Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 19 (5&6), 487–525, p. 492: .04% of the then 68.4 million people were native speakers of English. (1998).[11] "Six out of 10 people aged 5 and over can speak english (63.71%)."[12]
United Kingdom	64,000,000	59,600,000	97.74	54,400,000	92.14	5,128,000	5.60	Source: Data from the 2011 census for England and Wales.[13] Additional English speaker figures are for usual residents aged 3 years and over with a main language other than English who can speak English "very well" or "well".
Germany	80,600,000	45,400,000	56	272,000	0.338	45,100,000	56	Native speakers: Statistisches Bundesamt (cited here). Non-native speakers: Eurobarometer report 2012 Does not include foreign military personnel based in Germany.
Canada	34,767,255	29,973,590	86.21	19,460,850	52.40	10,287,415	28.69	Source: . The 2016 count reported that 23,757,525 people were able to conduct a conversation in English but not French, while 6,216,065 were able to converse in both English and French. The census also asked for the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the individual: 52% or 19,460,850 reported English as their sole mother tongue, 165,320 reported both English and French as mother tongues, 533,265 reported English and a non-official language as mother tongues, and 33,900 reported English, French and a non-official language as mother tongues.
Australia	21,394,309	17,357,833	97	15,013,965	70.17	2,343,868	17	Source: 2001 Census.[14] The 2001 census data is subject to multiple interpretations. The data noted that 18,972,350 persons out of 21,394,309 total were speakers of a language, and excluded young children. However, more than a million of those 18,972,350 persons provided no information; 879,778 did not give information on proficiency, and 203,101 were "overseas visitors" who were not asked. Of the 17,889,671 persons for whom an inquiry was made 17,357,833 spoke English only, or "well" or "very well" as a second language; while 531,838 spoke "not well" or "not at all".
Italy	59,619,290	17,000,000	34			17,000,000	34	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Bangladesh	163,323,100	30,108,031	18	709,873		29,398,158		Source: Euromonitor International report 2009, Euromonitor Dec 2010[15]
Egypt	83,289,500	28,101,325	35			28,101,325	35	Source: Euromonitor International Report 2011[16]
Thailand	63,038,247	17,121,187	27.16			17,121,187	27.16	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Netherlands	16,770,000	15,030,000	90			15,030,000	90	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Nepal	29,890,686	10,700,866	35.8	20,000	0.067	876,720		Source: Census. (date not verified)
South Africa	52,981,991	16,424,417	31	4,930,510	9.3	11,493,907	22	Native speakers from 2011 Census.[17] Non-native speakers: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Poland	38,501,000	14,300,000	37	100,000		14,200,000		Source: Central Statistical Office,[18] Additional language speakers are people age 18–69, who reported English Language as their first of second best foreign language, Central Statistical Office[19] Native language counted as those who speak English at home.
Turkey	70,586,256	12,000,000	17			12,000,000	17	Source: Eurobarometer report 2006
Iraq	31,700,000	11,095,000	35			11,000,000		Source: Euromonitor International report (2011)
Sri Lanka	22,480,000	10,565,600	47	37,061	0.2	9,680,000	47	English Proficiency Index[20]
Spain	47,190,000	10,400,000	22			10,400,000	22	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
China	1,210,000,000	10,000,000	<1			10,000,000	<1	Figures are for English users in mainland China only (i.e. excluding Hong Kong where English is an official language and Macau). The often-cited figure of 300 million is for "learners."[21][22]
Brazil	205,000,000	10,542,000	5	292,000	0.14	10,250,000	5	Source: British council (2012) and EF. Only 5% of Brazilians have a proficient grasp of English as a second or foreign additional language and an additional 6% have a very rudimentary knowledge. Brazil has 240 thousand British descendants and 180 thousand American ancestry citizens including the Confederados cultural sub-group, descendants of the Confederate colonies.
Sweden	9,921,541	8,200,000	86			8,200,000	86	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Kenya	43,013,431	8,100,000	18.83			7,900,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Cameroon	19,740,000	7,500,000	38			7,500,000	38	Euromonitor International Report (2009)
Malaysia	27,170,000	15,580,000	62.57	380,000	1.4	15,200,000	61.1	EF English Proficiency Index[23]
Russia	138,312,535	7,574,303	5.48	2,522		7,571,787		Source: Composition by Nationality and Language Ability, Citizenship, Tables 4.5 and 4.1, Russian Census (2010). The "total" figure is the number of residents who reported English as one of the languages they knew. The "first language" figure is the number of residents who reported "American" or "English" as their nationality. The "additional languages" figure is the difference. More than 9 million schoolgoers studied English as a foreign language in 2008–2009.
Belgium	10,584,534	6,250,000	60			6,250,000	60	Source: Eurobarometer report 2006 (the 2012 report seems to have a critical typo) Note that the Belgian population is divided in two distinct linguistic regions: The Dutch-speaking Flanders, and the French-speaking Wallonia (note that the region of Brussels also has a majority of native French speakers). Like in the Netherlands, a high percentage of Flemish people speak English fluently, and in Wallonia, a lower percentage of people speak English (as it is the case in France), which brings down the total percentage.
Israel	7,303,000	6,205,000	84.97	100,000	1.37	6,105,000		Source: Ethnologue (2005)[24] English is widely spoken, both by the Jewish majority and by minority ethnic groups.[25][26]
Austria	8,415,000	6,150,000	73			6,150,000	73	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Romania	19,043,767	5,900,000	31			5,900,000	31	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Zimbabwe	13,349,000	5,550,000	41.58	250,000	1.87	5,300,000		Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Greece	10,787,690	5,500,000	51			5,500,000	51	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Sierra Leone	5,866,000	4,900,000	83.53	500,000	8.52	4,400,000		Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Mexico	120,664,000	15,686,262	12.9			15,686,262	12.9	Consulta Mitofsky-Tracking Poll Roy Campos: Las Lenguas Extranjeras en México, January 2013;[27] and II Conteo de Población y Vivienda, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI).[28]
Denmark	5,543,000	4,770,000	86			4,770,000	86	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Switzerland	7,637,300	4,680,000	61.28	73,400	0.96	4,606,600		Figure for speakers of English as "main language", according to Federal Statistical Office, Neuchâtel 2008[29] Source for number of non-native English speakers is 1999 publication by Prof. François Grin cited here: http://switzerland.isyours.com/e/countries/uk/language.html
Morocco	32,770,900	4,587,926	14			4,587,926	14	Source: Euromonitor International report 2011
Ukraine	40,044,238	7,207,962	18.0					Source: EF English Proficiency Index
Ireland	4,422,100	4,350,000	98.37	4,122,100	93.21	237,900		Source: Eurobarometer report 2006; Central Statistics Office ; Travbla[30]
Singapore	5,607,300	4,218,737	83.1	1,873,302	36.9	2,345,435		Source: 2015 Census. Second language speaker figure only includes those literate in English aged 15 or more and does not include third language proficiency. General Household Survey 2015 "Language Spoken at Home Among Residents Aged 5 Years and Over"
Ghana	27,000,000	18,000,000	66.67			18,000,000	66.67	Source: 2010 Ghanaian Census[31]
Tanzania	40,454,000	4,000,000	9.89			4,000,000	9.89	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
New Zealand	4,275,100	3,673,623	97.82	3,673,623	85.93			There were 4,027,947 responses to 2006 Census: Language spoken. 3,673,679 gave English as a response, 81,936 had no English but another language. The balance of 272,382 were; no language (too young) 75,195, no response 196,221, response unidentifiable 588, response outside scope 378. Hence it is most meaningful to express the English-speaking per cent without including the figures for these 272,382. This gives 97.8% English-speaking, 2.2% non-English-speaking (3,673,679 and 81,936 divided by 3,755,565) Crystal (2003), p. 109, gives figures of 3,700,000 native speakers and 150,000 second language speakers.
Finland	5,410,000	3,800,000	70			3,800,000	70	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Portugal	10,623,000	2,900,000	27			2,900,000	27	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Papua New Guinea	6,331,000	3,150,000	49.76	150,000	2.37	3,000,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Liberia	3,750,000	3,100,000	82.67	600,000	16	2,500,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Jordan	6,598,000	2,969,370	45			2,969,370	45	Source: Euromonitor International report (2011)
Jamaica	2,714,000	2,650,000	97.64	2,600,000	95.8	50,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Algeria	35,954,000	2,516,780	7			2,516,780	7	Source: Euromonitor International report (2011)
Uganda	30,884,000	2,500,000	8.09			2,500,000	8.09	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Hong Kong	7,336,585	3,903,063	53.2	300,417	4.3	3,587,590		According to 2016 population census, Hong Kong has approximately 3.9 million speakers, of whom 300,417 regard English as their "usual" language.[32]
Czechia	10,562,214	2,850,000	27			2,850,000	27	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Argentina	42,192,500	2,752,681	6.52					Source:.[33] Percentage of people who state to have a high level of English. Another 19.49% and 16.23% of people said they had an intermediate and low level, respectively, of English.
Yemen	24,800,000	2,232,000	9			2,232,000	9	Source: Euromonitor International report 2011
Croatia	4,555,000	2,200,000	49			2,200,000	49	Source: Eurobarometer report 2006
Colombia	47,661,368	2,012,950	4.22	75,600		1,937,350		Total was estimated by multiplying projected population for 2014 (DANE) by percentage of Colombian population that speaks English 4.09%[34] then 63,600 was added to that figure which is the total of American and British residents. Figures for native speakers are as follows: 60,000 U.S. citizens that reside in Colombia[35] 12,000 are Colombian Raizal from San Andrés and Isla de Providencia where they speak San Andrés–Providencia Creole[36] 3,600 British expatriates[37]
Hungary	9,982,000	2,000,000	20			2,000,000	20	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Puerto Rico	3,991,000	1,940,000	48.61	100,000		1,840,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Zambia	11,922,000	1,910,000	16.02	110,000		1,800,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Bulgaria	7,640,238	1,900,000	25	2,605		1,902,605		Source: Eurobarometer report 2012 and 2011 Census[38]
Kazakhstan	12,156,705	1,874,583	15.4	602		1,873,981		Number of those who understand spoken English, from these 1.9 million: 311,435 (2.6%/16.6%) can only read, 931,444 (7.7%/49.6%) can read and write in English. The number of native speakers is the sum of Americans and Englishmen "by nationality". (Census 2009)
Lebanon	4,265,600	1,706,000	40			1,706,000	40	Source: Euromonitor International report (2011)
Chile	16,634,603	1,585,027	9.53					Source: 2012 Census.[39]
Rwanda	10,137,400	1,520,610	15			1,520,610	15	Source: Euromonitor International report 2009
Slovakia	5,397,036	1,400,000	26			1,400,000	26	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Trinidad and Tobago	1,305,000	1,145,000	87.74	1,145,000				Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Slovenia	2,050,000	1,210,000	59			1,210,000	59	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Lithuania	3,053,800	1,160,000	38			1,160,000	38	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Latvia	2,070,371	950,000	46			950,000	46	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Guyana	751,000	680,000	90.55	650,000		30,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Botswana	1,639,833	630,000	38.42			630,000	38.42	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Estonia	1,294,236	650,000	50			650,000	50	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Cyprus	839,000	610,000	73			610,000	73	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Malawi	13,931,831	540,209	3.88	209		540,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109 and Kayambizinthu.[40]
Lesotho	1,795,000	500,000	27.86			500,000	27.86	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Suriname	470,784	410,000	87.09	260,000		150,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Malta	453,000	400,000	89	48,000		352,000		Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Namibia	1,820,916	314,000	17.24	14,000		300,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Luxembourg	509,000	290,000	56			290,000	56	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Bahamas	330,549	288,000	87.13	260,000		28,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Barbados	279,000	275,000	98.57	262,000		13,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Belize	301,270	246,000	81.65	190,000		56,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Madagascar	23,042,300	4,147,614	18			4,147,614	18	The main languages are French and Malagasy.
Costa Rica	4,910,526	400,415	8.2			400,415	8.2	Source: Encuesta Nacional de Hogares 2017 http://www.inec.go.cr/sistema-de-consultas
France	65,350,000	23,000,000	39			23,000,000	39	Source: Eurobarometer report 2012
Mauritius	1,264,866	202,000	15.97	2,000		200,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Vanuatu	215,446	180,000	83.55	60,000		120,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Fiji	853,445	176,000	20.62	6,000		170,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Solomon Islands	552,438	175,000	31.68	10,000		165,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Guam	173,456	158,000	91.09	58,000		100,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Brunei	381,371	144,000	39.07	10,000		134,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	120,000	114,000	95	114,000				Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
U.S. Virgin Islands	108,448	113,000	95.97	98,000		15,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Grenada	110,000	100,000	90.91	100,000				Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Samoa	188,540	94,000	49.86	1,000		93,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Isle of Man	80,058	80,000	99.93	80,000
Myanmar	53,900,000	2,400,000	4.45			2,400,000	4.45	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Saint Lucia	165,000	71,000	43.03	31,000		40,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Northern Mariana Islands	84,000	70,000	83.33	5,000		65,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Antigua and Barbuda	85,000	68,000	80	66,000		2,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
American Samoa	57,345	45,933	80.1	1,791		44,142		Source: The World Factbook – American Samoa
Federated States of Micronesia	111,000	64,000	57.66	4,000		60,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Bermuda	65,000	63,000	96.92	63,000				Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Dominica	67,000	63,000	94.03	3,000		60,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Marshall Islands	59,000	60,000	98.33			60,000	98.33	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Swaziland	1,141,000	50,000	4.38			50,000	4.38	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Aruba	104,000	44,000	42.31	9,000		35,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
The Gambia	1,709,000	40,000	2.34			40,000	2.34	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Saint Kitts and Nevis	50,000	39,000	78	39,000				Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Cayman Islands	47,000	36,000	76.6	36,000				Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Seychelles	87,000	33,000	37.93	3,000		30,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Gibraltar	28,875	28,875	100	28,000		875		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Tonga	100,000	30,000	30			30,000	30	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Kiribati	95,000	23,000	24.21			23,000	24.21	Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
British Virgin Islands	23,000	20,000	86.96	20,000				Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
Palau	20,000	18,500	92.5	500		18,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Andorra	81,222	17,869	22			17,869	22	Source Census: Linguistic knowledge 2004.
Anguilla	13,000	12,000	92.31	12,000				Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Nauru	12,000	11,600	96.67	900		10,700		English is spoken as the language of government and commerce.
Cook Islands	20,200	4,000	19.8	1,000		3,000		Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109.
Montserrat	5,900	4,000	67.8	4,000				Source: Crystal (2003), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
TOTAL	5,102,585,737	1,179,874,130		336,358,172		838,676,510

• The European Union is a supranational union composed of 28 member states. The combined total English-speaking population (2012) is 256,876,220^[41] (out of a total population of 500,000,000,^[42] i.e. 51%) including 65,478,252 native speakers and 191,397,968 non-native speakers, and would be ranked 2nd if it were included. English native speakers amount to 13% of the whole Union population, while the percentage of people that speak English "well enough in order to be able to have a conversation", either as first (32%), second (11%) or third (3%) foreign language, was 38%.
• When taken from this list and added together, the total number of English speakers in the world adds up to around 1,200,000,000. Likewise, the total number of native English speakers adds up to around 350,000,000. This implies that there are approximately 850,000,000 people who speak English as an additional language.

See also

• EF English Proficiency Index
• English medium education
• English-speaking world
• List of countries where English is an official language
• World Englishes

Non-English speaking populations:

• Arabophone
• Francophone
• Hispanophone
• Iberophone
• Indosphere
• Lusophone
• Russophone
• Sinophone

Notes

References

• WizMantra Online
• Teachingenglish.org.uk
• Raymond G. Gordon Jr. (ed.), ed. (2005). "English". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (Fifteenth ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X. Retrieved 2006-03-17.CS1 maint: Extra text: editors list (link)
• Eurobarometer report – Europeans and their languages, February 2006 (pdf). Only includes EU citizens aged 15 and above.
• Eurobarometer report – Europeans and their languages, June 2012 (pdf). Only includes EU citizens aged 15 and above.
• Crystal, David (2003). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language (Second ed.). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 109. ISBN 0-521-53033-4.