Speaking at least one or two languages in a monolingual country is considered normal. But for multilingual countries around the world, the use of more than three languages fluently is simply part of everyday life. Although this may seem impossible to some, several countries beg to differ.

Check out the top 10 most multilingual countries in the world and find out if your home country is one of them.

1. Papua New Guinea

Topping the list, Papua New Guinea has 840 languages. This is more than twice the number of languages spoken across Europe. The majority of these languages are indigenous languages that grew increasingly diverse over the years because of the country’s topography.

2. Indonesia

Following closely behind, Indonesia has 710 languages composed mostly of Austronesian languages. Moreover, the Indonesian language is the recognized language in its constitution, and it is also the most widely used in the country.

3. Nigeria

As the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria has 524 languages. These languages can be classified into two — the Afro-Asiatic language family and the Niger-Congo language family. However, English is the official language of Nigeria, spoken by approximately 80 million Nigerians.

4. India

India has 453 languages, including Hindi, which is spoken by 40% of the population. Aside from Hindi, each state in India has its own official language(s), making most Indians trilingual with the addition of English. Other recognized languages in India’s constitution include Bengali, Punjabi, and Tamil.

5. United States

Although English is still the predominant language used in the United States, the country has a total of 335 languages. This number is attributed to the evolving demography of the country, which saw an increasing number of immigrants over the years.

6. Australia

Australia is known for its multilingual policy. There are 319 languages in Australia, making them the most multilingual of the English-speaking countries. Other foreign languages spoken in the country are Italian, Greek, Cantonese, Arabic, Mandarin, and Vietnamese.

7. China

With a total population of 1.21 billion people, it’s no surprise that China has more than a hundred languages. To be exact, China has 305 languages, including two of its official languages — Mandarin and Cantonese.

8. Mexico

Although a vast majority of Mexico’s population speaks Spanish, the country has a record of 292 languages. Other languages spoken in Mexico include English, German, Greek, Italian, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Chinese, and Japanese.

9. Cameroon

Often called “Tiny Africa,” Cameroon is an ethnically diverse country. It is considered a melting pot of African culture that has 275 languages. Some of the popular languages spoken here include French, English, and German.

10. Brazil

Finally, in the 10th spot is Brazil. There are 228 languages in Brazil, with Portuguese as the number one language spoken by approximately 98% of their population.

Takeaway

Language holds an integral aspect of a nation’s culture. As seen from this list, there are more languages in the world you might have never known before.

This makes it challenging not only when it comes to communicating with one another but also when translating documents required when applying for international study, immigration, citizenship, and so on. Thankfully, several professional language companies exist to make document translation more accessible and convenient.

Interested to learn the languages spoken in Switzerland? Read ”4 Languages Spoken in Switzerland” to learn more.