This article is about countries around the world that use English. For countries with cultural and linguistic connections to England, see
Anglosphere.
Regions where English is used
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which
English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, one billion to two billion people spoke English,[1][2] making it the
largest language by number of speakers, the
third largest language by number of native speakers, and the most widespread language geographically. The countries in which English is the native language of most people are sometimes termed the
Anglosphere. Speakers of English are called Anglophones.
England and the
Scottish Lowlands, a country and a region of the
United Kingdom, are the birthplace of the English language; the
modern form of the language has been spread around the world since the 17th century, first by the worldwide influence of England and later the United Kingdom, and then by that of the
United States. Through all types of printed and electronic media of these countries, English has become the
leading language of international discourse and
the lingua franca in many regions and professional fields, such as
science,
navigation and
law.[3]
The United States and
India have the most total English speakers, with 306 million and 265 million, respectively. These are followed by
Pakistan (104 million), the
United Kingdom (68 million), and
Nigeria (60 million).[4] As of 2022, there were about 400 million native speakers of English.[5] Including people who speak English as a
second language, estimates of the total number of Anglophones vary from 1.5 billion to 2 billion.[2]David Crystal calculated in 2003 that non-native speakers outnumbered native speakers by a ratio of three to one.[6]
The term "Anglosphere" can sometimes be extended to include other countries and territories where English or an
English Creole language is also the primary native language and English is the primary language of government and education, such as
Ireland,
Gibraltar, and the
Commonwealth Caribbean.[10]
While English is also spoken by a majority of people as a second language in a handful of countries such as
Denmark, the
Netherlands,
Norway and
Sweden, these countries are not considered part of the English-speaking world as the language is still viewed primarily as a foreign tongue and does not serve an important cultural role in society.[11]
Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been called a "
world language", the
lingua franca of the modern era,[13] and while it is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a
foreign language.[6][14] It is, by international treaty, the official language for aeronautical[15] and maritime[16] communications. English is one of the official languages of the
United Nations and many other international organizations, including the
International Olympic Committee. It is also one of two co-official languages for astronauts (besides the Russian language) serving on board the
International Space Station.[citation needed]
English is studied most often in the
European Union, and the perception of the usefulness of foreign languages among Europeans is 67% in favour of English, ahead of 17% for
German and 16% for
French (as of 2012[update]). In some of the non–English-speaking EU countries, the following percentages of adults claimed to be able to converse in English in 2012: 90% in the Netherlands; 89% in Malta; 86% in Sweden and Denmark; 73% in Cyprus, Croatia, and Austria; 70% in Finland; and over 50% in Greece, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, and Germany. In 2012, excluding native speakers, 38% of Europeans consider that they can speak English.[17]
Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around the world; English is the most commonly used language in the sciences,[13] with
Science Citation Index reporting as early as 1997 that 95% of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from authors in English-speaking countries.
In publishing, English literature predominates considerably, with 28% of all books published in the world [Leclerc 2011][full citation needed] and 30% of web content in 2011 (down from 50% in 2000).[14]
^Gregg, Samuel (17 February 2020).
"Getting Real About the Anglosphere". Law & Liberty.
Archived from the original on Oct 17, 2022. ...from what might be called the "core" Anglosphere nations: Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States;
^Lloyd, John (2000).
"The Anglosphere Project". New Statesman.
Archived from the original on 13 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2012.