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Does Your Nation Have The Most Speakers Of Your Most Commonly Spoken National Language?

Last Updated: January 23, 2026 1 Comment

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Does Your Nation Have The Most Speakers Of Your Most Commonly Spoken National Language?

Map created by ExcitingNeck8226
The map above shows which countries in Europe have the largest number of speakers of their most widely spoken national languages and which ones don’t.

So for example Ireland is marked in red because English is one of Ireland’s two official languages, but there are more English speakers living in the United States than either Ireland or the UK.

The map author’s explains that:

While most European countries are the largest nation in the world that speaks their national language, some countries have other nations both within Europe and outside Europe who have more speakers of their national language.

  • For the UK (62 million), the USA (297 million), India (229 million), Nigeria (125 million), Pakistan (108 million), Indonesia (86 million) and Philippines (70 million) have more Anglophones, although most of those speak it as a 2nd or third language rather than as native speakers.
  • For France, the DR Congo has more Francophones than metropolitan France Note: I think this could be disputed as some sources still France has more speakers, as the DRC as low as 50 million (below France) and as high as 75 million (above France). In either case, it’s an interesting case because the DRC was not a French colony but a Belgian one, so they speak a version of Belgian French, rather than France French.
  • For Spain, has the 4th most Spanish speakers in the world, Mexico (130 million), USA (57 million) , Colombia (52 million), Spain (47 million), Argentina (46 million)
  • For Belgium, the Netherlands has more Dutch speakers; and several countries have more Francophones including France, Canada, DR Congo, Morocco, Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and even Italy
  • For Ireland, several dozens of countries has more English-speakers (NOTE: English is more commonly spoken in Ireland than Irish Gaelic)
  • For Switzerland, both Germany and Austria have more German-speakers; several countries have more Francophones including France, Canada, DR Congo, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Italy, Belgium, and Madagascar; and Italy has more Italian-speakers
  • For Liechtenstein Germany, Austria and Switzerland all have more German speakers
  • For Portugal, Brazil and Angola has more Portuguese-speakers
  • For Austria, Germany has more German-speakers
  • For Andorra, Spain and France both have more Catalan speakers
  • For Moldova, Romania has more Romanian-speakers
  • For Monaco, France and several other nations have more Francophones (see list above for Belgium/Switzerland for reference)
  • For Vatican and San Marino, Italy has more Italian-speakers
  • For Kosovo, Albania has more Albanian-speakers
  • For Belarus, Russia and Ukraine has more Russian-speakers (NOTE: Russian is more commonly spoken in Belarus than Belarusian)

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe

Most speakers language map

Map created by Ligue Maps

Which one surprised you the most?

Filed Under: Europe

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Comments

  1. Hywel Watkin says

    January 31, 2026 at 10:43 am

    Don’t forget Welsh in Wales and south Argentina!

    Reply

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