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This is a 'list of countries of the world sorted by the total English-speaking population' in that country. This includes both native speakers and second language speakers of English. Statistics on second language speakers are usually imprecise, in part because there is no widely agreed definition of second language speakers, so these figures should be treated with caution.

Contents

List in order of total speakers

List in order of native speakers

Sources

Notes

See also

List in order of total speakers

Rank	Country	Total	First language	As an additional language	Comment
1	United States	251,388,301	215,423,557	35,964,744	Source: US Census 2006: Language Use and English-Speaking Ability: 2006, Table 1. Figure for second language speakers are respondents who reported they do not speak English at home but know it "very well" or "well". Note: figures are for population age 5 and older
2	India	100,000,000	178,598	65,000,000 ''second'' language speakers. 35,000,000 ''third'' language speakers	Figures include both those who speak English as a ''second language'' and those who speak it as a ''third language''. [1] [2] [3] [4] Number with English as a mother tongue: 1991 Census of India
3	Nigeria	79,000,000	4,000,000	>75,000,000	Figures are for speakers of Nigerian Pidgin, an English-based pidgin or creole. Ihemere gives a range of roughly 3 to 5 million native speakers; the midpoint of the range is used in the table. Ihemere, Kelechukwu Uchechukwu. 2006. "A Basic Description and Analytic Treatment of Noun Clauses in Nigerian Pidgin." ''Nordic Journal of African Studies'' 15(3): 296–313.
4	United Kingdom	59,600,000	58,100,000	1,500,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
5	Philippines	45,900,000	27,000	42,500,000	Total speakers: Census 2000, text above Figure 7. 63.71% of the 66.7 million people aged 5 years or more could speak English. 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. (1998)
6	Germany	36,000,000	272,504	36,000,000	Native speakers: Statistisches Bundesamt (cited here). Non-native speakers: 2006 Eurobarometer survey.
7	Canada	25,246,220	17,694,830	7,551,390	Source: 2001 Census - Knowledge of Official Languages and Mother Tongue. The native speakers figure comprises 122,660 people with both French and English as a mother tongue, plus 17,572,170 people with English and not French as a mother tongue.
8	Australia	17,357,833	15,013,965	2,343,868	Source: 2001 Census.[1] The figure shown in the first language English speakers column is actually the number of Australian residents who speak only English at home. The additional language column shows the number of other residents who claim to speak English "well" or "very well". Another 5% of residents did not state their home language or English proficiency.
9	Pakistan	17,000,000		17,000,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
10	France	16,000,000		16,000,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
11	Italy	14,000,000		14,000,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
12	South Africa	13,700,000	3,673,203	10,000,000	Native speakers: 2001 Census: Census in Brief, page 15 (Table 2.5)Non-native speakers: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
13	Netherlands	12,000,000		12,000,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
14	Spain	10,000,000		10,000,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
15	Poland	9,200,000		9,200,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
16	Turkey	8,100,000		8,100,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
17	Cameroon	7,700,000		7,700,000	Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
18	Malaysia	7,400,000	380,000	7,000,000	Crystal (2005), p. 109.
19	China			200,000 (Hong Kong only)	Figures are for English users, not speakers. Source: Learners and users of English in China, Jian Yang, , , English Today, 2006 Hong Kong contributes an additional 2.5 million speakers, of whom 200,000 regard English as their "usual" language (1996 by-census[2]).
20	Russia	6,955,315	1,804	6,953,511	Source: Basic Results, Tables 4.4 and 4.1, Russian Census (2002). The "total" figure is the number of residents who reported English as one of the language 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.
21	Sweden	6,600,000		6,600,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
22	Zimbabwe	5,550,000	250,000	5,300,000	Crystal (2005), p. 109.
23	Romania	5,300,000		5,300,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
24	Belgium	5,100,000		5,100,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
25	Sierra Leone	4,900,000	500,000	4,400,000	Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
26	Greece	4,200,000		4,200,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
27	Tanzania	4,000,000		4,000,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
28	Austria	3,900,000		3,900,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
29	Ireland	3,850,000	3,750,000	100,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
30	Denmark	3,800,000		3,800,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
31	New Zealand	3,673,623	≥ 3,008,058		2006 Census: Language spoken. Native language figure is actually those who spoke English only, so will probably be too low. Both figures exclude those 75,567 people who spoke no language, e.g. were too young to talk, and the 196,224 people who did not state what languages they spoke. Crystal (2005), p. 109, gives figures of 3,700,000 native speakers and 150,000 second language speakers.
32	Bangladesh	3,500,000		3,500,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
33	Papua New Guinea	3,150,000	150,000	3,000,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
34	Liberia	3,100,000	600,000	2,500,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
35=	Finland	2,700,000		2,700,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
35=	Kenya	2,700,000		2,700,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
37	Jamaica	2,650,000	2,600,000	50,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
38	Portugal	2,600,000		2,600,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
39	Uganda	2,500,000		2,500,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
40	Czech Republic	2,100,000		2,100,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
41	Hungary	2,000,000		2,000,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
42	Puerto Rico	1,940,000	100,000	1,840,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
43=	Sri Lanka	1,910,000	10,000	1,900,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
43=	Zambia	1,910,000	110,000	1,800,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
45	Croatia	1,800,000		1,800,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
46	Singapore	1,793,245	665,087	1,128,158	Source: 2000 Census. Second language speaker figure only includes those literate in English aged 15 or more. Native speakers aged 5 or more, literate population, aged 15 or more, and percentage of literate population literate in English.
47	Bulgaria	1,500,000		1,500,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
48=	Slovakia	1,400,000		1,400,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
48=	Ghana	1,400,000		1,400,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
50	Trinidad and Tobago	1,145,000	1,145,000		Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
51	Slovenia	950,000		950,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
52	Lithuania	900,000		900,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
53	Guyana	680,000	650,000	30,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
54	Botswana	630,000		630,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
55	Estonia	590,000		590,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
56=	Latvia	540,000		540,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
56=	Malawi	540,000		540,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
58	Lesotho	500,000		500,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
59	Cyprus	420,000		420,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
60	Suriname	410,000	260,000	150,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
61	Namibia	314,000	14,000	300,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
62	Bahamas	288,000	260,000	28,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
63	Malta	280,000		280,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
64	Barbados	275,000	262,000	13,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
65	Belize	246,000	190,000	56,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
66	Luxembourg	220,000		220,000	2006 Eurobarometer survey.
67	Mauritius	202,000	2,000	200,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
68	Vanuatu	180,000	60,000	120,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
69	Fiji	176,000	6,000	170,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
70	Solomon Islands	175,000	10,000	165,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
71	Ethiopia	171,712	1,986	169,726
72	Guam	158,000	58,000	100,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
73	Brunei	144,000	10,000	134,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
74	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	114,000	114,000		Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
75	U.S. Virgin Islands	113,000	98,000	15,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
76=	Grenada	100,000	100,000		Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
76=	Israel	100,000	100,000		Source: Ethnologue (2005) [3]
78	Samoa	94,000	1,000	93,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
79	Japan	>93,500	93,500		Native speaker figure is the number of foreign residents from the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.[4]
80	Bhutan	75,000		75,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
81	Saint Lucia	71,000	31,000	40,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
82	Northern Mariana Islands	70,000	5,000	65,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
83	Antigua and Barbuda	68,000	66,000	2,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
84	American Samoa	67,000	2,000	65,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
85	Micronesia	64,000	4,000	60,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
86=	Bermuda	63,000	63,000		Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
86=	Dominica	63,000	3,000	60,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
88	Marshall Islands	60,000		60,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
89	Swaziland	50,000		50,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
90	Aruba	44,000	9,000	35,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
91	Gambia	40,000		40,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
92	Saint Kitts and Nevis	39,000	39,000		Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
93	Cayman Islands	36,000	36,000		Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
94	Seychelles	33,000	3,000	30,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
95	Honduras	31,500	31,500
96=	Gibraltar	30,000	28,000	2,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
96=	Tonga	30,000		30,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
98	Kiribati	23,000		23,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
99=	Rwanda	20,000		20,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
99=	British Virgin Islands	20,000	20,000		Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
101	Palau	18,500	500	18,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
102	Anguilla	12,000	12,000		Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
103	Nauru	10,300	800	9,500	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
104	Dominican Republic	8,000	8,000
105	Saint Helena	5,400	5,400
106=	Cook Islands	4,000	1,000	3,000	Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109.
106=	Montserrat	4,000	4,000		Source: Crystal (2005), p. 109. Note this includes speakers of an English creole.
108	British Indian Ocean Territory	3,500	3,500
109	Lebanon	3,300		3,300
110	Niue	2,160	78	2,082
111	Falkland Islands	1,991	1,991
112	Netherlands Antilles	1,800		1,800
113	Norfolk Island	1,678	1,678
114	Turks and Caicos Islands	920	920
115	Guadeloupe	200	200
116	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	188	188
117	Pitcairn	46	46
118	Tokelau	40	40
	Cambodia				Replacing French as second language, especially in Phnom Penh. Also used for mobile phone texting
	Christmas Island
	Eritrea
	Guernsey
	Hong Kong
	Indonesia
	Jersey
	Korea
	Man, Isle of
	Somalia
	Taiwan
	Thailand
	Bahrain

List in order of native speakers

Rank	Country	First language
1	United States	215,423,557
2	United Kingdom	58,100,000
3	Canada	17,694,830
4	Australia	15,013,965
5	Nigeria	4,000,000
6	Ireland	3,750,000
7	South Africa	3,673,203
8	New Zealand	≥ 3,008,058
9	Jamaica	2,600,000
10	Trinidad and Tobago	1,145,000
11	Singapore	665,087
12	Guyana	650,000
13	Liberia	600,000
14	Sierra Leone	500,000
15	Malaysia	380,000
16	Germany	272,504
17	Barbados	262,000
18=	Bahamas	260,000
18=	Suriname	260,000
20	Zimbabwe	250,000
21	Belize	190,000
22	India	178,598
23	Papua New Guinea	150,000
24	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	114,000
25	Zambia	110,000
26=	Grenada	100,000
26=	Israel	100,000
26=	Puerto Rico	100,000
28	U.S. Virgin Islands	98,000
29	Japan	93,500
30	Antigua and Barbuda	66,000
31	Bermuda	63,000
32	Vanuatu	60,000
33	Guam	58,000
34	Saint Kitts and Nevis	39,000
35	Cayman Islands	36,000
36	Honduras	31,500
37	Saint Lucia	31,000
38	Gibraltar	28,000
39	Philippines	27,000
40	British Virgin Islands	20,000
41	Namibia	14,000
42	Anguilla	12,000
43=	Solomon Islands	10,000
43=	Sri Lanka	10,000
43=	Brunei	10,000
46	Aruba	9,000
47	Dominican Republic	8,000
48	Fiji	6,000
49	Saint Helena	5,400
50	Northern Mariana Islands	5,000
51	Micronesia	4,000
52	Montserrat	4,000
53	British Indian Ocean Territory	3,500
54=	Dominica	3,000
54=	Seychelles	3,000
56=	American Samoa	2,000
56=	Mauritius	2,000
57	Falkland Islands	1,991
58	Russia	1,804
59	Ethiopia	1,986
60	Norfolk Island	1,678
61=	Cook Islands	1,000
61=	Samoa	1,000
63	Turks and Caicos Islands	920
64	Nauru	800
65	Palau	500
66	Guadeloupe	200
67	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	188
68	Niue	78
69	Pitcairn	46
70	Tokelau	40

Sources

★ Ethnologue: Languages of the World, , , , SIL International, 2005, ISBN 1-55671-159-X

★ Europeans and their languages - Eurobarometer report, February 2006 (pdf). Only includes EU citizens aged 15 or more.

★ The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, , David, Crystal, Cambridge University Press, , ISBN 0-521-53033-4

Notes

1. "India." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 15 Aug. 2007 India: The ''lingua francas''
2. The TESOL-India (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages)] site India: World's Second Largest English-Speaking Country.
3. Census of India's eCensusIndia, Issue 10, 2003, pp 8-10, (Feature: Languages of West Bengal in Census and Surveys, Bilingualism and Trilingualism).
4. Tropf, Herbert S. 2004.India and its Languages. Siemens AG, Munich

See also

★ List of countries where English is an official language