Top 9 Countries with the Most English Speakers

Countries with the Most English Speakers - Photo: Studenz

Which Countries Have the Most English Speakers?

You might be searching for English-speaking countries for a few reasons. One might be that you are a novice traveler looking to dip your toe into exploring abroad and you want the comfort of your native language. Another might be to connect with more English speakers in new and different cultures. Or perhaps you’re just curious about which countries speak your language around the world.

Here is a list of the Top 9, all with more than 80% of their population speaking English!

#1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The United States of America is the world’s largest English-speaking country. Approximately 225 million Americans speak English as a first language, while 43 million speak it as a second language. That’s a grand total of 268 million English speakers which makes the USA, a country with the largest number of English-speaking population, according to Cudoo.

#2 INDIA

India is next on the list, with 125 million English speakers. But only 226,449 of those speak it as a first language. For the rest, it’s a second language. However, as BBC reporter Zareer Masani noted in a 2012 article, the patchwork state of English education means that many Indians speak “not so much English as Hinglish’’, also known as Indian English which is a mix of English and Hindi, one of the official languages in India.

#3 PAKISTAN

Pakistan ranks third. Photo: Council on Foreign Relations

Surprised? English is one of Pakistan’s official languages, along with Urdu. Although nobody in Pakistan really speaks English as a first language, the Urdu language is always the preferred choice, around 49% of the population do speak it as a second language.

That accounts for almost 94,321,604 English speakers.

#4 PHILIPPINES

The Philippines has two official languages: Filipino and English. Only around 37,000 Filipinos speak English as a first language. However, a little over 92% of the population can speak it as a second language. Out of the latest Filipino population, it is estimated that there are 90 million English speakers in the island nation.

#5 NIGERIA

Ever wonder why so many sales emails came from Nigeria, as opposed to Kenya or Zimbabwe? There are a lot of reasons, but the relatively high percentage of English speakers is probably one of them. Around 53% of the population (79 million people) can speak English in Nigeria, and a small percentage has awesome native proficiency in the English language.

#6 UNITED KINGDOM

It’s about time, right? We bet you didn’t expect to find the United Kingdom so far down this list! 98% of people in the UK speak English. But the UK’s comparatively small size and population mean that larger countries like Nigeria and the Philippines actually have more English speakers. The UK has 59.6 million speakers owing to its relatively small population and that’s what makes them 6th on this list.

#7 GERMANY

Germany ranks seventh. Photo: Q Work Group

We see a lot of youngsters learning the German Language before landing in Germany. So you might have thought they don’t speak English maybe? Yes, English is not the official language, however, many Germans converse in English for business purposes and with many foreigners going there for higher studies, English has surely found its place in Germany, Icy Tales cites.

It is found that three-quarters of people know English too. Knowing the local language is absolutely good in Germany so that you understand more about their culture, and connect better with them. However, you can fill in the blanks with English to convey the information so that people understand you rightly.

#8 BANGLADESH

The second official language in Bangladesh is English. Like how in Pakistan it’s called Paklish, here it’s called Banglish or Benglish. It’s due to the mixture of Bengali and English. Here too, the majority of people have adopted to speaking in English in combination with their local language. Though the Bengali language is given prime importance, English is taught in schools and colleges.

#9 CANADA

Canada is one place where the language of the country is English also the mother tongue of the residents. With French taking the other share of the official language. Canadian English is a blend of both American and British English, but there are certain phrases that distinct the Canadians largely. Around 86.2% of people speak English in Canada.

Some of the most common Canadian things are asking for ‘Double-double’ coffee or using ‘Eh!’ at the end of each sentence. Their accent is slightly different which sets them apart from the rest of English speakers around the world.