Which country has the highest Total Living Languages?

Papua New Guinea has the highest Total Living Languages, at 840, followed by Indonesia (709) and Nigeria (532).

Which country has the lowest Total Living Languages?

Saint Pierre and Miquelon has the lowest Total Living Languages, at 1.

What is the median Total Living Languages across countries?

The median is 19 across the 234 countries with data.

Country rankings

Average Number of Languages Spoken by Country

Papua New Guinea has the highest Total Living Languages (840), followed by Indonesia (709) and Nigeria (532). Saint Pierre and Miquelon has the lowest (1).

Culture234 countries · 8 metricsUpdated Nov 4, 2024Original page

3 sources

Showing

234 of 235 countries

Compare this metric Add to combined ranking Open full map

Total Living Languages

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

Loading map…

Ranking

Highest first: the first 15 and last 5 of 234 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

Middle half 6.25 – 44.75

Average

47.76

234 countries

Highest

840

Papua New Guinea

Lowest

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

234 countries · # = rank by Total Living Languages

#
1	Papua New Guinea	840	840	—	11.8%	4.2M	—	5,040	1,315
2	Indonesia	709	707	2	9.98%	222.2M	—	315,165	3,500
3	Nigeria	532	525	7	7.37%	163.3M	—	348,225	14,000
4	India	459	453	6	6.37%	1.3B	—	2,924,237	35,000
5	United States	335	219	116	4.71%	326.8M	—	999,256	12
6	Australia	319	226	93	4.49%	22.7M	—	72,504	10
7	China	305	302	3	4.29%	1.3B	—	4,472,608	27,700
8	Mexico	292	287	5	4.11%	125.5M	—	435,886	4,730
9	Cameroon	275	274	1	3.87%	10.2M	—	38,451	10,000
10	Brazil	228	217	11	3.21%	204.7M	—	934,490	210
11	DR Congo	214	212	2	3.01%	42.1M	—	209,593	29,450
12	Canada	195	96	99	2.74%	33.4M	—	174,672	260
13	Philippines	191	183	8	2.69%	70.8M	—	386,757	19,200
14	Russia	159	115	44	2.24%	138.7M	—	900,639	3,900
15	Malaysia	144	133	11	2.03%	22.2M	—	205,945	3,400
16	Chad	131	130	1	1.84%	8.9M	—	74,500	14,000
17	Nepal	129	122	7	1.81%	26.6M	—	212,903	8,385
18	Tanzania	126	125	1	1.77%	51.1M	—	422,381	102,500
18	Myanmar	126	120	6	1.77%	49.3M	—	397,452	15,000
20	Vanuatu	116	110	6	1.63%	196.3K	—	1,722	665
21	Vietnam	112	109	3	1.58%	86.9M	—	835,428	14,900
22	Ivory Coast	101	86	15	1.42%	18.4M	—	209,538	34,150
23	Germany	95	25	70	1.34%	88.6M	2.0	1,107,146	80,000
23	France	95	22	73	1.42%	70M	1.8	1,793,895	126,000
25	Peru	94	93	1	1.32%	31M	—	336,893	4,635
26	Laos	92	85	7	1.29%	6.5M	—	76,982	9,710
27	Ethiopia	91	90	1	1.28%	66.8M	—	750,188	48,000
28	Colombia	89	85	4	1.25%	47.7M	—	560,866	885
29	Thailand	88	73	15	1.24%	53.4M	—	675,417	8,000
30	Ghana	87	81	6	1.22%	27.7M	—	359,236	36,000
31	Pakistan	85	74	11	1.2%	202M	—	2,524,978	53,250
31	United Kingdom	85	13	72	1.2%	61.5M	1.6	799,308	16,700
33	Iran	84	79	5	1.18%	82.9M	—	1,256,478	62,000
34	Central African Republic	83	72	11	1.17%	3.6M	—	47,249	17,350
35	Sudan	76	75	1	1.07%	35.1M	—	516,047	13,000
36	Kenya	72	67	5	1.01%	37M	—	544,676	180,000
36	Solomon Islands	72	72	—	1.01%	380K	—	5,352	2,770
38	Mali	71	68	3	1%	13M	—	194,445	25,000
38	Burkina Faso	71	71	—	1%	12.5M	—	183,425	20,500
40	South Sudan	69	69	—	0.97%	4.5M	—	80,440	27,500
41	New Zealand	65	4	61	0.91%	4.7M	—	73,534	148,000
42	Republic of the Congo	64	62	2	0.9%	3.7M	—	60,503	14,400
43	Benin	56	55	1	0.79%	9.6M	—	177,881	64,000
44	Zambia	55	46	9	0.77%	11.4M	—	236,768	32,850
45	Turkey	54	39	15	0.76%	90.3M	—	2,149,933	66,000
46	Israel	53	36	17	0.75%	9.5M	—	205,988	42,500
47	Netherlands	50	15	35	0.7%	21.9M	3.2	487,727	220,000
48	Ukraine	48	21	27	0.68%	40.6M	—	882,604	50,400
48	Venezuela	48	42	6	0.68%	31.1M	—	777,179	770
48	Kazakhstan	48	13	35	0.68%	15.3M	—	356,019	95,000
51	Italy	47	35	12	0.66%	82.3M	1.8	1,870,889	100,000
51	Angola	47	46	1	0.66%	24.3M	—	528,017	30,000
51	Mozambique	47	43	4	0.66%	23.8M	—	517,220	197,500
51	Norway	47	11	36	0.66%	5.7M	—	127,700	1,000
55	Senegal	46	38	8	0.65%	14M	—	310,622	20,000
55	Togo	46	44	2	0.65%	4.9M	—	113,707	34,300
57	Bangladesh	45	41	4	0.63%	165.2M	—	3,842,333	15,500
57	Uganda	45	43	2	0.63%	33.9M	—	769,599	303,000
57	Bolivia	45	43	2	0.63%	7.3M	—	170,916	350
60	Gabon	44	43	1	0.62%	1.1M	—	25,069	4,000
61	South Africa	42	30	12	0.59%	51M	—	1,416,803	133,500
61	Afghanistan	42	41	1	0.59%	23.4M	—	569,568	16,500
63	Argentina	40	24	16	0.56%	46.2M	—	1,318,861	5,120
63	Guinea	40	37	3	0.56%	11.6M	—	341,204	25,000
63	New Caledonia	40	38	2	0.56%	143K	—	3,972	950
66	Denmark	39	5	34	0.55%	5.9M	2.8	151,903	23,100
67	Azerbaijan	38	18	20	0.53%	9.3M	—	257,802	11,700
67	Finland	38	13	25	0.53%	5.8M	2.6	153,130	5,170
67	Botswana	38	31	7	0.53%	2.2M	—	63,247	5,950
70	Uzbekistan	37	11	26	0.52%	30.9M	—	937,242	250,000
70	Sweden	37	15	22	0.52%	10.3M	2.5	295,003	4,000
72	Belgium	36	12	24	0.51%	13.7M	2.6	506,896	200,000
72	Austria	36	15	21	0.51%	9.5M	2.2	316,348	32,750
74	Taiwan	35	23	12	0.49%	24M	—	726,838	4,000
75	Spain	34	17	17	0.48%	52.4M	1.7	1,691,597	72,500
75	Greece	34	20	14	0.48%	11.7M	1.8	377,209	9,700
75	Liberia	34	31	3	0.48%	4.3M	—	134,085	85,600
78	Tajikistan	33	13	20	0.46%	7.6M	—	303,208	27,500
78	Switzerland	33	13	20	0.46%	9M	—	320,722	40,000
78	Kyrgyzstan	33	6	27	0.46%	5.8M	—	215,777	290,650
78	Namibia	33	27	6	0.46%	2.7M	—	83,404	13,800
82	Turkmenistan	31	6	25	0.44%	5.3M	—	176,682	256,900
82	Singapore	31	24	7	0.44%	6.1M	—	226,125	15,200
82	Oman	31	17	14	0.44%	4.2M	—	151,286	42,400
82	Bhutan	31	23	8	0.44%	639.5K	—	25,580	8,000
86	Guinea-Bissau	30	23	7	0.42%	1.8M	—	68,423	8,520
87	Romania	29	26	3	0.41%	20.5M	1.8	975,830	17,850
87	Cambodia	29	27	2	0.41%	16.3M	—	583,089	5,210
87	Libya	29	9	20	0.41%	6.3M	—	234,178	21,000
90	Iraq	27	23	4	0.38%	34M	—	1,477,288	136,000
90	Poland	27	22	5	0.38%	37.5M	1.6	1,498,400	12,800
90	Guatemala	27	27	—	0.38%	14.7M	—	544,763	28,000
90	United Arab Emirates	27	10	17	0.38%	9.3M	—	370,656	370,000
90	Paraguay	27	23	4	0.38%	6.6M	—	255,123	2,530
90	Croatia	27	16	11	0.38%	4.3M	—	180,566	10,200
90	Georgia	27	20	7	0.38%	4.5M	—	173,316	14,000
90	Suriname	27	21	6	0.38%	562K	—	22,481	1,250
98	Czechia	26	11	15	0.37%	10.8M	1.8	415,465	10,000
98	Sierra Leone	26	24	2	0.37%	7M	—	290,715	138,000
100	Saudi Arabia	25	7	18	0.35%	18.8M	—	852,874	500,000
100	Bulgaria	25	13	12	0.35%	7.8M	1.7	356,071	5,310
102	Syria	24	17	7	0.34%	18.7M	—	850,383	64,900
102	Malawi	24	17	7	0.34%	13M	—	813,500	200,000
102	Ecuador	24	24	—	0.34%	16.7M	—	694,406	11,000
102	Zimbabwe	24	22	2	0.34%	11.9M	—	596,322	145,000
102	Serbia	24	17	7	0.34%	8.8M	—	420,505	34,000
102	Gambia	24	11	13	0.34%	1.3M	—	69,201	43,650
108	Egypt	23	16	7	0.32%	94.6M	—	5,255,544	752,000
108	Niger	23	23	—	0.32%	15.8M	—	718,659	28,450
108	Portugal	23	10	13	0.32%	10.3M	1.8	446,054	15,000
111	Algeria	22	18	4	0.31%	38.5M	—	1,927,408	40,000
112	Hungary	21	18	3	0.3%	9.9M	1.5	583,971	3,710
112	Timor-Leste	21	20	1	0.3%	1M	—	49,563	16,700
112	Fiji	21	10	11	0.3%	840.9K	—	64,685	6,950
115	Madagascar	20	14	6	0.28%	18.4M	—	1,020,444	1,130,000
115	Estonia	20	7	13	0.28%	1.5M	2.7	85,653	44,250
117	Japan	19	15	4	0.27%	129.4M	—	8,627,658	5,050
117	Micronesia	19	18	1	0.27%	111K	—	6,167	1,410
119	Panama	18	14	4	0.25%	4.3M	—	327,372	22,500
119	Qatar	18	3	15	0.25%	2.5M	—	149,293	486,000
119	Guyana	18	16	2	0.25%	1.3M	—	109,920	1,500
122	Yemen	17	11	6	0.24%	26.8M	—	1,915,021	62,900
122	Chile	17	11	6	0.24%	17.4M	—	1,741,201	10,000
122	Eritrea	17	15	2	0.24%	5.8M	—	526,236	194,000
122	Brunei	17	15	2	0.24%	459.7K	—	28,730	8,150
126	Lebanon	16	7	9	0.23%	6.6M	—	471,708	294,000
126	Equatorial Guinea	16	14	2	0.23%	699.2K	—	58,262	7,000
126	Latvia	16	8	8	0.23%	2.3M	2.7	164,652	8,000
126	Cyprus	16	5	11	0.23%	1.5M	2.1	110,121	34,800
126	Luxembourg	16	4	12	0.23%	499.3K	3.6	31,203	66,100
126	French Guiana	16	13	3	0.23%	178.8K	—	14,898	2,400
132	Morocco	15	14	1	0.21%	39.3M	—	3,571,902	80,000
132	Tunisia	15	7	8	0.21%	11.6M	—	827,293	34,650
132	Slovakia	15	12	3	0.21%	5.5M	2.5	460,416	25,100
132	Lithuania	15	11	4	0.21%	3.6M	2.7	274,863	7,555
132	Slovenia	15	11	4	0.21%	2.1M	3.0	191,269	8,700
132	North Macedonia	15	10	5	0.21%	2.2M	—	179,532	25,000
138	Somalia	14	13	1	0.2%	9.9M	—	828,222	20,000
138	Jordan	14	11	3	0.2%	7.6M	—	841,422	94,500
138	Mongolia	14	12	2	0.2%	3.1M	—	345,900	42,500
138	Uruguay	14	5	9	0.2%	3.6M	—	398,783	25,500
138	Moldova	14	10	4	0.2%	2.7M	—	339,816	107,000
138	Armenia	14	8	6	0.2%	3M	—	276,016	8,850
138	Bahrain	14	6	8	0.2%	1.3M	—	97,192	144,000
138	Mauritius	14	7	7	0.2%	1.2M	—	94,974	28,550
146	Ireland	13	5	8	0.18%	4.7M	1.6	425,638	27,000
146	Montenegro	13	6	7	0.18%	575.3K	—	63,926	34,700
148	Sri Lanka	12	7	5	0.17%	19.6M	—	1,955,032	46,000
148	Honduras	12	10	2	0.17%	9M	—	816,622	990
148	Costa Rica	12	11	1	0.17%	4.9M	—	485,329	2,840
148	Puerto Rico	12	4	8	0.17%	3.5M	—	353,020	159,000
148	Bosnia and Herzegovina	12	5	7	0.17%	3.8M	—	341,619	554,000
148	Albania	12	8	4	0.17%	2.8M	—	284,794	9,820
148	Belize	12	8	4	0.17%	532.2K	—	44,347	14,100
155	Belarus	11	4	7	0.15%	8.9M	—	813,309	1,121,000
155	Hong Kong	11	7	4	0.15%	6.9M	—	692,975	118,500
155	Nicaragua	11	11	—	0.15%	6.4M	—	582,226	740
158	Palestine	10	7	3	0.14%	4.3M	—	473,157	705
158	Djibouti	10	5	5	0.14%	830.4K	—	103,800	125,300
158	French Polynesia	10	9	1	0.14%	258K	—	25,796	3,000
161	Dominican Republic	9	4	5	0.13%	10.2M	—	1,698,917	159,000
161	Trinidad and Tobago	9	7	2	0.13%	2.6M	—	328,500	15,600
161	Guam	9	2	7	0.13%	181.4K	—	22,675	46,750
161	Sint Maarten	9	4	5	0.13%	39.9K	—	4,431	6,000
161	Nauru	9	3	6	0.13%	13.5K	—	2,250	5,100
166	Mauritania	8	7	1	0.11%	3.9M	—	551,200	111,150
166	Jamaica	8	4	4	0.11%	2.7M	—	448,757	7,500
166	Reunion	8	3	5	0.11%	656.2K	—	93,743	313,000
166	Malta	8	4	4	0.11%	468.7K	2.7	58,581	9,515
166	Sao Tome and Principe	8	5	3	0.11%	204.2K	—	25,525	14,700
171	Kuwait	7	3	4	0.1%	3.2M	—	637,440	1,163,600
171	Eswatini	7	5	2	0.1%	1.3M	—	180,234	20,000
171	Macau	7	5	2	0.1%	582.4K	—	83,204	3,680
171	American Samoa	7	2	5	0.1%	56.1K	—	9,348	25,890
171	Northern Mariana Islands	7	4	3	0.1%	42.2K	—	6,026	4,620
176	Comoros	6	6	—	0.08%	764.5K	—	152,900	40,000
176	Curacao	6	5	1	0.08%	137.7K	—	27,534	8,760
176	Aruba	6	4	2	0.08%	86.8K	—	21,698	7,000
176	United States Virgin Islands	6	3	3	0.08%	85.9K	—	21,462	9,540
176	Palau	6	4	2	0.08%	20.9K	—	3,478	2,185
181	South Korea	5	4	1	0.07%	48.6M	—	16,195,333	24,202,500
181	Rwanda	5	3	2	0.07%	11.1M	—	2,224,836	5,440
181	Cuba	5	3	2	0.07%	11.4M	—	3,801,167	5,700,000
181	El Salvador	5	5	—	0.07%	6.4M	—	2,126,000	7,500
181	Lesotho	5	5	—	0.07%	2.2M	—	541,000	190,000
181	Bahamas	5	3	2	0.07%	667.3K	—	166,820	330,000
181	Mayotte	5	3	2	0.07%	211.7K	—	52,925	47,900
181	Andorra	5	4	1	0.07%	73.5K	—	18,375	19,650
181	Dominica	5	3	2	0.07%	45.8K	—	15,267	3,000
181	Liechtenstein	5	4	1	0.07%	35.9K	—	11,970	17,750
181	Monaco	5	5	—	0.07%	33.9K	—	6,770	7,110
181	Saint Martin	5	3	2	0.07%	28.5K	—	5,700	5,000
181	Cook Islands	5	5	—	0.07%	15K	—	3,000	680
181	Tokelau	5	2	3	0.07%	2,421	—	484	870
195	Burundi	4	3	1	0.06%	10M	—	2,509,025	9,600
195	Haiti	4	4	—	0.06%	7M	—	2,320,200	600
195	Western Sahara	4	3	1	0.06%	584K	—	292,000	292,000
195	Guadeloupe	4	3	1	0.06%	449.3K	—	149,767	218,650
195	Martinique	4	3	1	0.06%	427.3K	—	142,443	213,500
195	Saint Lucia	4	3	1	0.06%	159.6K	—	79,800	79,800
195	Grenada	4	4	—	0.06%	107.4K	—	35,784	5,350
195	Jersey	4	3	1	0.06%	99.2K	—	33,077	47,350
195	Tonga	4	3	1	0.06%	105.8K	—	26,450	1,270
195	Antigua and Barbuda	4	2	2	0.06%	153.8K	—	51,267	76,700
195	Cayman Islands	4	1	3	0.06%	74.8K	—	18,710	50,000
195	Guernsey	4	3	1	0.06%	62.7K	—	31,360	31,360
195	Turks and Caicos Islands	4	2	2	0.06%	29.8K	—	9,947	14,365
208	Cape Verde	3	2	1	0.04%	489.8K	—	244,900	244,900
208	Barbados	3	3	—	0.04%	518.3K	—	172,763	256,000
208	Samoa	3	2	1	0.04%	187K	—	62,333	93,400
208	Kiribati	3	2	1	0.04%	106K	—	35,333	52,750
208	Seychelles	3	3	—	0.04%	85.4K	—	28,473	4,590
208	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	3	3	—	0.04%	138.5K	—	46,167	400
208	Bermuda	3	2	1	0.04%	64.6K	—	32,305	62,000
208	Greenland	3	3	—	0.04%	56.2K	—	28,100	28,100
208	Saint Kitts and Nevis	3	3	—	0.04%	52K	—	17,347	1,000
208	Gibraltar	3	2	1	0.04%	46.7K	—	15,567	21,950
208	Saint Barthelemy	3	3	—	0.04%	7,850	—	2,617	1,000
208	Wallis and Futuna	3	3	—	0.04%	13K	—	4,320	3,900
208	Tuvalu	3	3	—	0.04%	10.1K	—	5,050	5,050
208	Niue	3	2	1	0.04%	1,550	—	775	775
222	Maldives	2	2	—	0.03%	331K	—	331,000	331,000
222	Iceland	2	2	—	0.03%	300.3K	—	150,150	150,150
222	Isle of Man	2	2	—	0.03%	88K	—	44,000	44,000
222	Faroe Islands	2	2	—	0.03%	48K	—	48,000	48,000
222	British Virgin Islands	2	2	—	0.03%	39.7K	—	19,850	19,850
222	Marshall Islands	2	2	—	0.03%	65.7K	—	32,850	32,850
222	San Marino	2	2	—	0.03%	25K	—	12,500	12,500
222	Anguilla	2	2	—	0.03%	12.5K	—	6,225	6,225
222	Montserrat	2	2	—	0.03%	3,920	—	1,960	1,960
222	Falkland Islands	2	1	1	0.03%	2,860	—	1,430	2,610
222	Vatican City	2	2	—	0.03%	330	—	165	165
233	North Korea	1	1	—	0.01%	23.3M	—	23,300,000	23,300,000
233	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	1	1	—	0.01%	6,000	—	6,000	6,000

What correlates with Total Living Languages?

Pearson r against 1,251 other country metrics sharing at least 141 countries. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Total Living Languages tend to score higher on these

Tiktok UsersTikTok Users by Country
r = +0.71 · very strong · n = 143
Plot
Total PEM/Starvation DeathsStarvation Deaths by Country
r = +0.67 · strong · n = 200
Plot
Crypto OwnersBitcoin Ownership by Country
r = +0.60 · strong · n = 146
Plot
Total Mosquito SpeciesMosquito Population by Country
r = +0.60 · strong · n = 201
Plot
# of Reptile SpeciesSnake Population by Country
r = +0.60 · strong · n = 217
Plot
# of Snake SpeciesSnake Population by Country
r = +0.59 · strong · n = 212
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Total Living Languages tend to score lower on these

Global FirePower IndexMilitary Strength Index by Country
r = −0.32 · moderate · n = 144
Plot
Vacc. Rate PCV3Vaccination Rates by Country
r = −0.31 · moderate · n = 156
Plot
Average Men's Shoe Size (US sizes)Shoe Size by Country
r = −0.30 · weak · n = 161
Plot
Vacc. Rate DTP1Vaccination Rates by Country
r = −0.29 · weak · n = 193
Plot
Vacc. Rate HIB3Vaccination Rates by Country
r = −0.29 · weak · n = 192
Plot
Average Vaccination RateVaccination Rates by Country
r = −0.28 · weak · n = 193
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Total Living Languages?: Papua New Guinea has the highest Total Living Languages, at 840, followed by Indonesia (709) and Nigeria (532).
Which country has the lowest Total Living Languages?: Saint Pierre and Miquelon has the lowest Total Living Languages, at 1.
What is the median Total Living Languages across countries?: The median is 19 across the 234 countries with data.
Where does this average number of languages spoken by country data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Country statistics - Ethnologue; Average number of languages spoken by the EU population - Jakubmarian; Number of Languages by Country - Wiki.