Ethnologue (2015, 18th edition)Edit
The following languages are listed as having 50 million or more native speakers in the 2015 edition of Ethnologue, a language reference published by SIL International.[2]
| Language | Family | L1 speakers | L2 speakers | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | Sino-Tibetan | 1,200 million (2000) | 180 million in China (no date) | 1,380 million |
| English | Indo-European, Germanic | 340 million | 510 million | 840 million |
| Arabic | Afro-Asiatic, | 240 million | 250 million (1999) | 490 million |
| Spanish | Indo-European, Romance | 330 million | 90 million | 420 million |
| Modern Standard Hindi | Indo-European, Indo-Aryan | 260 million (2001) | 120 million in India (1999) | 380 million |
| Russian | Indo-European, Slavic | 170 million (ca. 2010) | ? | ? |
| Portuguese | Indo-European, Romance | 250 million | 73 million | 273 million |
| Bengali | Indo-European, Indo-Aryan | 190 million (2001–2011) | 20 million in Bangladesh (2011) | 210 million |
| French | Indo-European, Romance | ca. 76 million (ca. 2012) | 87 million (2007) | 160 million |
| Urdu | Indo-European, Indo-Aryan, Hindustani(essentially same language as Modern Standard Hindi) | 64 million (1998–2001) | 94 million in Pakistan (1999) | 160 million |
| Japanese | Japonic | 130 million | 130 million | |
| Lahnda (Western Punjabi) | Indo-European, Indo-Aryan | 89 million (2000) | ? | ? |
| German | Indo-European, Germanic | 78 million (ca. 2012) | 8 million in Germany (2012) | ? |
| Javanese | Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian | 84 million (2000) | 84 million | |
| Telugu | Dravidian | 74 million (2001) | 5 million in India (no date) | 80 million |
| Tamil | Dravidian | 69 million (2001) | 8 million in India (no date) | 77 million |
| Korean | language isolate | 77 million (2008–2010) | 77 million | |
| Marathi | Indo-European, Indo-Aryan | 72 million (2001) | 3 million in India (no date) | 75 million |
| Turkish | Altaic | 71 million (2006) | 0.3 million in Turkey | 71 million |
| Vietnamese | Austroasiatic, Viet–Muong | 68 million (1999) | 68 million | |
| Italian | Indo-European, Romance | 64 million (1977–2012) | ? | ? |
| total Malay | 60 million (no date) | 150 | 210 million | |
| total Persian | 57 million (2011) | ? | ? |
|
