List of multilingual countries and regions


This is an incomplete list of areas with either multilingualism at the community level or at the personal level.
There is a distinction between social and personal bilingualism. Many countries, such as Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Finland, India, Ireland, South Africa and Switzerland, which are officially multilingual, may have many monolinguals in their population. Officially monolingual countries, on the other hand, such as France, can have sizable multilingual populations. Some countries have official languages but also have regional and local official languages, notably Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Spain and Taiwan.

Africa

Central Africa

East Africa

Horn of Africa

  • Djibouti: French and Arabic plus Somali & Afar.
  • Eritrea: Tigrinya, Arabic and English are predominantly used in commerce and government affairs. The use and development of nine Eritrean languages is encouraged at the local level and children attend primary school through the fifth grade in their mother tongue. Italian is an additional language spoken in commerce.
  • Ethiopia: The federal working language is Amharic. At a regional level, working languages are Tigrigna in Tigray, Afarigna in Afar, Afaan Oromoo in Oromia, Somali in Somali region, and Harari in Harari region.
  • Somalia: Somali and Arabic. plus English and Italian.

North Africa

Southern Africa

West Africa

Americas

Caribbean

Central America

  • Belize: English, Spanish and Mayan languages have some official usage, although the legacy of British rule emphasised English to be most commonly used for official purposes though the majority are Hispanophone.
  • Guatemala has one official language which is Spanish; however, there are 22 distinct Mayan languages. Maya, Garifuna and Xincan languages are recognized to be essential elements of the national identity.
  • Honduras: Spanish is the official language, despite Afro-Caribbean English, Garifuna and indigenous languages can be found in the rural outskirts of the country.
  • In Nicaragua, even while Spanish is the official language, there are other de facto languages such as [English-based creole language|creole languages|Creole], English, Miskitu, Rama and Mayangna in their own linguistic communities. According to the Constitution, the languages of the Atlantic Coasts should be used officially in cases established by law.
  • In Panama, Spanish is the official language, and seven indigenous languages have been given official recognition

North America

  • Canada is officially bilingual under the Official Languages Act and the Constitution of Canada that require the federal government to deliver services in both official languages: English and French. As well, minority language rights are guaranteed where numbers warrant. 56.9% of the population speak English as their first language while 22.9% are native speakers of French. The remaining population belong to some of Canada's many immigrant populations or to the indigenous population. See Bilingualism in Canada
  • *Alberta has a specific French policy since 2017.
  • *The Canadian province of British Columbia has a sizable population that speaks Mandarin or Cantonese, particularly in the city of Vancouver and its satellite town of Richmond. There is a provincial law on First Nations languages.
  • *The Canadian province of New Brunswick, with a large Acadian population is officially bilingual.
  • *The Canadian province of Quebec, Note: Quebec's largest city, Montreal, is a multilingual city with half the population having French as their mother tongue, and the other half having other languages as their mother tongue. A majority of Montrealers, whether they call themselves francophone, anglophone or allophone, know both French and English. The city's McGill University, an English-language institution, allows students to submit essays or tests in either English or French. Although there is a sizable English-speaking population in Quebec, French is the only official language of the provincial government. At the same time, many services are provided in English, such as health services, education, legislative activities and judiciary services. Many government services are available in English and French. In the Kahnawake reserve, Mohawk is the official language.
  • * Manitoba has a particular French Language Services Policy and bilingual in capital city Winnipeg, as well as a special law on recognition of seven indigenous languages.
  • *Nova Scotia has a governmental agency for Scots Gaelic language and culture affairs. French is regionally spoken, with a special law on French-language services.
  • *In Newfoundland and Labrador, in the autonomous area of Nunatsiavut, English and Inuttut are co-official There is also a particular provincial French Language Services Policy In Port au Port Peninsula French language is used as well.
  • *Nunavut is a Canadian territory with a population that is 85% Inuit. According to Official Languages Act, its official languages are Inuit, English and French.
  • *Northwest Territories have Chipewyan, Cree, English, French, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey and Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì as the official languages.
  • * Ontario delivers services under the French Language Services Act.
  • *In Prince Edward Island, there is a Francophone region.
  • * Saskatchewan has a particular French-language Services Policy.
  • *Yukon allows the use of Yukon languages in its legislative assembly, along with French and English.
  • *In the 2006 Canadian census, information and questions are available in sixty-two languages, including eighteen First Nations languages.
  • *The city of Toronto is one of the most multilingual cities in the world. It is the home to over a dozen daily media outlets of different languages, including the Italian daily Corriere Canadese and the Chinese daily Sing Tao.
  • Greenland: Greenlandic is the official language. Danish and English are spoken and taught; and all Greenlanders are Danish-Greenlandic bilinguals.
  • Mexico: The government recognizes 62 indigenous languages, including Nahuatl, spoken by more than 1.5 million people and Aguacatec spoken by 27 people, along with Spanish. Indigenous languages are recognised as national languages in areas where they are spoken. There is no official language at the federal level, although Spanish is the de facto state language.
  • *In Guerrero, state constitution provides for use of indigenous languages in education and translating of main provincial laws to these languages.
  • *In Yucatán, Yucatec Maya language is recognised in the state constitution.
  • *In Oaxaca state constitution, 15 indigenous communities are listed. Certain use of their languages in education and court proceedings is provided for.
  • *In Puebla state constitution, use of indigenous languages in courts and education is provided for
  • *In Campeche state constitution, use of indigenous languages in courts and teaching them in schools are provided for.
  • *In Quintana Roo state constitution, use of indigenous languages in courts and education is provided for; also, the laws are to be published in Maya language.
  • *In Chihuahua state constitution, use of indigenous languages in courts, education, health care and government-disseminated information is provided for.
  • *In Chiapas state constitution, use of indigenous languages in courts and education is provided for.
  • In the United States, at the federal level, there is no official language, although there have been efforts to make English the official language. Use of several languages in electoral process under certain circumstances is provided for by federal law, including Spanish in the whole states of Florida, California and Texas. There are federal statutes promoting Native American languages: Native American Languages Act of 1990 and Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act.
  • *The US state of California has the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act. requiring state and local agencies serving a "substantial number of non-English speaking people" to employ a "qualified bilingual staff" and to translate certain documents into clients' languages.
  • *The US state of New Mexico provides certain guarantees for the use of Spanish, alongside English, in its constitution and electoral laws. Its state laws also provide for using Spanish and Native American languages in education
  • *The US state of New York provides translation of vital documents and interpretation into six languages alongside English.
  • *The US state of South Dakota recognises the Sioux language as the official indigenous language of the state.
  • *The US state of Texas provides in its law for translating to Spanish certain information on agency websites.
  • *The US state of Louisiana has mandated the Louisiana French Language Services Program and the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism to work on providing state government services in French, to the extent practicable It also expressly allows the use of French in legal process and publishing official documents. Spanish is also spoken.
  • *The Saint John River valley in the US state of Maine and some areas in Vermont are unofficially bilingual in English and French.
  • *The US state of Hawaii is officially bilingual in English and Hawaiian.
  • *The US state of Alaska officially recognizes English and the following twenty Alaska Native languages: Inupiaq, Siberian Yupik, Central Alaskan Yup'ik, Alutiiq, Unanga, Dena'ina, Deg Xinag, Holikachuk, Koyukon, Upper Kuskokwim, Gwich'in, Tanana, Upper Tanana, Tanacross, Hän, Ahtna, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian languages. Russian is spoken.
  • *Three US territories are also bilingual: American Samoa, and Puerto Rico. Guam Code provides for bilingual education. One US territory is trilingual: Northern Marianas Islands.
  • *In US, states with a large historic and recently arrived Spanish-speaking population such as California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Florida will often provide government services at the municipal level in Spanish as well as English. For example, in Florida, Hialeah recognizes both English and Spanish while Miami recognizes English and Spanish as official government languages.
  • * Hopi Tribe constitution provides for specific requirements for Hopi language skills for officials
  • *German is spoken due to Amish, German, Austrian and Swiss people. In Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Dutch dialect is spoken.

South America

  • Argentina has several ethnic communities of European, Asian and indigenous origins, who speak their own languages, but uses de facto Spanish as the official language of the country. In most of the country, there is a sizable but bilingual Italian-speaking population.
  • * Chaco Province recognises Qom, Moqoit y Wichi as official languages of the province along with Spanish
  • * Corrientes Province Guarani is recognised as the second official language
  • * Santiago del Estero Province gives official recognition to Quechua in its constitution
  • Bolivia is officially multilingual, supporting Spanish and 36 native languages.
  • Brazil, Portuguese and upwards to 100 languages spoken mainly in the urban areas and indigenous languages in the Amazon. The use of indigenous languages in primary education is enshrined in the constitution.
  • *Espírito Santo – German and East Pomeranian are recognized by constitution as part of the state's cultural heritage
  • *Rio de Janeiro – Yoruba, Bantu and Jeje are recognized by constitution as part of the state's cultural heritage
  • *Rio Grande do Sul – Talian and Riograndense Hünsrick are recognized by constitution as part of the state's cultural heritage
  • *Santa Catarina – Talian are recognized by constitution as part of the state's cultural heritage
  • Chile uses de facto Spanish as official language, but there are not an act that declares officiality. The Indigenous Act ratified in 1992 permites the official usage of four indigenous languages: Aimara, Mapudungun, Quechua and Rapa Nui inside the indigenous communities and areas with high native population density. In the southern portion, there is a sizable but bilingual German-speaking population.
  • Colombia The official language is Spanish. Languages of ethnic groups are official in their territories.
English is co-official in San Andres and Providencia.
  • Ecuador defines Spanish as its official language, but Spanish, Quechua and Shuar – as official languages of intercultural relations in the Article 2 of the 2008 Constitution.
  • Falkland Islands, English is the official & dominant language. Spanish is spoken by a minority of the population who comes from Chile and Argentina.
  • Guyana, English, Guyanese Hindustani, Chinese, indigenous languages, and a small Portuguese-speaking community. The Amerindian Act orders the National Toshaos Council to promote the recognition and use of Amerindian languages.
  • Paraguay, More than 46% of its population is bilingual in Guaraní and Spanish, of whom 37% speak only Guaraní and 8% only Spanish but the latter increases with the use of Jopará. There is a large Mennonite German colony in the Gran Chaco region as well.
  • Peru's official languages are Spanish and, in the zones where they are predominant, Quechua, Aymara, and other aboriginal languages. In addition to that, in Peru there is a large community of immigrants, of which few keep their languages. Within those, there are the Japanese and the Chinese, for example and in smaller numbers, the Germans, Italian, the Arabic speakers, and the Urdu speakers retain their native languages in Peru. The last two are products of the recent wave of immigrants from Palestine and Pakistan. Lately English has been used by American and British residents.
  • In Suriname, Dutch, Sranan, and English are spoken by large segments of the population. In addition, Chinese, Javanese, and various Indian languages, such as Hindustani, are spoken as well.
  • Uruguay has a large Italian-speaking minority also proficient in Spanish. Its border with Brazil has a mixed Portuguese-speaking presence.
  • Venezuela has declared Spanish the official language, while there are some European and Arabic languages spoken in urban areas, Caribbean English dialects in the Caribbean and indigenous languages spoken in the Guayana department. The prominent additional European languages spoken are Italian and German. The use of native languages also has official status for native peoples.

Asia

Central Asia

  • Kazakhstan: Kazakh and Russian both have official status—Kazakh as the "state" language and Russian as "officially used on equal grounds along with the Kazakh language". Kazakhstan is taking its huge step into multilingualism by accepting the trilingualism policy and making changes in law. Former president Nursultan Nazarbaev noted that "The multinationality and multilingualism are one of the values and the main feature of our state. "Dariga Nazarbayeva, then deputy prime minister and daughter of the then president, said in February 2016 that Kazakh children should learn Chinese in addition to Kazakh, Russian and English. “China is our friend, our trading partner and the biggest investor in the economy of our country", she said. "In the near future, we all need to know Chinese.”
  • Kyrgyzstan: Kyrgyz is the state language and Russian "used in the capacity of an official language".
  • Tajikistan: Tajik as the state language and Russian, designated as language of interethnic communication in the constitution, are widely spoken.
  • Uzbekistan: In Uzbekistan, Uzbek, Tajik, and Russian are all widely spoken. Use of Russian is foreseen for notarized documents and civic records
  • Karakalpakstan: In the autonomous Karakalpakstan, Karakalpak is an official one, alongside Uzbek.

East Asia

North Asia

  • Russia holds a List of minor indigenous peoples of Russia. This list currently mentions 50 peoples, and the "Law on the guarantees of the rights of the minor indigenous peoples of Russia" guarantees among other Federal programmes for the protection and development of their languages and cultures. The article 10 of the same law guarantees to people belonging to these peoples the right to preserve and develop their native language, and the right to receive and broadcast information in their native languages and to create media.
  • Several Republics of Russia make locally official the language of the main people of those Republics:
  • *Buryatia – Russian and Buryat are co-official
  • *Altai Republic – Russian and Altai are co-official
  • *Tuva – Russian and Tuvan are co-official
  • *Khakassia – Russian and Khakas are co-official
  • *Sakha Republic – Russian and Sakha are co-official. The law "about the languages of the Sakha Republic" mentions in its article 6 that Evenki, Even, Yukagir, Dolgan, Chukchi languages are recognized as official in the places where those peoples live and are used as equal as the national languages. The Sakha Republic guarantees protection and care for the preservation and the free development of those languages. It is worth noting, however, that Chukchi has no official status in the neighbouring Chukotka. It is closely related to Koryak which is official in the North of Kamchatka.
  • Administrative-territorial units with special status :
  • *Ust-Orda Buryat Okrug and Agin-Buryat Okrug : Buryat is co-official with Russian.
  • *Koryak Okrug : Koryak is co-official with Russian.

South Asia

Southeast Asia

  • Brunei: Malay and English
  • Cambodia: Khmer is the official language, but French is spoken by a minority and sometimes used in government and education. Mandarin is spoken in business and commerce.
  • East Timor – Tetum and Portuguese are the official languages; English and Indonesian "shall be working languages within the public administration side by side with official languages as long as it is deemed necessary"
  • Indonesia is the largest bilingual country in the world, with approximately 200 million people speak more than one language. Indonesians speak about 746 different languages. Javanese has the most users in terms of native speakers. However, the sole official is Indonesian which has only 30 million L1 speakers. The role of Indonesian is important to glue together different ethnics and languages in Indonesia. Though Indonesian is considered the nation's only official language, regional governments have rights to conduct regional languages study at schools. Many people in Indonesia are bilingual at an early age. They speak a local native language with their families whereas the official Indonesian language is used to communicate with people from other regions and is taught in schools as a compulsory subject.
  • In Laos, Lao is the official language; however, French is understood and used by government.
  • In Malaysia, nearly all people have a working knowledge of Malay and English. Malay is the official language of the country, along with English in the state of Sarawak. Malay and English are compulsory subjects taught in all public schools. Chinese and Tamil are spoken by the Chinese and Indian communities respectively, and are the languages of instruction in Chinese and Tamil primary schools respectively. Among the Chinese community, apart from Mandarin, several Chinese languages especially Hakka, Hokkien, Cantonese and Teochew and among Indians, Tamil is the most spoken and dominant language. The indigenous peoples of Sabah and Sarawak speak their ancestral languages. However, it is not uncommon for the locals to be fluent in several of the above languages. The Constitution provides for use of Sabah and Sarawak languages in native courts or for any code of native law and custom.
  • Philippines: The Philippine constitution designates Filipino as the national language and, along with English, as official languages. Regional languages are designated as auxiliary official languages in the regions which shall serve as auxiliary media of instruction therein. Spanish and Arabic are designated to be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis. Some people in native Tagalog areas are bilingual, while in non-Tagalog areas it is common to be multilingual in Filipino, English, and in one or more of the regional languages, or as in other cases in languages such as Spanish, Fukien, and Arabic due to factors such as ancestry and religion. Eleven regional languages are recognised by the government as auxiliary official languages in their respective regions, while 90+ other languages and dialects are spoken by various groups.
  • Singapore: English, Mandarin Chinese, Malay and Tamil are all official languages. Malay is the national language. English is the main language used in Singapore. As English links the different races and ethnic groups, a group with diverse races and ethnicities communicate using English. Most of the population can speak, read and write in English. In addition to English, many Singaporeans can speak their respective ethnic language like Mandarin Chinese fairly well, as it is a compulsory subject in school. In Chinese communities, the older generation usually speak their own language like Hakka and Hokkien besides Mandarin and/or English.
  • Thailand: Thai is the main and sole official language in Thailand. There are different dialects such as Phitsanulok, Ayutthaya, Suphan Buri, Thonburi, but Standard Thai is influenced by Thai Chinese in Bangkok, Isan which is influenced from Lao and widely used in the northeastern area, Southern Thai is spoken in the southern provinces, Northern Thai is spoken in the provinces that were formerly part of the independent kingdom of Lanna. Karen languages are spoken along the border with Burma, Khmer near Cambodia, and Malay in the south near Malaysia. The Thai hill tribes speak numerous small languages. Also, there is a big population of Chinese descent people in Thailand and the old generation often use Teochew as well as Hakka as their first language. The new generation tends to speak them as a second language or some may not know it at all.
  • Vietnam: Vietnamese is the official language, and English is the most commonly used and studied second language, especially in education, international relations, and the media. In addition, French is spoken by a small minority of people and elders as it used to be the most common second language. The right to use own language, also in courts, is foreseen in the constitution.

Western Asia

  • Bahrain: Arabic is the official language, and English is the most commonly used and studied second language, especially in education, international relations, and the media. In addition, Persian and Urdu are widely spoken.
  • Cyprus has two official languages: Greek and Turkish. Both languages were spoken throughout the island before 1974. After 1974, and the partition of the island, Turkish became the sole official language in the Turkish-Cypriot-controlled north whereas the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus retains both languages as official. English is also widely spoken and understood throughout the island. Armenian and Arabic are the two official minority language.
  • In Iran, Persian is the only official language, but Azerbaijani has upwards of 20 million speakers. Other minority languages include Kurdish, Turkmen, and Balochi. Assyrian is spoken by a Christian minority in the vicinity of Urmia. In the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan, most people speak Khuzestani Persian, Khuzestani Arabic, and Standard Persian, sometimes in addition to their own community languages such as Lur, Qashqa'i, Domari or Mandaic where applicable. None of the non-Persian languages are taught at schools.
  • In Iraq, Arabic is the official language of the state, Kurdish is the official language of the north where 4 million native speakers live. The use of Turkmen, Assyrian, and Armenian in education is provided for in the Constitution. Other languages also exist among Christian communities north of and around Baghdad, such as Aramaic. English is used as well.
  • In Israel, Hebrew has the official status of the state's language and Arabic – a special status with protection of its pre-2018 functions. Jewish immigrants to Israel have a different mother tongue, such as Arabic, Amharic, Yiddish, Ladino, Russian, Romanian, Polish, Ukrainian, English, or French and many Jewish immigrants from Latin America speak Spanish and Portuguese. The Arab population of Israel speaks Arabic. Functionally, almost all Arabs in Israel also speak Hebrew. English is widely spoken and understood as a second language by both Arabs and Jews. Officially, road signs must be in Hebrew, Arabic, and a romanized Hebrew transliteration.
  • In Lebanon, Arabic is the official and national language; the Constitution provides for the conditions of using French to be provided by law. Many Lebanese are fluent in French and in English. Armenian is also a language mainly used in the Armenian community.
  • Arabic is the official language of Palestine, and Palestinian Arabic is the dominant dialect spoken by most of the population. The dialect is distinct but shares features with Levantine Arabic spoken in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Classical Arabic is used in religious contexts, media, and formal communication. Hebrew is spoken in certain areas, particularly where illegal Israeli settlements exist, and some Palestinians are bilingual in Arabic and Hebrew due to proximity to Israeli businesses and workplaces. English is widely taught in schools and used in higher education, diplomacy, and international communication. Several minority languages exist: French is spoken by parts of the population due to historical ties and education systems influenced by French institutions. Armenian is present within the Armenian community, primarily in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, where Armenian churches and schools exist. Domari, the language of Romani groups, is spoken by the Dom community, an often overlooked ethnic group within Palestine. There is also a deep linguistic connection to historical Palestine, where Aramaic was once widely spoken before Arabic became dominant. Some Christian communities still preserve liturgical Aramaic, keeping its legacy alive in religious texts and rituals.
  • In Qatar, Arabic is the official language, and English is common language.
  • Syria:
  • *Arabic is the official language, English is taught as a second language in schools starting from first grade, and in middle school you get to choose between French and Russian as a third language.
  • *Rojava: the constitution of the de facto autonomous region designates Kurdish, Arabic and Syriac as official languages.
  • In Turkey, the Constitution of Turkey defines Turkish as the only official language of the country and explicitly prohibits educational institutions to teach any language other than Turkish as a mother tongue to Turkish citizens. Only exception is Greek and Armenian languages, which can be taught in schools as part of non-Muslim minorities rights of Treaty of Lausanne. In 2013, the Ministry of Education introduced Kurdish, Abkhaz, Adyghe and Laz languages into the academic programme of the basic schools as optional classes from the fifth year on. In 2010, Kurdish municipalities in the southeast decided to begin printing water bills, marriage certificates and construction and road signs, as well as emergency, social and cultural notices, in Kurdish alongside Turkish. Friday sermons by imams began to be delivered in the language, and Esnaf provided Kurdish price tags. Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish, prohibiting the language in education and broadcast media. In March 2006, Turkey allowed private television channels to broadcast in Kurdish. However, the Turkish government said that they must avoid showing children's cartoons, or educational programs that teach Kurdish, and could broadcast only for 45 minutes a day or four hours a week. However, most of these restrictions on private Kurdish television channels were relaxed in September 2009.
  • United Arab Emirates: Arabic is the official language of the country, although English is an unofficial language it is widely accepted as the lingua franca as over 89% of the population is migrant. Almost everyone has a working knowledge of English. All road signs are written in both Arabic and English. English is dominant in higher education and is a required ability for most local jobs. English is a compulsory subject in all public schools and is the language of instruction for mathematics and science.

Europe

Central Europe

Eastern Europe

Northern Europe

Southern Europe

  • Italy. The official language overall is Italian. However, the Italian law n. 482/1999 recognizes and protects twelve minority languages, like Sardinian, Friulian, Occitan, Greek, Albanian and other linguistic minorities. Bilingualism is also applied in some territories:
  • *In the province of South Tyrol German is co-official.
  • *In the Aosta Valley region French is co-official,
  • * as is Slovene in some municipalities of the provinces of Trieste and Gorizia.
  • * Ladin municipalities of South Tyrol are trilingual.
  • * In Veneto, there is a regional law on Venetian linguistic and cultural heritage. In 2016, an additional law has been adopted, providing for the use of Venetian in schools, public institutions and toponymical signs.
  • *In Calabria, there is a regional law on minority languages, with Greek, Albanian and Franco-Provençal specifically named.
  • * In Piedmont, there is a regional law on promoting linguistic heritage, with Occitan, German, French and Franco-Provençal minorities specifically named.
  • * In Sardinia, a 1997 law and a 2018 law establish detailed status for Sardinian, and give official recognition to Catalan in Alghero and to Gallurese, Tabarchino and Sassarese.
  • Malta has two official languages, Maltese and English. Italian is also spoken by a large percentage of the population.

Southeastern Europe

  • Albania has one official language, Albanian. In some regions of southern Albania, Greek serves as co-official. Other languages such as Italian and Greek are widely spoken throughout the country, and are considered minority languages. Recognised minority languages include: Aromanian, Romanian, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, French, Italian and Greek. The majority of Albanians are multilingual, speaking more than 3 languages, which is due to the large number of Albanian immigrants in Europe and elsewhere, as well as political and socio-cultural relations with their neighbours. As a consequence, Albanians are considered one of the most linguistically diverse peoples in Europe. During Albania's Italian occupation and the subsequent communist period, Italian television and radio were a source of education and entertainment for many Albanians; as a result, 60–70% of Albania's population has a command of Italian. Albania's Greek communities, as well as returning migrants from Greece and Greek national arrivals, continue to raise the status of Greek in the country. Albania is also part of the Francophonie, with 320,000 French speakers.
  • In Bulgaria, the official language is Bulgarian, but significant minority languages are recognized at a local level, with commitments made in respect of use of Romanian, Czech, Croatian, German, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Turkish and Ukrainian in areas where their share of speakers is at least 20%. The biggest ethnic minority is the Romanian community of 1.4 million. Bulgaria is also part of the Francophonie, with 320,000 French speakers.
  • Moldova – the Law concerning the rights of persons belonging to the national minorities and the legal status of the organizations thereof provides for the use of Romanian and Russian in tertiary education, communication with authorities and publishing regulatory acts. It also provides for the use of Ukrainian, Gagauz, Bulgarian, Hebrew, Yiddish and other languages in education.
  • *Gagauzia – Romanian, Gagauz, Russian
  • *Transnistria – Moldovan, Russian, Ukrainian
  • In Romania, the official language is Romanian, but significant minority languages are recognized at a local level, with commitments made in respect of use of Bulgarian, Czech, Croatian, German, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Turkish and Ukrainian in areas where their share of speakers is at least 20%. The biggest ethnic minority is the Hungarian community of 1.4 million.
  • In successor countries of the former SFR Yugoslavia, official languages of Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin are mutually intelligible by all four groups. Other smaller languages in the new republics of Slovenia and North Macedonia are not. There are other languages that have co-official status in some parts of these countries.
  • * Croatia – the Constitution of Croatia defines Croatian as the official language of the country while permitting regional or local co-official usage of minority languages of Croatia and Cyrillic or other alphabets. The Istria County is the only bilingual region with Italian language as its second official language. At the level of local self-government units municipalities and towns with second official languages are primarily influenced in their policy by the Constitutional Act on the Rights of National Minorities in the Republic of Croatia and other national and international legal norms.
  • *Kosovo has two official languages, Albanian and Serbian. Turkish, Bosnian, and Roma hold official status at a regional level.
  • *Serbia: There are seven officially used languages in the northern autonomous province of Vojvodina, and four in central Serbia. Vojvodina has a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual identity, with a number of mechanisms for the promotion of minority rights; there are more than 26 ethnic groups in the province. The province has six official languages. Some Serbs are recognised as fluent multilinguals; many of them can speak German, French and English, due to the huge number of Serbian immigrants in Europe, especially in Austria, Germany and France, whilst English is quite popular due to the large Serbian immigrant communities in Australia and Canada.
  • *North Macedonia – in 2019, Albanian was made co-official, while Macedonian remains the primary official language.

Southwestern Europe

Western Europe

  • Belgium has three official languages: Dutch in the north, French in the south and a small minority speaks German. Its bilingual capital, Brussels is mainly French-speaking, with Dutch speakers as a minority. These languages have the status of 'official language' only in specified language areas as defined by the constitution. In Flanders, 59% and 53% of the Flemings know French and English respectively; in Wallonia, only 19% and 17% know Dutch or English. In each region, Belgium's third official language, German, is notably less known than Dutch, French or English. Wallonia recognises all of its vernacular dialect groups as regional languages, Flanders does not.
  • France has a monolingual policy for the republic to conduct government business only in French. There are, however, levels of fluency in regional languages: Alsatian, Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Flemish, Franco-Provençal, Lorraine Franconian and Occitan. The country as whole is linguistically dominated by French.
  • Ireland, the first official language of Ireland is Irish, with the second being English. English is the first language of the vast majority of the population.
  • Luxembourg is a rare example of a truly trilingual society, in that it not only has three official languages – Luxembourgish, French and German – but has a trilingual education system. For the first four years of school, Luxembourgish is the medium of instruction, before giving way to German, which in turn gives way to French. Similarly in the country's parliament, debates are conducted in Luxembourgish, draft legislation is drafted in German, while the statute laws are in French. Due to the large population of Portuguese descent, the Portuguese language is fairly prevalent in Luxembourg, though it remains limited to the relationships inside this community. Portuguese has no official status, but the administration sometimes makes certain informative documents available in Portuguese.
  • The Netherlands has four official languages. Dutch is the primary language, and West Frisian is recognized as a minority language and spoken by between 300,000 and 700,000 people. West Frisian is mostly spoken in the province of Friesland, where it is the official first language. Low Saxon is recognized as a regional language in the northeast of the country, and Limburgish is an official regional language in Netherlands Limburg. In Amsterdam, certain services are provided in English; English is official in the Dutch municipalities of Saba and Sint Eustatius. The fourth official language is Papiamento, spoken on Bonaire.
  • The only national language of the United Kingdom is English, however, there are several regional languages recognised to varying degrees in the UK or the Crown dependencies:
  • *England: Cornish is currently recognised under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. 557 people, mainly living in Cornwall, reported as speaking Cornish in 2011.
  • *Wales: 611,000 Welsh speakers, including the majority of the population in parts of north and west Wales. English is widely used. English and Welsh have equal official status in law. On road signs and branding of devolved organisations, Welsh is usually placed first above English. Prior to 2016, local authorities could decide whether Welsh or English should be first on road signage, leading to different orders of the languages between English-speaking and Welsh-speaking authorities, since 2016, new signage must be Welsh-first, remaining English-first signage and road paintings would become Welsh-first when they would've otherwise been replaced.
  • *Northern Ireland: [Ulster Scots language|Scots dialects|Ulster Scots], a variety of Scots, is spoken by some in Northern Ireland, but again English is far more commonly used and Ulster Scots is less actively used in media. Irish and Ulster Scots now both have official status in Northern Ireland as part of the 1998 Belfast Agreement; certain functions are granted to those two languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
  • *Scotland: 58,652 Gaelic speakers, mostly concentrated in the Highlands and the Hebrides, the traditional heartland of Gaelic culture. The Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 provides for the status of the Gaelic language as an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English language. Also Scots with approximately 2 to 3 million speakers – a Germanic language closely related to English.
  • *Jersey: along with English, the use of French for petitioning the parliament is provided for by its Standing Orders. Jèrriais is official as well.
  • *Isle of Man: the main language is English, but a small percentage of the population have some knowledge of Manx Gaelic, which is used officially to a limited extent, e.g. in bilingual street signs, some official documents and for ceremonial purposes.
  • *Guernsey: the main language is English. French is spoken as well.

Oceania