English-speaking world

The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which <a href="/facts/English_language/tpkxGt7b">English</a> is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the <a href="/facts/List_of_languages_by_total_number_of_speakers/oSMoLVVa">largest language by number of speakers</a>, the <a href="/facts/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers/QSBNlNBj">third largest language by number of native speakers</a> and the most widespread language geographically. The countries in which English is the native language of most people are sometimes termed the <a href="/facts/Anglosphere/mRuTW7Y5">Anglosphere</a>. Speakers of English are called Anglophones.
<a href="/facts/History_of_Anglo-Saxon_England/V25yYLrM">Early Medieval England</a> was the birthplace of the English language; the <a href="/facts/Modern_English/etWbLYRj">modern form of the language</a> has been spread around the world since the 17th century, first by the worldwide influence of England and later the United Kingdom, and then by that of the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>. Through all types of printed and electronic media of these countries, English has become the <a href="/facts/World_language/76EkMMr3">leading language</a> of international discourse and <a href="/facts/English_as_a_lingua_franca/oRqYaVxv">the lingua franca</a> in many regions and professional fields, such as <a href="/facts/Science/IJoaD7rs">science</a>, <a href="/facts/Navigation/sGGAJ0AQ">navigation</a> and <a href="/facts/Law/luzxWkg0">law</a>.
The United States and <a href="/facts/India/1kKHcnxM">India</a> have the most total English speakers, with 306 million and 129 million, respectively. These are followed by the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a> (68 million), and <a href="/facts/Nigeria/gbW17BX8">Nigeria</a> (60 million). As of 2022, there were about 400 million native speakers of English. Including people who speak English as a <a href="/facts/Second_language/aUqAzeNK">second language</a>, estimates of the total number of Anglophones vary from 1.5 billion to 2 billion. <a href="/facts/David_Crystal/ew2ef0G9">David Crystal</a> calculated in 2003 that non-native speakers outnumbered native speakers by a ratio of three to one.
Besides the major <a href="/facts/List_of_dialects_of_the_English_language/FTceHImh">varieties of English</a>—<a href="/facts/American_English/sdAfgPgM">American</a>, <a href="/facts/British_English/ymJR5Rnd">British</a>, <a href="/facts/Canadian_English/H6Kz0B0T">Canadian</a>, <a href="/facts/Australian_English/S1qgz29t">Australian</a>, <a href="/facts/Irish_English/1RhpyNrx">Irish</a>, <a href="/facts/New_Zealand_English/sMLCt6FI">New Zealand English</a>—and their sub-varieties, countries such as <a href="/facts/South_Africa/vvXQpLgq">South Africa</a>, <a href="/facts/India/1kKHcnxM">India</a>, <a href="/facts/Nigeria/gbW17BX8">Nigeria</a>, the <a href="/facts/Philippines/ARpmxXQV">Philippines</a>, <a href="/facts/Singapore/CQDkhUvD">Singapore</a>, <a href="/facts/Jamaica/jeDulmwE">Jamaica</a>, and <a href="/facts/Trinidad_and_Tobago/jTXQP4Fe">Trinidad and Tobago</a> also have millions of native speakers of <a href="/facts/Dialect_continuum/0QAuqxp3">dialect continua</a> ranging from <a href="/facts/English-based_creole_languages/E9C56H2F">English-based creole languages</a> to <a href="/facts/Standard_English/2eceddMM">Standard English</a>. Other countries and territories, such as <a href="/facts/Ghana/IkUw32Ya">Ghana</a>, also use English as their primary official language even though it is not the native language of most of the people. English holds official status in numerous countries within the <a href="/facts/Commonwealth_of_Nations/TcIRQnNq">Commonwealth of Nations</a>.

English-speaking world open-in-new

English-speaking world