This is a list of official languages by country and territory. It includes all languages that have official language status either statewide or in a part of the state, or that have status as a national language, regional language, or minority language.
Definitions
Official language: A language designated as having a unique legal status in the state: typically, the language used in a nation's legislative bodies, and often, official government business.
Regional language: A language designated as having official status limited to a specific area, administrative division, or territory of the state. (On this page a regional language has parentheses next to it that contain a region, province, etc. where the language has regional status.)
National language: A language that uniquely represents the national identity of a state, nation, and/or country and is so designated by a country's government; some are technically minority languages. (On this page a national language is followed by parentheses that identify it as a national language status.) Some countries have more than one language with this status.
List
List of languages by number of countries in which they are the official language
This is a ranking of languages by number of sovereign countries in which they are de jure or de facto official, although there are no precise inclusion criteria or definition of a language. An '*' (asterisk) indicates a country whose independence is disputed.
<small>Partially recognized or de facto independent countries are denoted by an asterisk (*)</small>
Notes
See also
References
External links
- Languages - CIA listing of languages spoken in each country