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Most Widely Spoken Languages
___ Most widely spoken Languages in the World.
What are the most spoken languages in the world?
In how many countries people speak...?
On this page you will find answers to this questions. The figures below are more or less reasonable assumptions
based on various data
sources, but they give an overview of which languages are most used worldwide.
In this context there are various zealous debates, disputes and discussions about
following points:
- Should the more than fifteen dialects of spoken Arabic, defined by geographical
areas, considered as one Language?
- Should the various dialects of spoken Chinese considered as one Language?
- Should English considered to be a German dialect?
(That was not a joke, because English is a West Germanic language.)
- The number of official languages of countries.
This numbers vary utmost from source to source, e.g.:
&English is the official language of only seven countries&.
(Michael Lerner, President, Learn
The ISO 3166-1 code lists 83 countries and regions with English as &official language&.
(ISO 3166-1 Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions.)
Ethnologue states: English is spoken in the United Kingdom and in 104 other
countries.
And here we come to the problem with
- The number of second language speakers, Ethnologue says, and no one put that
into question, that English is spoken in the United Kingdom and in 104 other countries,
well but what is with the other let's say100 countries and regions in the world?
English is the most widely used &second& and &learning& language in the world
used for international communication in various fields like aviation, business,
internet, science and technology to name only some.
Bookmark/share this page
Most Common Languages
List of languages by total speakers, ranked
by numbers of first language speakers. (est. 1999)
alpha-3 code
Population total all countries
first language speakers
Including second language speakers
汉语/漢語 Hànyǔ or 中文 Zhōngwén
official language in Mainland , ,
Chinese (普通话/普通話 Pǔtōnghuà, Putonghua)
Standard Chinese (Mandarin)
874 000 000
1 052 000 000
Chinese, Wu (吴语/ 吳語 - Wú yǔ)
includes Shanghainese
77 175 000
77 175 000
Chinese, Yue (粤语/粵語 - Yuht yúh)
includes Cantonese and Taishanese
52 000 000
71 000 000
Chinese, Jinyu (晋语/晉語 - Jìn yǔ)
45 000 000
45 000 000
Chinese, Min Nan (闽语/閩語 - Mǐnyǔ)
includes Hokkien, Taiwanese and Teochew
45 000 000
45 000 000
Chinese, Hakka (客家话/客家話 - Hak-k?-va)
33 000 000
33 000 000
Chinese, Gan (赣语/贛語 - Gànyǔ)
20 580 000
20 580 000
Total Chinese:
without several million speakers of other Chinese dialects.
1 146 755 000
1 343 755 000
???? ?????? - Mānak Hindī
Modern Standard Hindi is a standardised variety of the Hindustani language.
It is one of the official languages in
(as Hindi, Urdu)
(as Urdu).
366 000 000
487 000 000
has been widely dispersed around the world, it is official language in 83 countries/regions (ISO), spoken in 105 other countries
Curiosity: English language does not have official status in , the , and the .
341 000 000
508 000 000
espa?ol (&Spanish&) and castellano (&Castilian&)
with the expansion of the former Spanish Empire (), the language spread around the world, it is official language in 21 countries (ISO), spoken in 44 countries (E);
contains the largest population of Spanish speakers.
322 200 000 to
417 000 000
Official language in 26 countries (ISO), spoken (in various dialects) in the Middle east, north Africa,
Arabian Peninsula and other Islamic countries.
280 000 000
(figures: UNHCR)
Bengali/Bangla
????? - Bangla
Official language in
(ISO), spoken in 8 other countries (E).
207 000 000
211 000 000
Portuguese
português
Natively spoken in , , , , , official language in 9 countries (ISO), spoken in 34 countries (E).
176 000 000
191 000 000
ру?сский язы?к - literal: Russian language
Most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, spoken in , , , and , official (or co-official) language in 4 countries (ISO), spoken in 31 countries (E).
167 000 000
277 000 000
日本語 - Nihongo
official language in
and spoken in Japanese emigrant communities around the world.
125 000 000
126 000 000
in German: Deutsch
German is official language in ,
(South Tyrol); 5 countries (ISO), spoken in 40 other countries (E).
121 000 000
128 000 000
in Thai: ?????? - p?hās??ā tay, literal: language Thai
National languages of
The Tai-Kadai languages, also known as Kadai, Kradai, or Kra-Dai languages, and in China as Zhuang-Dong languages, are a tonal language family found in southern
and Southeast Asia.
83 000 000
up to 100 million
Korean: ??? - Hangugeo
spoken in , ; one of
two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province, China.
78 000 000
78 000 000
in French: le fran?ais
spoken as a first language in , French-speaking ,
in parts of , (), , and
in parts of , (), and by French communities elsewhere. Official language in 40 countries (ISO), spoken in 54 countries (E)
77 000 000
128 000 000
&&ISO/CD 3166-1 country codes (ISO); &and others
More about languages:
with an updated Top 20 list of the most widely spoken languages by &First language& speakers.
Mega languages around the World - List of Chinese, English, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese,
and French speaking countries.
Official and National Languages of the World by Continent:
of languages in English and French names, with a short description where this languages are spoken, with ISO 639-2 language codes.Related Consumer Information:
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Copyright (C)Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians
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Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians
Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians
Highlights
Linguistic diversity
than 200 languages were reported in the 2011 Census of Population as a home
language or mother tongue.
number of persons who reported speaking Tagalog, a Philippine-based language,
most often at home increased the most (+64%) between 2006 and 2011. Nearly
279,000 persons reported speaking this language at home, compared with 170,000
2011, 80% of the population who reported speaking an immigrant language (i.e.,
a language other than English, French or an Aboriginal language) most often at
home lived in one of Canada's six largest census metropolitan areas.
Use of multiple languages at home
% of the Canadian population, or 5.8 million persons, reported
speaking at least two languages at home. In % did so (nearly 4.5
million persons).
% of the population reported speaking both English and a language
other than French at home. The corresponding figure in 2006 was 9.1%. This is
an increase of 960,000 persons, compared with about 410,000 between 2001 and
Official languages
20.6% of Canadians (6.8 million people) reported a mother tongue other than
English or French, only 6.2% of Canadians spoke a language other than English
or French as their sole home language.
% of the population whose mother tongue was neither English nor
French reported speaking English at home.
7 million Canadians reported speaking French most often at home in 2011,
compared with 6.7&million in 2006. However, they made up 21.0% of the
Canadian population, compared with 21.4% five years earlier.
Quebec, the proportion of the population that reported speaking only French at
home decreased from 75.1% to 72.8% between 2006 and 2011. In the rest of
Canada, the proportion of the population that reported speaking only English at
home declined from 77.1% to 74.1% between 2006 and 2011.
the Montr&al census metropolitan area, the use of French as the only language
spoken at home continued the decrease that began in 2001. The same was true for
the sole use of English in the Toronto and Vancouver census metropolitan areas.
English-French bilingualism
2006 and 2011, the number of persons who reported being able to conduct a
conversation in both of Canada's official languages increased by nearly 350,000
to 5.8 million. The bilingualism rate of the Canadian population edged up from
17.4% in 2006 to 17.5% in 2011.
growth of English-French bilingualism in Canada was mainly due to the increased
number of Quebecers who reported being able to conduct a conversation in
English and French.
the first time in 2011, three language questions (knowledge of official
languages, home language and mother tongue) were included on the census questionnaire
that was administered to 100% of the population.&
data and analysis published for all censuses since 1996 have been based almost
exclusively on responses from the long-form census questionnaire administered
to 20% of the population.
trend analyses presented for this release, and its accompanying products, compare
2011 Census data to previous long-form census data.
Evaluation
of data on the knowledge of official languages and the first official language
spoken indicates that these data are comparable to those of previous
censuses.&&&
Statistics Canada has observed changes in patterns of response to both the
mother tongue and home language questions that appear to have arisen from
changes in the placement and context of the language questions on the 2011&Census
questionnaire relative to previous censuses. As a result, Canadians appear to
less inclined than in previous censuses to report languages
other than English or French as their only mother tongue, and also more
inclined to report multiple languages as their mother tongue and as the
language used most often at home.
is not uncommon in survey research to observe changes in response patterns due
to changes to a questionnaire and most particularly due to changes in the
context in which the question is embedded.
Data users are advised to exercise caution when
evaluating trends related to mother tongue and home language that compare 2011
Census data to those of previous censuses.
the case of the mother tongue data, comparisons other than those done in the
current analysis are possible depending on the needs of the user, given that
mother tongue was asked on both the short and long-form questionnaires in previous
censuses. Users should take into account the advantages as well as the limitations
of each dataset.
Readers will find a complete analysis of factors
affecting comparability of language results between the censuses in the forthcoming
publication, , Catalogue no.&98-314-X2011051.
The 2011 Census of Population included three questions on the linguistic characteristics of Canadians. The first of these questions was on the ability to conduct a conversation in either or both of Canada's two official languages. The second question asked about a) the language spoken most often at home and b) the languages spoken on a regular basis, other than those spoken most often at home. The third language question asked that is, the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood at the time of the census. Several different concepts are used in this document. Each refers to a particular language aspect or practice. For definitions of these concepts, readers can refer to the ,
Catalogue no.
Part 1: Canada's linguistic diversity
Canada's linguistic diversity is
illustrated by the fact that more than 200 languages were reported as a home
language or mother tongue in the 2011 Census of Population.
6.6 million persons reported speaking a language other than English or French
In Canada, 4.7 million persons (14.2%
of the population) reported speaking a language other than English or French
most often at home and 1.9 million persons (5.8%) reported speaking such a
language on a regular basis as a second language (in addition to their main
home language, English or French). In all, 20.0% of Canada's
population reported speaking a language other than English or French at home.
For roughly 6.4 million persons, the
other language was an immigrant language, spoken most often or on a regular
basis at home, alone or together with English or French whereas for more than 213,000
persons, the other language was an Aboriginal language. Finally, the number of people reporting
sign languages as the languages spoken at home was nearly 25,000 persons (15,000
most often and 9,800 on a regular basis).
Population
speaking Tagalog most often at home shows strongest growth between 2006 and
The population
that reported speaking the Philippine-based language Tagalog most often at home
increased the most (+64%) between 2006 and 2011 (Figure 1). Thus, in 2011, nearly
279,000 persons reported speaking this language most often, compared to 170,000
five years earlier. Seven other language groups also saw their numbers grow by
more than 30%: those speaking Mandarin (+51%), Arabic (+47%), Hindi&(+44%), Creoles
(+42%), Bengali (+40%), Persian (+33%) and Spanish (+32%). The population
reporting one of these seven languages as their main home language numbered more
than 1.1&million in 2011, compared with more than 810,000 in 2006.
languages shown in Figure 1 showed a slight decrease in the number of persons
who reported speaking them most often at home during this period. Three of
them, namely Italian, Polish and Greek are languages spoken mainly by early
immigration groups and their descendants. The decrease in the number of people
who reported 'Chinese' (n.o.s. & not otherwise specified) mainly reflects the
fact that more people tended to report a specific Chinese language such as
Mandarin or Cantonese in 2011.
languages in the six largest major census metropolitan areas
Roughly 9 in 10 Canadians who reported speaking an immigrant language
most often at home reside in a census metropolitan area (CMA). Most of them (80%)
lived in the major CMAs of Toronto, Montr&al, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and
Ottawa - Gatineau (Table 1). When persons living in the CMAs of Hamilton,
Winnipeg and Kitchener - Cambridge - Waterloo are included, this proportion increased
1.8 million speak an immigrant language most often at home
The census counted roughly 1.8 million persons who reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home in Toronto. In fact, this
population is two and a half times larger than the corresponding population in Vancouver,
the second-ranking CMA in this regard. Among those speaking an immigrant
language at home in Toronto, about one-third spoke one of five languages:
Cantonese (8.8%), Punjabi (8.0%), Chinese (n.o.s.) (7.0%), Urdu
(5.9%) and Tamil&(5.7%).
Arabic and Spanish account for nearly one-third of people speaking an immigrant
language at home
In Montr&al, 626,000 people reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home. Of these, 17% spoke Arabic and 15% spoke Spanish. Among
Canada's CMAs, Montr&al had the largest population of speakers of these two
languages (108,000 and 95,000 respectively).
Other immigrant languages spoken most often at home include Italian (51,000),
Chinese (n.o.s.) (35,000) and a Creole language (34,000). In all, these five
languages accounted for more than 50% of persons speaking an immigrant language as their main home language.
Vancouver:
Punjabi is the most frequently reported immigrant home language
In Vancouver, 712,000 people reported speaking an immigrant language most
often at home. Of these, nearly 18% spoke Punjabi, Cantonese, Chinese (n.o.s.)
or Mandarin had the next highest proportions of people who spoke an immigrant
language most often at home. These three languages accounted for 40% of the
population of Vancouver having an immigrant language as a main home language. Thus,
Vancouver stands out from the other major CMAs in that the four leading
immigrant home languages accounted for more than half (57.7%) of the overall
population speaking an
immigrant language most often at home.
Calgary: Punjabi
and Tagalog are the top immigrant home languages
Calgary CMA, 228,000 people reported speaking an immigrant language most often
at home. Of these, Punjabi (27,000 persons) and Tagalog (nearly 24,000) were
the languages most often reported, followed by Chinese (n.o.s.) at nearly 21,000.
Tagalog and Punjabi are the most reported immigrant home languages
Although it
had a smaller population speaking an immigrant language most often at home (166,000),
Edmonton was fairly similar to Calgary in regards to the main immigrant
languages that were spoken there. While the order of the languages differed,
the five leading immigrant home languages were the same in the two CMAs. Punjabi,
Tagalog, Chinese (n.o.s.), Spanish and Cantonese accounted for 47% of persons
speaking an immigrant language in Calgary, compared with 45% in Edmonton.
- Gatineau: Arabic and Spanish are the most frequently reported immigrant home
In the Ottawa
- Gatineau CMA, almost 141,000 persons reported speaking an immigrant language most
often at home. The vast majority of this population (87%) lived in the Ontario portion
of the CMA and 13% (approximately 18,000 persons) lived in the Quebec portion. On
the Ontario side, Arabic, Chinese (n.o.s.), Spanish and Mandarin were the
leading immigrant home languages. On the Quebec side, Arabic once again led,
followed by Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese (n.o.s.).
For more information on
this subject, readers may consult the document entitled , Catalogue
no.&98	X2011003, in the Census in Brief series.
of persons who reported speaking more than one language at home on the rise in
In % of the population, or 5.8 million
persons, reported speaking at least two languages at home in Canada. In 2006, just under 4.5 million
(14.2%) did so.
Generally, the use of two languages at home is
more widespread in provinces where a higher proportion of immigrants live or
where there are areas of contact between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups
or between Anglophones and Francophones. In Canada as a whole, Nunavut had the
largest proportion reporting that they speak at least two languages at home with
47%, followed by Ontario with 21%.
Two-thirds
of the population speaking a non-official language at home did so in
combination with English or French
In 2011, among people who reported speaking a
language other than English or French at home, 31.7% spoke that 'other'
language exclusively (Table 2). That language was also spoken most often at
home in combination with the use of English on a regular basis by more than 1.3
million people in Canada (19.8%).
Conversely, English was reported as the
language spoken most often at home by more than 2.5 million people who also
spoke a language other than French at home on a regular basis. As for the use
of French in combination with a language other than English, 286,000 persons (4.2%)
reported speaking it most often, while nearly 144,000 (2.1%) reported speaking
an 'other' language most often and French on a regular basis.
Part 2: Linguistic duality: English and French in
Canadian society
While Canada is
increasingly diversified linguistically, its two official languages&French and,
to a greater extent, English&exert a strong pull as languages of convergence
and integration into Canadian society, especially as languages of work,
education and the provision of government services to the public.
Canada's linguistic duality is
reflected in the fact that 98% of its population reported that it was able to
conduct a conversation in either English or French. Similarly, either English
or French are spoken at least on a regular basis at home in Canada by 94% of the
population. These two languages are used most often at home by 89% of the
population. The same situation was observed in the 2006 Census of Population.
In 2011, French was the first
official language spoken of 7.7 million Canadians, or 23.2% of
the population, while English was the first official language spoken of 24.8
million, or 75.0%. The rest of the population (1.8% or just under 600,000 Canadians)
was essentially comprised of persons who could not conduct a conversation in
either English or French.
In 2011, English was the mother tongue of
nearly 58% of the population of Canada (or 19.1 million persons), and French
was that of nearly 22% (or 7.2 million persons). As for the language most often
spoken at home, English was spoken by 66% of the population and French by 21%.
The two official languages exert an influence
on the language(s) spoken at home. In 2011, while 20.6% of the population reported
a mother tongue other than English or French, most of them reported also speaking
English or French at home. In fact, only 6.2% of the population reported speaking
a language other than English or French as their only home language.
Given that the language spoken most often at
home is most likely to be passed on to children, the widespread use of English
or French at home by parents influences the first language a child will learn
at home. For example, in 2011, among children aged 17 and under with both parents
having neither English nor French as their mother tongue, 37% had English (33%)
or French (4%) as a mother tongue.
The change between
2006 and 2011 in the numbers and proportions of the English, French and 'other'
mother tongue groups is affected by changes in the reporting patterns to the
mother tongue question in the 2011 Census. See the box entitled
in the Highlights
Proportion with English as a mother tongue remains
The population reporting English as a mother
tongue remained unchanged at 57.8% in 2011. The share of the population
reporting a mother tongue other than English or French increased from 20.1% in
2006 to 20.6% in 2011 (Table 3).
decrease in proportion reporting French as a mother tongue
The proportion of the population reporting
French as a mother tongue in Canada declined between 2006 and 2011 from 22.1% to
21.7%. However, this decrease is smaller than what would have been expected
given the volume and composition of international immigration during the period
2006 to 2011, in particular immigrants with a mother tongue other than English or
Quebec: slight decrease for French mother tongue and slight increase for
English mother tongue
In Quebec, 78.9% of the population reported
having French as a mother tongue in 2011, compared with 79.6% in 2006. This
decrease was smaller than what would have been expected, for the reasons
already cited. However, the population reporting
English as a mother tongue grew by more than 40,000, going from 8.2% in 2006 to
8.3% in 2011, an increase due in part to an increase in the reporting of multiple
languages responses in the 2011 Census.
The proportion reporting a mother tongue other
than English or French was 12.8% in 2011, compared with 12.3% in 2006.
Quebec: English, French and 'other' mother tongues remain stable
Outside Quebec, the share of the population
with English as mother tongue remained relatively unchanged, going from 73.3%
in 2006 to 73.1% in 2011. The same is true for people who reported French as
mother tongue. Their proportion was 4.0% in 2011, compared with 4.1% in 2006. Their
number increased by 32,400 persons between 2006 and 2011, a result attributable
in part to the increase in multiple responses. Those reporting 'other' mother
tongues represented 23% of the population living outside of Quebec in 2011, compared
with 22.6% in 2006.
Main home language
While Table 3 shows that more than 19 million
persons reported English as a mother tongue in 2011, Table 4 shows that about
22 million reported speaking it most often at home. On the other hand, 6.8
million persons reported a mother tongue other than English or French and 4.2
million reported speaking a language other than English of French most often at
home. The same phenomenon applies to French: 7.2 million persons reported it as
their mother tongue compared with less than 7 millions who reported speaking
French most often at home.
These statistics show the influence of English
in Canada. This is particularly illustrated in the propensity of persons with a
mother tongue other than English or French, as well as a sizable share of the
population with French as a mother tongue in Canada outside Quebec, to adopt
English as their main home language.
In Canada as a whole, more than 43% of the
population with a mother tongue other than English or French reported speaking
English most often at home in 2011. Similarly, outside Quebec, 43% of the
population with French only as a mother tongue reported speaking English most
often at home.
In % of the population reported
speaking English most often at home compared with 66.7% in 2006 (Table 4).
During the same period, the proportion of the population who reported speaking
a language other than English or French most often at home went from 11.9% to
Nearly 7 million people reported speaking
French most often at home in Canada in 2011, compared with 6.7 million in 2006.
Between 2006 and 2011, their proportion within the population went from 21.4%
to 21.0% (Table 4). This increase in their number and the reduction in their proportion
were observed both in Quebec and in the rest of Canada.
The document entitled ,
Catalogue no.&98	X2011003, in
the Census in Brief series,
presents more detailed information on this subject.
use of multiple languages at home
The redistribution of multiple responses (among
the main language groups) to the census question on the language spoken most
often at home (as shown in Table 4) provides a simplified picture of the predominant
use of languages at home.
Grouping the data in other ways&especially a
grouping that includes the main and secondary use of languages&casts a
different light on the changes observed between 2006 and 2011 (Table 5). It also shows that the number and
proportion of persons who reported speaking French or English at home in
combination with another language increased more between 2006 and 2011 than
during the previous five-year period.
Between 2006 and
2011, the proportion of the population that reported speaking only French at home
decreased from 19.1% to 18.2%, a decrease similar to the one observed for the
period 2001 to 2006 (from 19.8% to 19.1%) (Table 5).
Persons who reported
speaking English only at home represented 58.0% of the population in 2011, down
from 60.3% in 2006 and 61.6&% in 2001.
The proportion of people
who reported speaking only a language other than English or French at home remained
stable at 6.5% between 2006 and 2011, while it had increased from 5.5% to 6.5%
between 2001 and 2006.
The population that
reported speaking English or French in addition with an 'other' language,
showed a larger increase between 2006 and 2011 than between 2001 and 2006. While
9.1% of the population reported using English and a language other than French
at home in 2006, this proportion was 11.5% in 2011, representing an increase of
960,000 persons. Between 2001 and 2006, the increase had been approximately 410,000.
Quebec, increased reporting of French in combination with a language other than
English at home
As in Canada as a
whole, there was an increase in the number of Quebecers who reported speaking
more than one language at home. The group that reported speaking French and a
language other than English showed the largest gain, increasing from 3.8% in
2006 to 5.0% in 2011 of the Quebec population. Between 2001 and 2006, the share
of this group had gone from 2.9% to 3.8% (Table 6).
In Quebec, the proportion
of the population that reported speaking only French at home declined from 75.1%
to 72.8% between 2006 and 2011. This decrease is quite similar to the one
recorded between 2001 and 2006.
The proportion of
the Quebec population that reported speaking only English declined from 6.6% to
6.2% between 2006 and 2011, whereas it had changed little between 2001 and
The proportion of
the population that reported speaking only a language other than English or
French remained unchanged at 4% between 2006 and 2011, whereas it had increased
slightly between 2001 and 2006.
There were also
increases in the group that reported speaking English and a language other than
French at home and the group that reported speaking French and English. In 2011
nearly 600,000 persons reported speaking both French and English at home,
representing 7.6% of the Quebec population. In 2006, that proportion was 7.1%.
use of French at home among Quebecers with a mother tongue other than French or
In Quebec, the proportion of the population
with a mother tongue 'other' than French or English that reported speaking only
an 'other' language at home has declined since 2001 (Figure 2), from 32.8% in
2001 to 32.1% in 2006 and then to 30.5% in 2011.
the same period, the proportion of the population that reported speaking French
most often at home (alone or in combination with a language other than English)
increased successively from 20.4% to 22.9% and then to 24.1%. Similarly, the
number of persons who reported speaking French regularly as a second home language
(alone or in combination with a language other than English) increased from
14.3% in 2001 to 15.7% in 2006 and 15.9% in 2011.
share of the Quebec population whose mother tongue was neither English nor French
and who reported speaking English most often at home (alone or in combination
with a language other than French) in 2011 was 19.7%, compared with 20.3% in
2006 and 22.1% in 2001. Those who reported speaking English on a regular basis
as a second language in the home represented 10.2% of that population in 2011,
compared with 11.3% in 2006 and 11.9% in 2001. Finally, during the same period,
the proportion of those who reported speaking English and French equally most
often at home went from 1.9% in 2001, to 1.5% in 2006 and 2.5% in 2011. These
two languages were also spoken equally on a regular basis (in addition to an
'other' language spoken most often) by 2.9% of this population in 2011 compared
with 2.3% in 2006 and 2.7% in 2001.
the Montr&al CMA, the use of only French or English at home declines
In the Montr&al census metropolitan area, the
share of the population reporting that it spoke only French at home continued
the decline that began in 2001. Whereas this proportion was 62.4% in 2001 and 59.8%
in 2006, it was 56.5% in 2011 (Table 7).
As for the population reporting that it spoke
only English at home, its relative share dropped from 10.8% to 9.9% between
2006 and 2011, while the population that reported speaking only a language
other than French or English remained unchanged at 7% during this period.
However, the proportion of the Montr&al population
that reported speaking French in combination with a language other than English
at home grew. In 2001 and % and 6.7% respectively of the Montr&al population
had reported doing so. In 2011, this was the case with 8.7% of the population. Between
2006 and 2011, the number of persons reporting this language behaviour went from
239,000 to more than 329,000.
Toronto and Vancouver, the use of only English at home shows steady decline
In the Toronto and Vancouver metropolitan areas,
the proportion of the population that reported speaking only English at home
continued the decline recorded between 2001 and 2006 (Tables 8 and 9).
In Toronto, 55.0% of the population reported
speaking only English at home in 2011, compared with 59.1% in 2006 and 62.5% in
2001. In Vancouver, the corresponding proportions were 58.0%, 62.0% and 65.3%.
Whereas the population that reported speaking
only a language other than English or French at home had grown between 2001 and
2006, these proportions declined in % in Toronto and 15.4% in
Vancouver).
This decrease in the use of 'English only' or the
use of an 'other' language only was offset by a sizable increase in the number
of persons reporting speaking both English and an 'other' language at home. The
increase was especially marked in the number reporting that they spoke both
English and an 'other' language equally. In Toronto, 20.7% in 2001 and 23.0% in
2006 of the population had reported such language behaviour. That proportion was
27.6% in 2011. In Vancouver, these proportions were 17.8%, 19.7% and 24.0% respectively.
English-French
bilingualism in Canada
Between 2006 and 2011, the number of persons
who reported that they were able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's
official languages increased by 350,000 to 5.8 million. The English‑French
bilingualism rate within the overall population went from 17.4% to 17.5%.
The growth of English-French bilingualism in
Canada was mainly due to the increased number of Quebecers reporting that they
were able to conduct a conversation in French and English. Quebec accounted for
90% of the net increase in the number of bilingual persons between 2006 and
2011. In fact, 71% of the net increase in English-French bilingualism in Canada
is attributable to the population with French as a mother tongue in Quebec, in particular to the
population aged 15 to 49.
In Quebec, the English-French bilingualism rate
increased from 40.6% in 2006 to 42.6% in 2011. In the other provinces,
bilingualism declined slightly. The largest decreases were recorded in Ontario,
Manitoba and British Columbia, where in each case, the bilingualism rate decreased
by half a percentage point.
Additional information
Additional information on
language at various levels of geography can be found in the , Catalogue no.&98⫺, ,
Catalogue nos. 98	X2011016 through 98	X2011045,
and nos. 98	X2011048 through 98	X2011050, the , Catalogue no. 98	X as well as in the new
census product , Catalogue no.&98	X2011004.
Note to readers
Random rounding and percentage distributions: To
ensure the confidentiality of responses collected for the 2011 Census while
maintaining the quality of the results, a random rounding process is used to
alter the values reported in individual cells. As a result, when these data are
summed or grouped, the total value may not match the sum of the individual
values, since the total and subtotals are independently rounded. Similarly,
percentage distributions, which are calculated on rounded data, may not necessarily
add up to 100%.
Due to random rounding, counts and percentages may
vary slightly between different census products, such as the analytical
documents, highlight tables, and topic-based tabulations.
Acknowledgments
This report was
prepared by Jean-Pierre Corbeil, of Statistics Canada's Social and Aboriginal
Statistics Division, with the assistance of staff members of Statistics
Canada's Census Subject Matter Secretariat, Social and Aboriginal Statistics
Division, Geography Division, Census Operations Division, Dissemination
Division and Communications Division.
Footnote 1
Nearly 148,000 persons reported speaking both a language other than English or French most often and a second language other than English or French on a regular basis at home.
Footnote 2
The term 'immigrant languages' refers to languages (other than English, French and Aboriginal languages) whose presence in Canada is originally due to immigration.
Footnote 3
The document entitled , Catalogue
no.&98	X2011003, in the Census in Brief series, provides more detailed information on this subject.
Footnote 4
For the first time, Chinese languages are being treated separately in a Census
analytical document. For more information on this subject, see the document
entitled , Catalogue
no.&98	X2011003, in the Census in Brief series.
Footnote 5
Chinese (n.o.s.) refers to persons who reported 'Chinese' without further specifying in
their response to the question on language spoken most often at home. For more
information on this subject, see the document entitled , Catalogue
no.&98	X2011003, in the Census in Brief series.
Footnote 6
See box entitled
and the forthcoming document entitled , Catalogue no. 98-314-X2011051.
Footnote 7
Since English and French are Canada's two official
languages, 2011 Census data are used by the Canadian government to estimate the
potential demand for government services in one or the other of these
languages. Accordingly, the first official language spoken is derived
successively from responses to the questions on knowledge of official
languages, mother tongue and main home language.
Footnote 8
By comparison, the largest language group in
Canada after English and French is 'Chinese languages': 3.4% of the population
of Canada reports a Chinese language as a mother tongue and 2.7% speaks one of
these languages most often or on a regular basis at home. These proportions are
even smaller if, among Chinese languages, the focus is on persons speaking,
say, Mandarin or Cantonese.
Footnote 9
Single responses only.
Footnote 10
Alone or in combination with a non-official language. 'Children' refers to children aged 17 and under enumerated in couple
Footnote 11
Readers can also refer to the forthcoming publication, , Catalogue
no.&98-314-X2011051.
Footnote 12
An examination of how the different
demographic components (births, deaths, international and interprovincial
migration) evolved between 2006 and 2011 suggests that the proportion of the
French-mother-tongue population in Quebec was expected to have decreased more
Footnote 13
In table 3, multiple responses to
the question on 'first language learned at home in childhood and still
understood at the time of the census' (mother tongue) were allocated equally
among the 'French,'
'English' and 'Other' categories. An increase in multiple responses will
thus have an impact on the numbers in these categories.
Footnote 14
Mother tongue refers to
the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood at the
time of the census.
Footnote 15
Alone or with another language.
Footnote 16
The grouping provided in Table 5 reflects the
fact that there was a strong increase in multiple responses of the type
'English‑other' and 'French-other' as languages spoken equally most often at home between 2006 and 2011, and of responses
of the type 'English most often and other on a regular basis.' Moreover, data
from the 2001 and 2006 Census show that in Quebec, the presence of English or
French at home is a very good indicator of the use of these languages in the
workplace, no matter the frequency of use. For example, in 2006, 80% of people
with a mother tongue other than English or French who worked in the Montr&al
census metropolitan area (CMA) used mostly French at work whether (a) French is
the only lan (b) French is spoken most often at home in
combination with a language other than Engl or (c) a
language other than English or French is spoken most often at home in
combination with French spoken regularly as a secondary language. The same
phenomenon is observed with regards to English, although with a proportion of
Footnote 17
The greater propensity to report more than one
mother tongue or home language in the 2011 Census as compared with the 2006
Census is one of the main factors affecting comparability between these two
censuses. See box entitled
and the forthcoming document entitled , Catalogue no. 98-314-X2011051.
Footnote 18
The greater propensity to report more than one
mother tongue or home language in the 2011 Census as compared with the 2006
Census is one of the main factors affecting comparability between these two
censuses. See box entitled
and the forthcoming document entitled
, Catalogue no.
98-314-X2011051.
Footnote 19
The 2001 and 2006 Census data for the census
metropolitan areas are based on the 2011 geographic boundaries.
Footnote 20
The largest increase in this regard was among
persons who, as their language most often spoken, reported speaking French and
a language other than English equally. The size of this population went from
43,500 to nearly 80,500 between 2006 and 2011.
Footnote 21
Between 2006 and 2011, the number of persons
in Toronto who, as their language most often spoken at home, reported speaking
English and a language other than French equally went from 173,340 to 368,475.
In Vancouver, the number went from 59,415 to 124,250 during the same period.
Footnote 22
With equal redistribution of multiple
responses for mother tongue.
Footnote 23
See , Catalogue
no.&98-314-X2011002, for more data on English-French bilingualism.}
Most Widely Spoken Languages
___ Most widely spoken Languages in the World.
What are the most spoken languages in the world?
In how many countries people speak...?
On this page you will find answers to this questions. The figures below are more or less reasonable assumptions
based on various data
sources, but they give an overview of which languages are most used worldwide.
In this context there are various zealous debates, disputes and discussions about
following points:
- Should the more than fifteen dialects of spoken Arabic, defined by geographical
areas, considered as one Language?
- Should the various dialects of spoken Chinese considered as one Language?
- Should English considered to be a German dialect?
(That was not a joke, because English is a West Germanic language.)
- The number of official languages of countries.
This numbers vary utmost from source to source, e.g.:
&English is the official language of only seven countries&.
(Michael Lerner, President, Learn
The ISO 3166-1 code lists 83 countries and regions with English as &official language&.
(ISO 3166-1 Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions.)
Ethnologue states: English is spoken in the United Kingdom and in 104 other
countries.
And here we come to the problem with
- The number of second language speakers, Ethnologue says, and no one put that
into question, that English is spoken in the United Kingdom and in 104 other countries,
well but what is with the other let's say100 countries and regions in the world?
English is the most widely used &second& and &learning& language in the world
used for international communication in various fields like aviation, business,
internet, science and technology to name only some.
Bookmark/share this page
Most Common Languages
List of languages by total speakers, ranked
by numbers of first language speakers. (est. 1999)
alpha-3 code
Population total all countries
first language speakers
Including second language speakers
汉语/漢語 Hànyǔ or 中文 Zhōngwén
official language in Mainland , ,
Chinese (普通话/普通話 Pǔtōnghuà, Putonghua)
Standard Chinese (Mandarin)
874 000 000
1 052 000 000
Chinese, Wu (吴语/ 吳語 - Wú yǔ)
includes Shanghainese
77 175 000
77 175 000
Chinese, Yue (粤语/粵語 - Yuht yúh)
includes Cantonese and Taishanese
52 000 000
71 000 000
Chinese, Jinyu (晋语/晉語 - Jìn yǔ)
45 000 000
45 000 000
Chinese, Min Nan (闽语/閩語 - Mǐnyǔ)
includes Hokkien, Taiwanese and Teochew
45 000 000
45 000 000
Chinese, Hakka (客家话/客家話 - Hak-k?-va)
33 000 000
33 000 000
Chinese, Gan (赣语/贛語 - Gànyǔ)
20 580 000
20 580 000
Total Chinese:
without several million speakers of other Chinese dialects.
1 146 755 000
1 343 755 000
???? ?????? - Mānak Hindī
Modern Standard Hindi is a standardised variety of the Hindustani language.
It is one of the official languages in
(as Hindi, Urdu)
(as Urdu).
366 000 000
487 000 000
has been widely dispersed around the world, it is official language in 83 countries/regions (ISO), spoken in 105 other countries
Curiosity: English language does not have official status in , the , and the .
341 000 000
508 000 000
espa?ol (&Spanish&) and castellano (&Castilian&)
with the expansion of the former Spanish Empire (), the language spread around the world, it is official language in 21 countries (ISO), spoken in 44 countries (E);
contains the largest population of Spanish speakers.
322 200 000 to
417 000 000
Official language in 26 countries (ISO), spoken (in various dialects) in the Middle east, north Africa,
Arabian Peninsula and other Islamic countries.
280 000 000
(figures: UNHCR)
Bengali/Bangla
????? - Bangla
Official language in
(ISO), spoken in 8 other countries (E).
207 000 000
211 000 000
Portuguese
português
Natively spoken in , , , , , official language in 9 countries (ISO), spoken in 34 countries (E).
176 000 000
191 000 000
ру?сский язы?к - literal: Russian language
Most widely spoken of the Slavic languages, spoken in , , , and , official (or co-official) language in 4 countries (ISO), spoken in 31 countries (E).
167 000 000
277 000 000
日本語 - Nihongo
official language in
and spoken in Japanese emigrant communities around the world.
125 000 000
126 000 000
in German: Deutsch
German is official language in ,
(South Tyrol); 5 countries (ISO), spoken in 40 other countries (E).
121 000 000
128 000 000
in Thai: ?????? - p?hās??ā tay, literal: language Thai
National languages of
The Tai-Kadai languages, also known as Kadai, Kradai, or Kra-Dai languages, and in China as Zhuang-Dong languages, are a tonal language family found in southern
and Southeast Asia.
83 000 000
up to 100 million
Korean: ??? - Hangugeo
spoken in , ; one of
two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Jilin Province, China.
78 000 000
78 000 000
in French: le fran?ais
spoken as a first language in , French-speaking ,
in parts of , (), , and
in parts of , (), and by French communities elsewhere. Official language in 40 countries (ISO), spoken in 54 countries (E)
77 000 000
128 000 000
&&ISO/CD 3166-1 country codes (ISO); &and others
More about languages:
with an updated Top 20 list of the most widely spoken languages by &First language& speakers.
Mega languages around the World - List of Chinese, English, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese,
and French speaking countries.
Official and National Languages of the World by Continent:
of languages in English and French names, with a short description where this languages are spoken, with ISO 639-2 language codes.Related Consumer Information:
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Copyright (C)Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians
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Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians
Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians
Highlights
Linguistic diversity
than 200 languages were reported in the 2011 Census of Population as a home
language or mother tongue.
number of persons who reported speaking Tagalog, a Philippine-based language,
most often at home increased the most (+64%) between 2006 and 2011. Nearly
279,000 persons reported speaking this language at home, compared with 170,000
2011, 80% of the population who reported speaking an immigrant language (i.e.,
a language other than English, French or an Aboriginal language) most often at
home lived in one of Canada's six largest census metropolitan areas.
Use of multiple languages at home
% of the Canadian population, or 5.8 million persons, reported
speaking at least two languages at home. In % did so (nearly 4.5
million persons).
% of the population reported speaking both English and a language
other than French at home. The corresponding figure in 2006 was 9.1%. This is
an increase of 960,000 persons, compared with about 410,000 between 2001 and
Official languages
20.6% of Canadians (6.8 million people) reported a mother tongue other than
English or French, only 6.2% of Canadians spoke a language other than English
or French as their sole home language.
% of the population whose mother tongue was neither English nor
French reported speaking English at home.
7 million Canadians reported speaking French most often at home in 2011,
compared with 6.7&million in 2006. However, they made up 21.0% of the
Canadian population, compared with 21.4% five years earlier.
Quebec, the proportion of the population that reported speaking only French at
home decreased from 75.1% to 72.8% between 2006 and 2011. In the rest of
Canada, the proportion of the population that reported speaking only English at
home declined from 77.1% to 74.1% between 2006 and 2011.
the Montr&al census metropolitan area, the use of French as the only language
spoken at home continued the decrease that began in 2001. The same was true for
the sole use of English in the Toronto and Vancouver census metropolitan areas.
English-French bilingualism
2006 and 2011, the number of persons who reported being able to conduct a
conversation in both of Canada's official languages increased by nearly 350,000
to 5.8 million. The bilingualism rate of the Canadian population edged up from
17.4% in 2006 to 17.5% in 2011.
growth of English-French bilingualism in Canada was mainly due to the increased
number of Quebecers who reported being able to conduct a conversation in
English and French.
the first time in 2011, three language questions (knowledge of official
languages, home language and mother tongue) were included on the census questionnaire
that was administered to 100% of the population.&
data and analysis published for all censuses since 1996 have been based almost
exclusively on responses from the long-form census questionnaire administered
to 20% of the population.
trend analyses presented for this release, and its accompanying products, compare
2011 Census data to previous long-form census data.
Evaluation
of data on the knowledge of official languages and the first official language
spoken indicates that these data are comparable to those of previous
censuses.&&&
Statistics Canada has observed changes in patterns of response to both the
mother tongue and home language questions that appear to have arisen from
changes in the placement and context of the language questions on the 2011&Census
questionnaire relative to previous censuses. As a result, Canadians appear to
less inclined than in previous censuses to report languages
other than English or French as their only mother tongue, and also more
inclined to report multiple languages as their mother tongue and as the
language used most often at home.
is not uncommon in survey research to observe changes in response patterns due
to changes to a questionnaire and most particularly due to changes in the
context in which the question is embedded.
Data users are advised to exercise caution when
evaluating trends related to mother tongue and home language that compare 2011
Census data to those of previous censuses.
the case of the mother tongue data, comparisons other than those done in the
current analysis are possible depending on the needs of the user, given that
mother tongue was asked on both the short and long-form questionnaires in previous
censuses. Users should take into account the advantages as well as the limitations
of each dataset.
Readers will find a complete analysis of factors
affecting comparability of language results between the censuses in the forthcoming
publication, , Catalogue no.&98-314-X2011051.
The 2011 Census of Population included three questions on the linguistic characteristics of Canadians. The first of these questions was on the ability to conduct a conversation in either or both of Canada's two official languages. The second question asked about a) the language spoken most often at home and b) the languages spoken on a regular basis, other than those spoken most often at home. The third language question asked that is, the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood at the time of the census. Several different concepts are used in this document. Each refers to a particular language aspect or practice. For definitions of these concepts, readers can refer to the ,
Catalogue no.
Part 1: Canada's linguistic diversity
Canada's linguistic diversity is
illustrated by the fact that more than 200 languages were reported as a home
language or mother tongue in the 2011 Census of Population.
6.6 million persons reported speaking a language other than English or French
In Canada, 4.7 million persons (14.2%
of the population) reported speaking a language other than English or French
most often at home and 1.9 million persons (5.8%) reported speaking such a
language on a regular basis as a second language (in addition to their main
home language, English or French). In all, 20.0% of Canada's
population reported speaking a language other than English or French at home.
For roughly 6.4 million persons, the
other language was an immigrant language, spoken most often or on a regular
basis at home, alone or together with English or French whereas for more than 213,000
persons, the other language was an Aboriginal language. Finally, the number of people reporting
sign languages as the languages spoken at home was nearly 25,000 persons (15,000
most often and 9,800 on a regular basis).
Population
speaking Tagalog most often at home shows strongest growth between 2006 and
The population
that reported speaking the Philippine-based language Tagalog most often at home
increased the most (+64%) between 2006 and 2011 (Figure 1). Thus, in 2011, nearly
279,000 persons reported speaking this language most often, compared to 170,000
five years earlier. Seven other language groups also saw their numbers grow by
more than 30%: those speaking Mandarin (+51%), Arabic (+47%), Hindi&(+44%), Creoles
(+42%), Bengali (+40%), Persian (+33%) and Spanish (+32%). The population
reporting one of these seven languages as their main home language numbered more
than 1.1&million in 2011, compared with more than 810,000 in 2006.
languages shown in Figure 1 showed a slight decrease in the number of persons
who reported speaking them most often at home during this period. Three of
them, namely Italian, Polish and Greek are languages spoken mainly by early
immigration groups and their descendants. The decrease in the number of people
who reported 'Chinese' (n.o.s. & not otherwise specified) mainly reflects the
fact that more people tended to report a specific Chinese language such as
Mandarin or Cantonese in 2011.
languages in the six largest major census metropolitan areas
Roughly 9 in 10 Canadians who reported speaking an immigrant language
most often at home reside in a census metropolitan area (CMA). Most of them (80%)
lived in the major CMAs of Toronto, Montr&al, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and
Ottawa - Gatineau (Table 1). When persons living in the CMAs of Hamilton,
Winnipeg and Kitchener - Cambridge - Waterloo are included, this proportion increased
1.8 million speak an immigrant language most often at home
The census counted roughly 1.8 million persons who reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home in Toronto. In fact, this
population is two and a half times larger than the corresponding population in Vancouver,
the second-ranking CMA in this regard. Among those speaking an immigrant
language at home in Toronto, about one-third spoke one of five languages:
Cantonese (8.8%), Punjabi (8.0%), Chinese (n.o.s.) (7.0%), Urdu
(5.9%) and Tamil&(5.7%).
Arabic and Spanish account for nearly one-third of people speaking an immigrant
language at home
In Montr&al, 626,000 people reported speaking an immigrant language most often at home. Of these, 17% spoke Arabic and 15% spoke Spanish. Among
Canada's CMAs, Montr&al had the largest population of speakers of these two
languages (108,000 and 95,000 respectively).
Other immigrant languages spoken most often at home include Italian (51,000),
Chinese (n.o.s.) (35,000) and a Creole language (34,000). In all, these five
languages accounted for more than 50% of persons speaking an immigrant language as their main home language.
Vancouver:
Punjabi is the most frequently reported immigrant home language
In Vancouver, 712,000 people reported speaking an immigrant language most
often at home. Of these, nearly 18% spoke Punjabi, Cantonese, Chinese (n.o.s.)
or Mandarin had the next highest proportions of people who spoke an immigrant
language most often at home. These three languages accounted for 40% of the
population of Vancouver having an immigrant language as a main home language. Thus,
Vancouver stands out from the other major CMAs in that the four leading
immigrant home languages accounted for more than half (57.7%) of the overall
population speaking an
immigrant language most often at home.
Calgary: Punjabi
and Tagalog are the top immigrant home languages
Calgary CMA, 228,000 people reported speaking an immigrant language most often
at home. Of these, Punjabi (27,000 persons) and Tagalog (nearly 24,000) were
the languages most often reported, followed by Chinese (n.o.s.) at nearly 21,000.
Tagalog and Punjabi are the most reported immigrant home languages
Although it
had a smaller population speaking an immigrant language most often at home (166,000),
Edmonton was fairly similar to Calgary in regards to the main immigrant
languages that were spoken there. While the order of the languages differed,
the five leading immigrant home languages were the same in the two CMAs. Punjabi,
Tagalog, Chinese (n.o.s.), Spanish and Cantonese accounted for 47% of persons
speaking an immigrant language in Calgary, compared with 45% in Edmonton.
- Gatineau: Arabic and Spanish are the most frequently reported immigrant home
In the Ottawa
- Gatineau CMA, almost 141,000 persons reported speaking an immigrant language most
often at home. The vast majority of this population (87%) lived in the Ontario portion
of the CMA and 13% (approximately 18,000 persons) lived in the Quebec portion. On
the Ontario side, Arabic, Chinese (n.o.s.), Spanish and Mandarin were the
leading immigrant home languages. On the Quebec side, Arabic once again led,
followed by Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese (n.o.s.).
For more information on
this subject, readers may consult the document entitled , Catalogue
no.&98	X2011003, in the Census in Brief series.
of persons who reported speaking more than one language at home on the rise in
In % of the population, or 5.8 million
persons, reported speaking at least two languages at home in Canada. In 2006, just under 4.5 million
(14.2%) did so.
Generally, the use of two languages at home is
more widespread in provinces where a higher proportion of immigrants live or
where there are areas of contact between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal groups
or between Anglophones and Francophones. In Canada as a whole, Nunavut had the
largest proportion reporting that they speak at least two languages at home with
47%, followed by Ontario with 21%.
Two-thirds
of the population speaking a non-official language at home did so in
combination with English or French
In 2011, among people who reported speaking a
language other than English or French at home, 31.7% spoke that 'other'
language exclusively (Table 2). That language was also spoken most often at
home in combination with the use of English on a regular basis by more than 1.3
million people in Canada (19.8%).
Conversely, English was reported as the
language spoken most often at home by more than 2.5 million people who also
spoke a language other than French at home on a regular basis. As for the use
of French in combination with a language other than English, 286,000 persons (4.2%)
reported speaking it most often, while nearly 144,000 (2.1%) reported speaking
an 'other' language most often and French on a regular basis.
Part 2: Linguistic duality: English and French in
Canadian society
While Canada is
increasingly diversified linguistically, its two official languages&French and,
to a greater extent, English&exert a strong pull as languages of convergence
and integration into Canadian society, especially as languages of work,
education and the provision of government services to the public.
Canada's linguistic duality is
reflected in the fact that 98% of its population reported that it was able to
conduct a conversation in either English or French. Similarly, either English
or French are spoken at least on a regular basis at home in Canada by 94% of the
population. These two languages are used most often at home by 89% of the
population. The same situation was observed in the 2006 Census of Population.
In 2011, French was the first
official language spoken of 7.7 million Canadians, or 23.2% of
the population, while English was the first official language spoken of 24.8
million, or 75.0%. The rest of the population (1.8% or just under 600,000 Canadians)
was essentially comprised of persons who could not conduct a conversation in
either English or French.
In 2011, English was the mother tongue of
nearly 58% of the population of Canada (or 19.1 million persons), and French
was that of nearly 22% (or 7.2 million persons). As for the language most often
spoken at home, English was spoken by 66% of the population and French by 21%.
The two official languages exert an influence
on the language(s) spoken at home. In 2011, while 20.6% of the population reported
a mother tongue other than English or French, most of them reported also speaking
English or French at home. In fact, only 6.2% of the population reported speaking
a language other than English or French as their only home language.
Given that the language spoken most often at
home is most likely to be passed on to children, the widespread use of English
or French at home by parents influences the first language a child will learn
at home. For example, in 2011, among children aged 17 and under with both parents
having neither English nor French as their mother tongue, 37% had English (33%)
or French (4%) as a mother tongue.
The change between
2006 and 2011 in the numbers and proportions of the English, French and 'other'
mother tongue groups is affected by changes in the reporting patterns to the
mother tongue question in the 2011 Census. See the box entitled
in the Highlights
Proportion with English as a mother tongue remains
The population reporting English as a mother
tongue remained unchanged at 57.8% in 2011. The share of the population
reporting a mother tongue other than English or French increased from 20.1% in
2006 to 20.6% in 2011 (Table 3).
decrease in proportion reporting French as a mother tongue
The proportion of the population reporting
French as a mother tongue in Canada declined between 2006 and 2011 from 22.1% to
21.7%. However, this decrease is smaller than what would have been expected
given the volume and composition of international immigration during the period
2006 to 2011, in particular immigrants with a mother tongue other than English or
Quebec: slight decrease for French mother tongue and slight increase for
English mother tongue
In Quebec, 78.9% of the population reported
having French as a mother tongue in 2011, compared with 79.6% in 2006. This
decrease was smaller than what would have been expected, for the reasons
already cited. However, the population reporting
English as a mother tongue grew by more than 40,000, going from 8.2% in 2006 to
8.3% in 2011, an increase due in part to an increase in the reporting of multiple
languages responses in the 2011 Census.
The proportion reporting a mother tongue other
than English or French was 12.8% in 2011, compared with 12.3% in 2006.
Quebec: English, French and 'other' mother tongues remain stable
Outside Quebec, the share of the population
with English as mother tongue remained relatively unchanged, going from 73.3%
in 2006 to 73.1% in 2011. The same is true for people who reported French as
mother tongue. Their proportion was 4.0% in 2011, compared with 4.1% in 2006. Their
number increased by 32,400 persons between 2006 and 2011, a result attributable
in part to the increase in multiple responses. Those reporting 'other' mother
tongues represented 23% of the population living outside of Quebec in 2011, compared
with 22.6% in 2006.
Main home language
While Table 3 shows that more than 19 million
persons reported English as a mother tongue in 2011, Table 4 shows that about
22 million reported speaking it most often at home. On the other hand, 6.8
million persons reported a mother tongue other than English or French and 4.2
million reported speaking a language other than English of French most often at
home. The same phenomenon applies to French: 7.2 million persons reported it as
their mother tongue compared with less than 7 millions who reported speaking
French most often at home.
These statistics show the influence of English
in Canada. This is particularly illustrated in the propensity of persons with a
mother tongue other than English or French, as well as a sizable share of the
population with French as a mother tongue in Canada outside Quebec, to adopt
English as their main home language.
In Canada as a whole, more than 43% of the
population with a mother tongue other than English or French reported speaking
English most often at home in 2011. Similarly, outside Quebec, 43% of the
population with French only as a mother tongue reported speaking English most
often at home.
In % of the population reported
speaking English most often at home compared with 66.7% in 2006 (Table 4).
During the same period, the proportion of the population who reported speaking
a language other than English or French most often at home went from 11.9% to
Nearly 7 million people reported speaking
French most often at home in Canada in 2011, compared with 6.7 million in 2006.
Between 2006 and 2011, their proportion within the population went from 21.4%
to 21.0% (Table 4). This increase in their number and the reduction in their proportion
were observed both in Quebec and in the rest of Canada.
The document entitled ,
Catalogue no.&98	X2011003, in
the Census in Brief series,
presents more detailed information on this subject.
use of multiple languages at home
The redistribution of multiple responses (among
the main language groups) to the census question on the language spoken most
often at home (as shown in Table 4) provides a simplified picture of the predominant
use of languages at home.
Grouping the data in other ways&especially a
grouping that includes the main and secondary use of languages&casts a
different light on the changes observed between 2006 and 2011 (Table 5). It also shows that the number and
proportion of persons who reported speaking French or English at home in
combination with another language increased more between 2006 and 2011 than
during the previous five-year period.
Between 2006 and
2011, the proportion of the population that reported speaking only French at home
decreased from 19.1% to 18.2%, a decrease similar to the one observed for the
period 2001 to 2006 (from 19.8% to 19.1%) (Table 5).
Persons who reported
speaking English only at home represented 58.0% of the population in 2011, down
from 60.3% in 2006 and 61.6&% in 2001.
The proportion of people
who reported speaking only a language other than English or French at home remained
stable at 6.5% between 2006 and 2011, while it had increased from 5.5% to 6.5%
between 2001 and 2006.
The population that
reported speaking English or French in addition with an 'other' language,
showed a larger increase between 2006 and 2011 than between 2001 and 2006. While
9.1% of the population reported using English and a language other than French
at home in 2006, this proportion was 11.5% in 2011, representing an increase of
960,000 persons. Between 2001 and 2006, the increase had been approximately 410,000.
Quebec, increased reporting of French in combination with a language other than
English at home
As in Canada as a
whole, there was an increase in the number of Quebecers who reported speaking
more than one language at home. The group that reported speaking French and a
language other than English showed the largest gain, increasing from 3.8% in
2006 to 5.0% in 2011 of the Quebec population. Between 2001 and 2006, the share
of this group had gone from 2.9% to 3.8% (Table 6).
In Quebec, the proportion
of the population that reported speaking only French at home declined from 75.1%
to 72.8% between 2006 and 2011. This decrease is quite similar to the one
recorded between 2001 and 2006.
The proportion of
the Quebec population that reported speaking only English declined from 6.6% to
6.2% between 2006 and 2011, whereas it had changed little between 2001 and
The proportion of
the population that reported speaking only a language other than English or
French remained unchanged at 4% between 2006 and 2011, whereas it had increased
slightly between 2001 and 2006.
There were also
increases in the group that reported speaking English and a language other than
French at home and the group that reported speaking French and English. In 2011
nearly 600,000 persons reported speaking both French and English at home,
representing 7.6% of the Quebec population. In 2006, that proportion was 7.1%.
use of French at home among Quebecers with a mother tongue other than French or
In Quebec, the proportion of the population
with a mother tongue 'other' than French or English that reported speaking only
an 'other' language at home has declined since 2001 (Figure 2), from 32.8% in
2001 to 32.1% in 2006 and then to 30.5% in 2011.
the same period, the proportion of the population that reported speaking French
most often at home (alone or in combination with a language other than English)
increased successively from 20.4% to 22.9% and then to 24.1%. Similarly, the
number of persons who reported speaking French regularly as a second home language
(alone or in combination with a language other than English) increased from
14.3% in 2001 to 15.7% in 2006 and 15.9% in 2011.
share of the Quebec population whose mother tongue was neither English nor French
and who reported speaking English most often at home (alone or in combination
with a language other than French) in 2011 was 19.7%, compared with 20.3% in
2006 and 22.1% in 2001. Those who reported speaking English on a regular basis
as a second language in the home represented 10.2% of that population in 2011,
compared with 11.3% in 2006 and 11.9% in 2001. Finally, during the same period,
the proportion of those who reported speaking English and French equally most
often at home went from 1.9% in 2001, to 1.5% in 2006 and 2.5% in 2011. These
two languages were also spoken equally on a regular basis (in addition to an
'other' language spoken most often) by 2.9% of this population in 2011 compared
with 2.3% in 2006 and 2.7% in 2001.
the Montr&al CMA, the use of only French or English at home declines
In the Montr&al census metropolitan area, the
share of the population reporting that it spoke only French at home continued
the decline that began in 2001. Whereas this proportion was 62.4% in 2001 and 59.8%
in 2006, it was 56.5% in 2011 (Table 7).
As for the population reporting that it spoke
only English at home, its relative share dropped from 10.8% to 9.9% between
2006 and 2011, while the population that reported speaking only a language
other than French or English remained unchanged at 7% during this period.
However, the proportion of the Montr&al population
that reported speaking French in combination with a language other than English
at home grew. In 2001 and % and 6.7% respectively of the Montr&al population
had reported doing so. In 2011, this was the case with 8.7% of the population. Between
2006 and 2011, the number of persons reporting this language behaviour went from
239,000 to more than 329,000.
Toronto and Vancouver, the use of only English at home shows steady decline
In the Toronto and Vancouver metropolitan areas,
the proportion of the population that reported speaking only English at home
continued the decline recorded between 2001 and 2006 (Tables 8 and 9).
In Toronto, 55.0% of the population reported
speaking only English at home in 2011, compared with 59.1% in 2006 and 62.5% in
2001. In Vancouver, the corresponding proportions were 58.0%, 62.0% and 65.3%.
Whereas the population that reported speaking
only a language other than English or French at home had grown between 2001 and
2006, these proportions declined in % in Toronto and 15.4% in
Vancouver).
This decrease in the use of 'English only' or the
use of an 'other' language only was offset by a sizable increase in the number
of persons reporting speaking both English and an 'other' language at home. The
increase was especially marked in the number reporting that they spoke both
English and an 'other' language equally. In Toronto, 20.7% in 2001 and 23.0% in
2006 of the population had reported such language behaviour. That proportion was
27.6% in 2011. In Vancouver, these proportions were 17.8%, 19.7% and 24.0% respectively.
English-French
bilingualism in Canada
Between 2006 and 2011, the number of persons
who reported that they were able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's
official languages increased by 350,000 to 5.8 million. The English‑French
bilingualism rate within the overall population went from 17.4% to 17.5%.
The growth of English-French bilingualism in
Canada was mainly due to the increased number of Quebecers reporting that they
were able to conduct a conversation in French and English. Quebec accounted for
90% of the net increase in the number of bilingual persons between 2006 and
2011. In fact, 71% of the net increase in English-French bilingualism in Canada
is attributable to the population with French as a mother tongue in Quebec, in particular to the
population aged 15 to 49.
In Quebec, the English-French bilingualism rate
increased from 40.6% in 2006 to 42.6% in 2011. In the other provinces,
bilingualism declined slightly. The largest decreases were recorded in Ontario,
Manitoba and British Columbia, where in each case, the bilingualism rate decreased
by half a percentage point.
Additional information
Additional information on
language at various levels of geography can be found in the , Catalogue no.&98⫺, ,
Catalogue nos. 98	X2011016 through 98	X2011045,
and nos. 98	X2011048 through 98	X2011050, the , Catalogue no. 98	X as well as in the new
census product , Catalogue no.&98	X2011004.
Note to readers
Random rounding and percentage distributions: To
ensure the confidentiality of responses collected for the 2011 Census while
maintaining the quality of the results, a random rounding process is used to
alter the values reported in individual cells. As a result, when these data are
summed or grouped, the total value may not match the sum of the individual
values, since the total and subtotals are independently rounded. Similarly,
percentage distributions, which are calculated on rounded data, may not necessarily
add up to 100%.
Due to random rounding, counts and percentages may
vary slightly between different census products, such as the analytical
documents, highlight tables, and topic-based tabulations.
Acknowledgments
This report was
prepared by Jean-Pierre Corbeil, of Statistics Canada's Social and Aboriginal
Statistics Division, with the assistance of staff members of Statistics
Canada's Census Subject Matter Secretariat, Social and Aboriginal Statistics
Division, Geography Division, Census Operations Division, Dissemination
Division and Communications Division.
Footnote 1
Nearly 148,000 persons reported speaking both a language other than English or French most often and a second language other than English or French on a regular basis at home.
Footnote 2
The term 'immigrant languages' refers to languages (other than English, French and Aboriginal languages) whose presence in Canada is originally due to immigration.
Footnote 3
The document entitled , Catalogue
no.&98	X2011003, in the Census in Brief series, provides more detailed information on this subject.
Footnote 4
For the first time, Chinese languages are being treated separately in a Census
analytical document. For more information on this subject, see the document
entitled , Catalogue
no.&98	X2011003, in the Census in Brief series.
Footnote 5
Chinese (n.o.s.) refers to persons who reported 'Chinese' without further specifying in
their response to the question on language spoken most often at home. For more
information on this subject, see the document entitled , Catalogue
no.&98	X2011003, in the Census in Brief series.
Footnote 6
See box entitled
and the forthcoming document entitled , Catalogue no. 98-314-X2011051.
Footnote 7
Since English and French are Canada's two official
languages, 2011 Census data are used by the Canadian government to estimate the
potential demand for government services in one or the other of these
languages. Accordingly, the first official language spoken is derived
successively from responses to the questions on knowledge of official
languages, mother tongue and main home language.
Footnote 8
By comparison, the largest language group in
Canada after English and French is 'Chinese languages': 3.4% of the population
of Canada reports a Chinese language as a mother tongue and 2.7% speaks one of
these languages most often or on a regular basis at home. These proportions are
even smaller if, among Chinese languages, the focus is on persons speaking,
say, Mandarin or Cantonese.
Footnote 9
Single responses only.
Footnote 10
Alone or in combination with a non-official language. 'Children' refers to children aged 17 and under enumerated in couple
Footnote 11
Readers can also refer to the forthcoming publication, , Catalogue
no.&98-314-X2011051.
Footnote 12
An examination of how the different
demographic components (births, deaths, international and interprovincial
migration) evolved between 2006 and 2011 suggests that the proportion of the
French-mother-tongue population in Quebec was expected to have decreased more
Footnote 13
In table 3, multiple responses to
the question on 'first language learned at home in childhood and still
understood at the time of the census' (mother tongue) were allocated equally
among the 'French,'
'English' and 'Other' categories. An increase in multiple responses will
thus have an impact on the numbers in these categories.
Footnote 14
Mother tongue refers to
the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood at the
time of the census.
Footnote 15
Alone or with another language.
Footnote 16
The grouping provided in Table 5 reflects the
fact that there was a strong increase in multiple responses of the type
'English‑other' and 'French-other' as languages spoken equally most often at home between 2006 and 2011, and of responses
of the type 'English most often and other on a regular basis.' Moreover, data
from the 2001 and 2006 Census show that in Quebec, the presence of English or
French at home is a very good indicator of the use of these languages in the
workplace, no matter the frequency of use. For example, in 2006, 80% of people
with a mother tongue other than English or French who worked in the Montr&al
census metropolitan area (CMA) used mostly French at work whether (a) French is
the only lan (b) French is spoken most often at home in
combination with a language other than Engl or (c) a
language other than English or French is spoken most often at home in
combination with French spoken regularly as a secondary language. The same
phenomenon is observed with regards to English, although with a proportion of
Footnote 17
The greater propensity to report more than one
mother tongue or home language in the 2011 Census as compared with the 2006
Census is one of the main factors affecting comparability between these two
censuses. See box entitled
and the forthcoming document entitled , Catalogue no. 98-314-X2011051.
Footnote 18
The greater propensity to report more than one
mother tongue or home language in the 2011 Census as compared with the 2006
Census is one of the main factors affecting comparability between these two
censuses. See box entitled
and the forthcoming document entitled
, Catalogue no.
98-314-X2011051.
Footnote 19
The 2001 and 2006 Census data for the census
metropolitan areas are based on the 2011 geographic boundaries.
Footnote 20
The largest increase in this regard was among
persons who, as their language most often spoken, reported speaking French and
a language other than English equally. The size of this population went from
43,500 to nearly 80,500 between 2006 and 2011.
Footnote 21
Between 2006 and 2011, the number of persons
in Toronto who, as their language most often spoken at home, reported speaking
English and a language other than French equally went from 173,340 to 368,475.
In Vancouver, the number went from 59,415 to 124,250 during the same period.
Footnote 22
With equal redistribution of multiple
responses for mother tongue.
Footnote 23
See , Catalogue
no.&98-314-X2011002, for more data on English-French bilingualism.}
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