Approximately 375 million people speak English as their first language.[21] English today is probably the third largest language by number of native speakers, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.[22][23] However, when combining native and non-native speakers it is probably the most commonly spoken language in the world, though possibly second to a combination of the Chinese languages (depending on whether or not distinctions in the latter are classified as "languages" or "dialects)".[6][24] Estimates that include second language speakers vary greatly from 470 million to over a billion depending on how literacy or mastery is defined.[25][26] There are some who claim that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1.[27]
The countries with the highest populations of native English speakers are, in descending order: United States (215 million),[28] United Kingdom (61 million),[29] Canada (18.2 million),[30] Australia (15.5 million),[31] Ireland (3.8 million),[29] South Africa (3.7 million),[32] and New Zealand (3.0-3.7 million).[33] Countries such as Jamaica and Nigeria also have millions of native speakers of dialect continua ranging from an English-based creole to a more standard version of English. Of those nations where English is spoken as a second language, India has the most such speakers ('Indian English') and linguistics professor David Crystal claims that, combining native and non-native speakers, India now has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in the world.[34] Following India is the People's Republic of China.[35]
English is the primary language in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia (Australian English), the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Belize (Belizean Kriol), the British Indian Ocean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, Canada (Canadian English), the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guam, Guernsey (Channel Island English), Guyana, Ireland (Hiberno-English), Isle of Man (Manx English), Jamaica (Jamaican English), Jersey, Montserrat, Nauru, New Zealand (New Zealand English), Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the United Kingdom, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the United States.
In many other countries, where English is not the most spoken language, it is an official language; these countries include Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Fiji, the Federated States of Micronesia, Ghana, Gambia, India, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines (Philippine English), Puerto Rico, Rwanda, the Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. It is also one of the 11 official languages that are given equal status in South Africa (South African English). English is also the official language in current dependent territories of Australia (Norfolk Island, Christmas Island and Cocos Island) and of the United States (Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa and Puerto Rico)[40], former British colony of Hong Kong, and Netherlands Antilles.
English is an important language in several former colonies and protectorates of the United Kingdom but falls short of official status, such as in Malaysia, Brunei, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Bahrain. English is also not an official language in either the United States or the United Kingdom.[41][42] Although the United States federal government has no official languages, English has been given official status by 30 of the 50 state governments.[43] English is not a de jure official language of Israel; however, the country has maintained official language use a de facto role for English since the British mandate.[44]
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