Part 315

Turkmenistan arable land: 4.51% permanent crops: 0.14% other: 95.35% (2005)

Turks and Caicos Islands arable land: 2.33% permanent crops: 0% other: 97.67% (2005)

Tuvalu arable land: 0% permanent crops: 66.67% other: 33.33% (2005)

Uganda arable land: 21.57% permanent crops: 8.92% other: 69.51% (2005)

Ukraine arable land: 53.8% permanent crops: 1.5% other: 44.7% (2005)

United Arab Emirates arable land: 0.77% permanent crops: 2.27% other: 96.96% (2005)

United Kingdom arable land: 23.23% permanent crops: 0.2% other: 76.57% (2005)

United States arable land: 18.01% permanent crops: 0.21% other: 81.78% (2005)

United States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2008)

Uruguay arable land: 7.77% permanent crops: 0.24% other: 91.99% (2005)

Uzbekistan arable land: 10.51% permanent crops: 0.76% other: 88.73% (2005)

Vanuatu arable land: 1.64% permanent crops: 6.97% other: 91.39% (2005)

Venezuela arable land: 2.85% permanent crops: 0.88% other: 96.27% (2005)

Vietnam arable land: 20.14% permanent crops: 6.93% other: 72.93% (2005)

Virgin Islands arable land: 5.71% permanent crops: 2.86% other: 91.43% (2005)

Wake Island arable land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005)

Wallis and Futuna arable land: 7.14% permanent crops: 35.71% other: 57.15% (2005)

West Bank arable land: 16.9% permanent crops: 18.97% other: 64.13% (2001)

Western Sahara arable land: 0.02% permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005)

World arable land: 10.57% permanent crops: 1.04% other: 88.39% (2005)

Yemen arable land: 2.91% permanent crops: 0.25% other: 96.84% (2005)

Zambia arable land: 6.99% permanent crops: 0.04% other: 92.97% (2005)

Zimbabwe arable land: 8.24% permanent crops: 0.33% other: 91.43% (2005)

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@2098

Field Listing :: Languages

This entry provides a rank ordering of languages starting with the largest and sometimes includes the percent of total population speaking that language. Country

Languages(%)

Afghanistan Afghan Persian or Dari (official) 50%, Pashto (official) 35%, Turkic languages (primarily Uzbek and Turkmen) 11%, 30 minor languages (primarily Balochi and Pashai) 4%, much bilingualism

Akrotiri English, Greek

Albania Albanian (official - derived from Tosk dialect), Greek, Vlach, Romani, Slavic dialects

Algeria Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects

American Samoa Samoan 90.6% (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English 2.9%, Tongan 2.4%, other Pacific islander 2.1%, other 2% note: most people are bilingual (2000 census)

Andorra Catalan (official), French, Castilian, Portuguese

Angola Portuguese (official), Bantu and other African languages

Anguilla English (official)

Antigua and Barbuda English (official), local dialects

Argentina Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French

Armenia Armenian (official) 97.7%, Yezidi 1%, Russian 0.9%, other 0.4% (2001 census)

Aruba Papiamento (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect) 66.3%, Spanish 12.6%, English (widely spoken) 7.7%, Dutch (official) 5.8%, other 2.2%, unspecified or unknown 5.3% (2000 census)

Australia English 78.5%, Chinese 2.5%, Italian 1.6%, Greek 1.3%, Arabic 1.2%, Vietnamese 1%, other 8.2%, unspecified 5.7% (2006 Census)

Austria German (official nationwide) 88.6%, Turkish 2.3%, Serbian 2.2%, Croatian (official in Burgenland) 1.6%, other (includes Slovene, official in Carinthia, and Hungarian, official in Burgenland) 5.3% (2001 census)

Azerbaijan Azerbaijani (Azeri) (official) 90.3%, Lezgi 2.2%, Russian 1.8%, Armenian 1.5%, other 3.3%, unspecified 1% (1999 census)

Bahamas, The English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)

Bahrain Arabic (official), English, Farsi, Urdu

Bangladesh Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English

Barbados English

Belarus Belarusian (official) 36.7%, Russian (official) 62.8%, other 0.5% (includes small Polish- and Ukrainian-speaking minorities) (1999 census)

Belgium Dutch (official) 60%, French (official) 40%, German (official) less than 1%, legally bilingual (Dutch and French)

Belize Spanish 46%, Creole 32.9%, Mayan dialects 8.9%, English 3.9% (official), Garifuna 3.4% (Carib), German 3.3%, other 1.4%, unknown 0.2% (2000 census)

Benin French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north)

Bermuda English (official), Portuguese

Bhutan Dzongkha (official), Bhotes speak various Tibetan dialects, Nepalese speak various Nepalese dialects

Bolivia Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnian (official), Croatian (official), Serbian

Botswana Setswana 78.2%, Kalanga 7.9%, Sekgalagadi 2.8%, English 2.1% (official), other 8.6%, unspecified 0.4% (2001 census)

Brazil Portuguese (official and most widely spoken language); note - less common languages include Spanish (border areas and schools), German, Italian, Japanese, English, and a large number of minor Amerindian languages

British Virgin Islands English (official)

Brunei Malay (official), English, Chinese

Bulgaria Bulgarian (official) 84.5%, Turkish 9.6%, Roma 4.1%, other and unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)

Burkina Faso French (official), native African languages belonging to Sudanic family spoken by 90% of the population

Burma Burmese (offical) minority ethnic groups have their own languages

Burundi Kirundi (official), French (official), Swahili (along Lake Tanganyika and in the Bujumbura area)

Cambodia Khmer (official) 95%, French, English

Cameroon 24 major African language groups, English (official), French (official)

Canada English (official) 58.8%, French (official) 21.6%, other 19.6% (2006 Census)

Cape Verde Portuguese (official), Crioulo (a blend of Portuguese and West African words)

Cayman Islands English (official) 95%, Spanish 3.2%, other 1.8% (1999 census)

Central African Republic French (official), Sangho (lingua franca and national language), tribal languages

Chad French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects

Chile Spanish (official), Mapudungun, German, English

China Standard Chinese or Mandarin (Putonghua, based on the Beijing dialect) (official), Yue (Cantonese), Wu (Shanghainese), Minbei (Fuzhou), Minnan (Hokkien-Taiwanese), Xiang, Gan, Hakka dialects, minority languages (see Ethnic groups entry) note: Mongolian is official in Nei Mongol, Uighur is official in Xinjiang Uygur, and Tibetan is official in Xizang (Tibet)

Christmas Island English (official), Chinese, Malay

Cocos (Keeling) Islands Malay (Cocos dialect), English

Colombia Spanish (official)

Comoros Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic)

Congo, Democratic Republic of the French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba

Congo, Republic of the French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)

Cook Islands English (official), Maori

Costa Rica Spanish (official), English

Cote d'Ivoire French (official), 60 native dialects with Dioula the most widely spoken

Croatia Croatian (official) 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census)

Cuba Spanish (official)

Curacao Papiamento 81.2% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), Dutch 8% (official), Spanish 4%, English 2.9%, other 3.9% (2001 census)

Cyprus Greek (official), Turkish (official), English

Czech Republic Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census)

Denmark Danish, Faroese, Greenlandic (an Inuit dialect), German (small minority) note: English is the predominant second language

Dhekelia English, Greek

Djibouti French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar

Dominica English (official), French patois

Dominican Republic Spanish (official)

Ecuador Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)

Egypt Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes

El Salvador Spanish (official), Nahua (among some Amerindians)

Equatorial Guinea Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census)

Eritrea Tigrinya (official), Arabic (official), English (official), Tigre, Kunama, Afar, other Cushitic languages

Estonia Estonian (official) 67.3%, Russian 29.7%, other 2.3%, unknown 0.7% (2000 census)

Ethiopia Amarigna (Amharic) (official) 32.7%, Oromigna (official regional) 31.6%, Tigrigna (official regional) 6.1%, Somaligna 6%, Guaragigna 3.5%, Sidamigna 3.5%, Hadiyigna 1.7%, other 14.8%, English (official) (major foreign language taught in schools), Arabic (official) (1994 census)

European Union Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish note: only official languages are listed; German, the major language of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, is the most widely spoken mother tongue - over 19% of the EU population; English is the most widely spoken language - about 49% of the EU population is conversant with it (2007)

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) English

Faroe Islands Faroese (derived from Old Norse), Danish

Fiji English (official), Fijian (official), Hindustani

Finland Finnish 91.2% (official), Swedish 5.5% (official), other 3.3% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2007)

France French (official) 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois

French Polynesia French 61.1% (official), Polynesian 31.4% (official), Asian languages 1.2%, other 0.3%, unspecified 6% (2002 census)

Gabon French (official), Fang, Myene, Nzebi, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi

Gambia, The English (official), Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous vernaculars

Gaza Strip Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood)

Georgia Georgian 71% (official), Russian 9%, Armenian 7%, Azeri 6%, other 7% note: Abkhaz is the official language in Abkhazia

Germany German

Ghana Asante 14.8%, Ewe 12.7%, Fante 9.9%, Boron (Brong) 4.6%, Dagomba 4.3%, Dangme 4.3%, Dagarte (Dagaba) 3.7%, Akyem 3.4%, Ga 3.4%, Akuapem 2.9%, other 36.1% (includes English (official)) (2000 census)

Gibraltar English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese

Greece Greek 99% (official), other 1% (includes English and French)

Greenland Greenlandic (East Inuit) (official), Danish, English

Grenada English (official), French patois

Guam English 38.3%, Chamorro 22.2%, Philippine languages 22.2%, other Pacific island languages 6.8%, Asian languages 7%, other languages 3.5% (2000 census)

Guatemala Spanish (official) 60%, Amerindian languages 40% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca)

Guernsey English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts

Guinea French (official); note - each ethnic group has its own language

Guinea-Bissau Portuguese (official), Crioulo, African languages

Guyana English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Urdu

Haiti French (official), Creole (official)

Holy See (Vatican City) Italian, Latin, French, various other languages

Honduras Spanish (official), Amerindian dialects

Hong Kong Cantonese 90.8% (official), English 2.8% (official), Putonghua (Mandarin) 0.9%, other Chinese dialects 4.4%, other 1.1% (2006 census)

Hungary Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)

Iceland Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken

India Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9% note: English enjoys the status of subsidiary official language but is the most important language for national, political, and commercial communication; Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41% of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern India but is not an official language (2001 census)

Indonesia Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is Javanese)

Iran Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%

Iraq Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian

Ireland English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas along the western coast

Isle of Man English, Manx Gaelic (about 2% of the population has some knowledge)

Israel Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language

Italy Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)

Jamaica English, English patois

Japan Japanese

Jersey English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001 census)

Jordan Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes

Kazakhstan Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)

Kenya English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages

Kiribati I-Kiribati, English (official)

Korea, North Korean

Korea, South Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school

Kosovo Albanian (official), Serbian (official), Bosnian, Turkish, Roma

Kuwait Arabic (official), English widely spoken

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz 64.7% (official), Uzbek 13.6%, Russian 12.5% (official), Dungun 1%, other 8.2% (1999 census)

Laos Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages

Latvia Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other 4.3% (2000 census)

Lebanon Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian

Lesotho Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa

Liberia English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages few of which can be written or used in correspondence

Libya Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities

Liechtenstein German (official), Alemannic dialect

Lithuania Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)

Luxembourg Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative language), French (administrative language)

Macau Cantonese 85.7%, Hokkien 4%, Mandarin 3.2%, other Chinese dialects 2.7%, English 1.5%, Tagalog 1.3%, other 1.6% (2001 census)

Macedonia Macedonian (official) 66.5%, Albanian (official) 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census)

Madagascar French (official), Malagasy (official), English

Malawi Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census)

Malaysia Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan

Maldives Dhivehi (official) (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials

Mali French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages

Malta Maltese (official) 90.2%, English (official) 6%, multilingual 3%, other 0.8% (2005 census)

Marshall Islands Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census) note: English (official), widely spoken as a second language

Mauritania Arabic (official and national), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French, Hassaniya

Mauritius Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)

Mayotte Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language) spoken by 35% of the population

Mexico Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)

Micronesia, Federated States of English (official and common language), Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi

Moldova Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)

Monaco French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque

Mongolia Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)

Montenegro Serbian 63.6%, Montenegrin (official) 22%, Bosnian 5.5%, Albanian 5.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2003 census)

Montserrat English

Morocco Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy

Mozambique Emakhuwa 26.1%, Xichangana 11.3%, Portuguese 8.8% (official; spoken by 27% of population as a second language), Elomwe 7.6%, Cisena 6.8%, Echuwabo 5.8%, other Mozambican languages 32%, other foreign languages 0.3%, unspecified 1.3% (1997 census)

Namibia English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%, indigenous languages 1% (includes Oshivambo, Herero, Nama)

Nauru Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language), English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and commercial purposes

Nepal Nepali (official) 47.8%, Maithali 12.1%, Bhojpuri 7.4%, Tharu (Dagaura/Rana) 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.6%, Magar 3.3%, Awadhi 2.4%, other 10%, unspecified 2.5% (2001 census) note: many in government and business also speak English (2001 est.)

Netherlands Dutch (official), Frisian (official)

New Caledonia French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects

New Zealand English 91.2% (official), Maori 3.9% (official), Samoan 2.1%, French 1.3%, Hindi 1.1%, Yue 1.1%, Northern Chinese 1%, other 12.9%, New Zealand Sign Language (official) note: shares sum to 114.6% due to multiple responses on census (2006 Census)

Nicaragua Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast

Niger French (official), Hausa, Djerma

Nigeria English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani, over 500 additional indigenous languages

Niue English (official), Niuean a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English

Norfolk Island English (official), Norfolk - a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian

Northern Mariana Islands Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%, Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%, other 9.6% (2000 census)

Norway Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities; note - Sami is official in six municipalities

Oman Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects

Pakistan Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%

Palau Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census)

Panama Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians bilingual

Papua New Guinea Tok Pisin, English, and Hiri Motu are official languages; some 860 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total) note: Tok Pisin, a creole language, is widely used and understood; English is spoken by 1%-2%; Hiri Motu is spoken by less than 2%

Paraguay Spanish (official), Guarani (official)

Peru Spanish 84.1% (official), Quechua 13% (official), Aymara 1.7%, Ashaninka 0.3%, other native languages 0.7% (includes a large number of minor Amazonian languages), other 0.2% (2007 Census)

Philippines Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English (official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano, Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan

Pitcairn Islands English (official), Pitkern (mixture of an 18th century English dialect and a Tahitian dialect)

Poland Polish (official) 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)

Portugal Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally used)

Puerto Rico Spanish, English

Qatar Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language

Romania Romanian 91% (official), Hungarian 6.7%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 1.2%

Russia Russian (official), many minority languages

Rwanda Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French (official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers

Saint Barthelemy French (primary), English

Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha English

Saint Kitts and Nevis English (official)

Saint Lucia English (official), French patois

Saint Martin French (official language), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles)

Saint Pierre and Miquelon French (official)

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines English, French patois

Samoa Samoan (Polynesian) (official), English

San Marino Italian

Sao Tome and Principe Portuguese (official)

Saudi Arabia Arabic (official)

Senegal French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka

Serbia Serbian 88.3% (official), Hungarian 3.8%, Bosniak 1.8%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 4.1%, unknown 0.9% (2002 census) note: Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Croatian all official in Vojvodina

Seychelles Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census)

Sierra Leone English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%)