Multilingual Countries 2024

Language is a critical component of human culture, history, and identity. Some countries unite under the banner of a single national or dominant language that best represents their people while other countries proudly boast dozens of national languages representing dozens of unique cultures within their borders.

The absolute most multilingual country in the world in 2023 is Papua New Guinea, an island nationally with an incredible 840 known languages spoken throughout its population. This makes it the most linguistically diverse country in the world.

Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is home to over 500 known languages. The national language and the local lingua de franca for commerce, education, and politics is English due to historical and present ties with Europe, but you'll find that many Nigerians are bilingual or multilingual as many also opt for native languages like Hausa, Yoruba, and Igbo.

Also in Africa, there is a country that has the most official state languages, making it in its own way the most multilingual country in the world. This multilingual country is South Africa, which is often referred to as a "rainbow nation" due to its rich multiculturalism. Here, you will find 11 official languages: Afrikaans, English, Ndebele, Pedi, Sotho, Swati, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, and Zulu. There are also 24 other languages commonly spoken in South Africa but not named as official state languages. As with Nigeria, English is the primary language used in political discourse, but here all of the eleven official languages are considered equal in terms of legal status.

In Europe, Switzerland is a country that offers a unique case of multilingualism for the region. Where most of Europe has one or maybe two official national languages, Switzerland has four: French, German, Italian, and Romansh. Yes, contrary to popular belief, English is not officially a national language in Switzerland despite much of its population having somewhere between conversational to fluent understanding of it.

The United States boasts a rich history of multiculturalism related to its founding as a nation of immigrants. While English is the dominant and national language of the country with nearly 78% of the population speaking English at home, there are an estimated 430 languages natively spoken throughout the country. That includes 177 languages that were indigenous to either the United States or its territories, relating to those populations existing before the era of European expansion into the Americas.