There are many countries that speak English. But which ones? Here is a list of all the countries in the world where English is spoken by people.
Learning a new language can be a real challenge, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, there are many ways you can learn the language of your choice without spending hours and hours studying.
According to the latest survey, around a third of the world’s population speaks English. Some of these people are native speakers, but most have picked up English as a second language. It is also interesting to note that there are several countries where English is not the native language of any significant part of the population. However, they have developed their own way of speaking English. See more what countries speak English.
It is not a matter of being better, but of being different. It’s that the English language has been so successfully propagated worldwide that it is not used as a first language in any country in the world. We can find lots of people who speak English as their first language, but there are no countries where English is not the native language. This phenomenon is one of the things which makes this language unique among all others.
English-Speaking Countries: The Top 20 In The World
Belize
Belize is a gorgeous Caribbean country that borders Mexico. Inhabitants of this country speak Belizean Creole. While English is the official language in Belize, there are also some cases where other languages like Spanish and French are spoken as well.
Singapore
Singapore has always been a melting pot of global cultures and races. The fact that Singapore has been an international trade hub for as long as a British empire thriving there explains the need to communicate in multiple languages.
Israel
While Hebrew is the country’s official language, English is spoken by almost everybody in Israel. Most of the people speak English because it is easier to communicate with foreign tourists and business visitors, while Hebrew was mainly a language used at home.
Sweden
Of course, the official language of Sweden is Swedish, but since the two countries have been geographically connected as a part of a Scandinavian federation, English has got to be widely used there – especially among educated people and Swedes living in Finland.
Denmark
Sweden’s neighbour Denmark also has the same percentage of English speakers as Sweden, which is around 85%. This country has the language to thank; Danish was given a new birth when it linked up with Norway in 1814.
Bahamas
We are not just talking about the Bahamas, but also of its islands. Those people who speak English on these islands will do so only because it is easier to communicate with tourists and business visitors than if they spoke some other language!
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago is just another case of two countries which were linked in one federation. It also has this percentage, with 85% dominance of English over any other language.
Many islands on the Pacific Ocean, like Guam or Saipan, are inhabited by people who speak in their native tongue only because it would be inefficient if they had to learn a new foreign language for every visitor (or even most visitors). In these cases too, English is the one language that will be spoken.
Malta
The population of Malta is very close to those countries which were a part of the British Empire in the 19th century. English is spoken there, and you might think that it must be because of England itself!
Vatican City
The city-states where popes lived are usually connected to their bishops or before them: Rome and Saint Peter had been called as such since time immemorial. In fact, English also remains one official language over there, even though it is not the language that was used by any of those leaders. See also, countries with English as official language.
Netherlands
English is the official language of these territories and any Dutch-language stuff will be referred to in English. In fact, many people who speak this or that dialect around there can understand English perfectly well.
Guyana
The population of Guyana is only around 600,000 and 70% has English as the language they speak at home. That’s because this country was under Scottish rule in its early years: now Scotland no longer exists so that part, where people used to live there, became British territory until it joined the South American union. As a result, anyone who lived here before can continue being proud with their accent when speaking to many Brits around them!
Palau
The population of Palau is about 25,000 and the majority speaks English with a few locals. The difficulty lies in knowing who are truly from there: most people speak both Spanish or Papuan languages.
Dominica
The population of Dominica is about 75,000 and its main language used to be French until the 17th century when this fell into disuse due to wars involving great powers. So that’s where English is coming from! This was only in 1927 so not all people will know it as a native tongue today.
Bermuda
The population is about 56 000: as with Dominica, many old folks might have learnt English at school so not all can understand native British accents.
Australia
In Australia, English is the second language spoken by about 65% of people, in terms of its place of origin. The country started as an Australian colony under British rule; that means it’s one where a large part had not been colonized yet when European countries were starting to explore new lands. See more, european countries that speak English.
Jamaica
This country is much smaller than some of the others on this list but it’s still worth mentioning that about 80% of Haitians speak English as their first language. All Jamaicans are descendants from ex-slaves that jumped ship to come here after the 18th century slavery was abolished in Britain.
United Kingdom
The British seem to be one of those countries that has remained fairly homogeneous over the centuries so not many people adapt their accent: 90% speak English as a first language.
New Zealand
The native language is Maori but about 93% of the population know English as a second (mostly spoken) language.
Ireland
English is spoken by 87% of the population and overwhelmingly, people could not afford it to be a second language.
Barbados
This is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles so if you disregard Dominica and St. Kitts, it’s Trinidad & Tobago that has big Caribbean populations; around 68% of their inhabitants speak English as a first language.
Gibraltar
The British military colony adopted this Spanish tongue as their official language uknown here however, it is not spoken anywhere except by the Gibraltar locals.
All in all, English is the most widely spoken language in the world, at least as a first language. You May Like learn English.