English is the second most widely spoken language in the world. It’s a language that has become a part of our lives and it’s also easier to learn than other languages. There are many countries in the world where English is the official language and it should not be surprising that these countries have one of the largest English speaking populations in the world.
The English language is spoken by nearly every country in the world. English is the primary language of 65% of the world’s population, and it has become a global lingua franca for trade, finance, science, technology, and education. As such, people learn English as a second language everywhere from Hong Kong to Singapore to Shanghai.
The English language is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. With over 1 billion native speakers, it’s also among the most important languages. The number of people who speak English worldwide has increased by about 5% each year for more than a decade, and there are more than 200 million English-speaking immigrants. There are currently more than 225 countries in the world, but only three of them have English as their official language: USA, UK and Canada.
The global English language is an international language that has been spoken and used in various countries around the world. This trend will continue to grow, as it has become a key element of global trade and communication. However, over the past few decades, English has lost some of its prestige in certain countries. Here’s our list of countries that speak English.
List of majority native English speaking countries
The UK government classifies the following overseas countries as majority native English speaking:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia
- The Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belize
- Canada*
- Dominica
- Grenada
- Guyana
- Ireland
- Jamaica
- Malta
- New Zealand
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
No other country may be considered as being ‘majority English speaking’ for visa purposes. See more, what countries speak English.
*Applicants presenting Canadian degrees or postgraduate diplomas will not normally need to provide other evidence of English language ability so long as they supply sufficient proof from the institution that the degree was taught and examined in English. You may like is English hard to learn.