Estimates vary, but most reference works put the number of English speakers at about 1.5 billion. That is roughly one in five people on Earth.
Most are not native speakers
About 380 million people speak English as a first language. The larger group, well over a billion, learned it as a second or foreign language.
English is no longer owned by the countries that gave it its name.
Where the numbers come from
The figures usually quoted come from reference works such as Ethnologue, which count both first-language and second-language speakers. Different organisations use different definitions, so the totals move.
About 380 million first-language speakers. About 1.1 billion more as a second language.
The largest English-speaking countries
By first-language speakers, the United States is the largest, followed by the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. By total speakers, India may be the largest English-speaking country in the world, although most Indian speakers use it as a second language.
Why the number keeps growing
English is the first foreign language in many school systems, the main language of science and aviation, and the working language of much of the internet.
A word of caution
"Speaking English" is hard to define. A person who can read a menu is counted differently from a person who can run a meeting.
Words to remember
- estimate — a number that is close but not exact
- native speaker — someone who learned the language as a child
- second language — a language learned after your first
- billion — one thousand million
Questions & answers
Q: How many people speak English as a first language?
About 380 million, according to most current estimates.
Q: Is English the most spoken language in the world?
By first-language speakers, Mandarin Chinese is larger. By total speakers, English is usually placed first.
Q: How many people are learning English now?
Hundreds of millions. Exact numbers are impossible to count.
Q: Why do different sources give different numbers?
They define "speaker" differently and collect data in different years.
Q: Will English keep growing?
Probably, for now. But no one can predict language use fifty years ahead.