Expatify

Travel & Expat Lifestyle Magazine

Countries that Speak English

british

English is a widely-spoken language internationally, due to the residual effects of the British Empire, as well as the large influence from the USA up until today. English originated from Anglo-Saxon England, and it is a West Germanic language. About 375 million people speak English as their first language, but many people understand and use it as a second language.

1. The United States is the biggest English-speaking country in the world, with over 250 million speakers. As it is such a big country, there are many regional dialects that are even broken down to what part of a city you are from.

2. India is the second biggest English-speaking country, with 90 million people. However, since they have such a giant population, this is only 8% of the people!

3. Then comes Nigeria, with 79 million people. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with the fastest growing economy in the world. There are over 200 ethnic groups that communicate in Nigerian language, and they all use their own accents and adaptations.

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4. The United Kingdom, where it all began, comes it at fourth, with 59 million people. There are still many differences between regional accents, between all different parts of Britain. In Wales, Welsch is commonly spoken, and in Scottish accents are known to be the most difficult to understand.

5. Fifth is the Philippines, with 46 million people. English and Filipino are taught in school as the two official languages, and English is mostly spoken by the educated class. It is used in business, media and technical books.

6. Then is Canada, with 26 million, excluding Quebec, which has French as its official provincial language. Canadian English is similar to American English, and are sometimes grouped together as North American English.

7. Australia is seventh with 18 million people. It was initially influenced by British English, but has undergone some Americanization in recent years.

Other countries that often speak and understand English include: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papau New Guinea, Rwanada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Click here for information about differences between American and British English.

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