The CIA World Factbook Every edition, 2002 to 2025 World

Languages World, in 24 editions.

The entry for World published Languages in 24 editions of 36, from 2002 to 2025. The text changed in 20 editions. Each is shown as published. Languages in every entry.

editions changed the text
20
the first edition with it
2002
the latest edition with it
2025

Published as “Languages” (2002 to 2025).

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe edition shownChoose an edition on the strip beside the text, or step through them with the arrows. Mark changes compares it with the edition before: the marks are ours, words added and words removed.

2011 edition

Rewritten since 2010

Open the 2011 entry

  • Mandarin Chinese 12.44%,
  • Spanish 4.85%,
  • English 4.83%,
  • Arabic 3.25%,
  • Hindi 2.68%,
  • Bengali 2.66%,
  • Portuguese 2.62%,
  • Russian 2.12%,
  • Japanese 1.8%,
  • Standard German 1.33%,
  • Javanese 1.25% (2009 est.)

note: percents are for "first language" speakers only; the six UN languages - Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Russian, and Spanish (Castilian) - are the mother tongue or second language of about half of the world's population, and are the official languages in more than half the states in the world

Rewritten: too little of the 2010 text remains to mark the changes.
Mandarin Chinese 12.44%, Spanish 4.85%, English 4.83%, Arabic 3.25%, Hindi 2.68%, Bengali 2.66%, Portuguese 2.62%, Russian 2.12%, Japanese 1.8%, Standard German 1.33%, Javanese 1.25% (2009 est.)
note:
percents are for "first language" speakers only; the six UN languages - Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English, French, Russian, and Spanish (Castilian) - are the mother tongue or second language of about half of the world's population, and are the official languages in more than half the states in the world

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Central Intelligence Agency. “World: Languages.” The World Factbook, 2002–2025 editions. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/world/languages.

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