If you are among those who are interested in learning languages yet do not know which language to learn, why don’t you base your decision on the most spoken languages in the world? Knowing which languages are most spoken in the world may help you on what language to focus on.

The following is a countdown of the ten most spoken languages in the world based on native speakers:

10. French – it has 129 million speakers. It is often called the most romantic language in the world and is spoken in many countries aside from France.

9. Malay-Indonesian – it has 159 million speakers. It is spoken mostly in Malaysia and Indonesia.

8. Portuguese – it is spoken by 191 million native speakers. Majority of the Portuguese speakers are in Portugal and Brazil.

7. Bengali – it has 211 million native speakers. Bengali is spoken by the people of Bangladesh and in some parts of its neighboring country, India.

6. Arabic – it has 246 million native speakers. Arabic is one of the oldest languages in the world and it is spoken mainly in the Middle East and in other Arab nations. It is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.

5. Russian – it has 277 million native speakers. Russian is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations and it is spoken mostly by Russians in Russia, and people in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and other areas.

4. Spanish – it has 392 million native speakers. Aside from Spain, it is spoken in South and Central American countries as well as in areas where there are Spanish-speaking immigrants.

3. Hindustani – about 497 million native speakers speak the language. Hindustani is the primary language of India.

2. English – has 508 million native speakers. It is the official language of many countries and international organizations. It is spoken mainly in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and many more. It is one of the most popular and learned languages in the world and is the de facto lingua franca of the planet.

1. Mandarin – it has more than 1 billion speakers and is the most widely spoken language on the planet. It is spoken mainly in China and in places where there are Chinese communities.

Now that you are aware of the ten most spoken languages in the world, don’t hesitate to tale your pick and choose which language you would want to learn.