{"id":1355052,"name":"Number of living languages","unit":"languages","createdAt":"2026-11-05T15:33:21.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-11-05T15:33:21.000Z","coverage":"","timespan":"2026-2026","datasetId":8248,"columnOrder":0,"shortName":"living","catalogPath":"grapher/language/2026-09-24/ethnologue/languages_by_status#living","descriptionShort":"Number of languages, indigenous and non-indigenous, that are not extinct, meaning they are still in use or an ethnic community still identifies with them.","descriptionProcessing":"Languages are aggregated to the continent level with each language being counted only once for each region it is spoken in.","type":"int","datasetName":"Ethnologue","updatePeriodDays":365,"datasetVersion":"2026-09-24","nonRedistributable":true,"display":{"name":"Living languages","unit":"languages"},"schemaVersion":2,"processingLevel":"major","presentation":{"attributionShort":"SIL Global","topicTagsLinks":["State Capacity"]},"descriptionKey":"- A living language is one that is not extinct. This includes languages that no one speaks as a first language anymore but that a community still associates with its identity, and languages that are used only as a second language.\n- For a living language to be counted in each country, it must either be indigenous to that country or be non-indigenous and counted as established.\n- To be considered established, a non-indigenous language must be being acquired by the next generation, either in the home, through mandatory schooling, or in the workplace. Additionally, its use must be the norm, either as a first or second language within a language community or community of practice, for example students who learn it as a second language in a school system.\n- Living languages can be classified as either institutional, stable, or endangered, based on how likely they are to be transmitted to future generations. Institutional languages are those most likely to be passed on, while endangered languages are at the highest risk of falling out of use.","dimensions":{"years":{"values":[{"id":2026}]},"entities":{"values":[{"id":15,"name":"Afghanistan","code":"AFG"},{"id":273,"name":"Africa","code":"OWID_AFR"},{"id":296,"name":"Aland Islands","code":"ALA"},{"id":16,"name":"Albania","code":"ALB"},{"id":17,"name":"Algeria","code":"DZA"},{"id":246,"name":"American Samoa","code":"ASM"},{"id":18,"name":"Andorra","code":"AND"},{"id":19,"name":"Angola","code":"AGO"},{"id":228,"name":"Anguilla","code":"AIA"},{"id":20,"name":"Antigua and Barbuda","code":"ATG"},{"id":21,"name":"Argentina","code":"ARG"},{"id":22,"name":"Armenia","code":"ARM"},{"id":219,"name":"Aruba","code":"ABW"},{"id":275,"name":"Asia","code":"OWID_ASI"},{"id":23,"name":"Australia","code":"AUS"},{"id":24,"name":"Austria","code":"AUT"},{"id":25,"name":"Azerbaijan","code":"AZE"},{"id":26,"name":"Bahamas","code":"BHS"},{"id":27,"name":"Bahrain","code":"BHR"},{"id":28,"name":"Bangladesh","code":"BGD"},{"id":29,"name":"Barbados","code":"BRB"},{"id":30,"name":"Belarus","code":"BLR"},{"id":4,"name":"Belgium","code":"BEL"},{"id":31,"name":"Belize","code":"BLZ"},{"id":32,"name":"Benin","code":"BEN"},{"id":194,"name":"Bermuda","code":"BMU"},{"id":33,"name":"Bhutan","code":"BTN"},{"id":34,"name":"Bolivia","code":"BOL"},{"id":348,"name":"Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba","code":"BES"},{"id":35,"name":"Bosnia and Herzegovina","code":"BIH"},{"id":36,"name":"Botswana","code":"BWA"},{"id":37,"name":"Brazil","code":"BRA"},{"id":351,"name":"British Indian Ocean Territory","code":"IOT"},{"id":196,"name":"British Virgin Islands","code":"VGB"},{"id":38,"name":"Brunei","code":"BRN"},{"id":39,"name":"Bulgaria","code":"BGR"},{"id":40,"name":"Burkina Faso","code":"BFA"},{"id":41,"name":"Burundi","code":"BDI"},{"id":42,"name":"Cambodia","code":"KHM"},{"id":43,"name":"Cameroon","code":"CMR"},{"id":44,"name":"Canada","code":"CAN"},{"id":45,"name":"Cape Verde","code":"CPV"},{"id":197,"name":"Cayman Islands","code":"CYM"},{"id":174,"name":"Central African Republic","code":"CAF"},{"id":173,"name":"Chad","code":"TCD"},{"id":172,"name":"Chile","code":"CHL"},{"id":171,"name":"China","code":"CHN"},{"id":247,"name":"Christmas Island","code":"CXR"},{"id":263,"name":"Cocos Islands","code":"CCK"},{"id":170,"name":"Colombia","code":"COL"},{"id":169,"name":"Comoros","code":"COM"},{"id":168,"name":"Congo","code":"COG"},{"id":199,"name":"Cook Islands","code":"COK"},{"id":166,"name":"Costa Rica","code":"CRI"},{"id":143,"name":"Cote d'Ivoire","code":"CIV"},{"id":165,"name":"Croatia","code":"HRV"},{"id":164,"name":"Cuba","code":"CUB"},{"id":279,"name":"Curacao","code":"CUW"},{"id":163,"name":"Cyprus","code":"CYP"},{"id":162,"name":"Czechia","code":"CZE"},{"id":167,"name":"Democratic Republic of Congo","code":"COD"},{"id":161,"name":"Denmark","code":"DNK"},{"id":154,"name":"Djibouti","code":"DJI"},{"id":200,"name":"Dominica","code":"DMA"},{"id":160,"name":"Dominican Republic","code":"DOM"},{"id":225,"name":"East Timor","code":"TLS"},{"id":201,"name":"Ecuador","code":"ECU"},{"id":65,"name":"Egypt","code":"EGY"},{"id":259,"name":"El Salvador","code":"SLV"},{"id":159,"name":"Equatorial Guinea","code":"GNQ"},{"id":157,"name":"Eritrea","code":"ERI"},{"id":156,"name":"Estonia","code":"EST"},{"id":78,"name":"Eswatini","code":"SWZ"},{"id":158,"name":"Ethiopia","code":"ETH"},{"id":276,"name":"Europe","code":"OWID_EUR"},{"id":249,"name":"Falkland Islands","code":"FLK"},{"id":250,"name":"Faroe Islands","code":"FRO"},{"id":202,"name":"Fiji","code":"FJI"},{"id":155,"name":"Finland","code":"FIN"},{"id":3,"name":"France","code":"FRA"},{"id":253,"name":"French Guiana","code":"GUF"},{"id":203,"name":"French Polynesia","code":"PYF"},{"id":153,"name":"Gabon","code":"GAB"},{"id":151,"name":"Gambia","code":"GMB"},{"id":152,"name":"Georgia","code":"GEO"},{"id":6,"name":"Germany","code":"DEU"},{"id":150,"name":"Ghana","code":"GHA"},{"id":251,"name":"Gibraltar","code":"GIB"},{"id":149,"name":"Greece","code":"GRC"},{"id":205,"name":"Greenland","code":"GRL"},{"id":206,"name":"Grenada","code":"GRD"},{"id":252,"name":"Guadeloupe","code":"GLP"},{"id":254,"name":"Guam","code":"GUM"},{"id":148,"name":"Guatemala","code":"GTM"},{"id":282,"name":"Guernsey","code":"GGY"},{"id":147,"name":"Guinea","code":"GIN"},{"id":94,"name":"Guinea-Bissau","code":"GNB"},{"id":146,"name":"Guyana","code":"GUY"},{"id":145,"name":"Haiti","code":"HTI"},{"id":139,"name":"Honduras","code":"HND"},{"id":144,"name":"Hong Kong","code":"HKG"},{"id":138,"name":"Hungary","code":"HUN"},{"id":207,"name":"Iceland","code":"ISL"},{"id":137,"name":"India","code":"IND"},{"id":136,"name":"Indonesia","code":"IDN"},{"id":135,"name":"Iran","code":"IRN"},{"id":134,"name":"Iraq","code":"IRQ"},{"id":2,"name":"Ireland","code":"IRL"},{"id":265,"name":"Isle of Man","code":"IMN"},{"id":133,"name":"Israel","code":"ISR"},{"id":8,"name":"Italy","code":"ITA"},{"id":132,"name":"Jamaica","code":"JAM"},{"id":14,"name":"Japan","code":"JPN"},{"id":283,"name":"Jersey","code":"JEY"},{"id":130,"name":"Jordan","code":"JOR"},{"id":131,"name":"Kazakhstan","code":"KAZ"},{"id":129,"name":"Kenya","code":"KEN"},{"id":204,"name":"Kiribati","code":"KIR"},{"id":208,"name":"Kuwait","code":"KWT"},{"id":126,"name":"Kyrgyzstan","code":"KGZ"},{"id":125,"name":"Laos","code":"LAO"},{"id":122,"name":"Latvia","code":"LVA"},{"id":124,"name":"Lebanon","code":"LBN"},{"id":123,"name":"Lesotho","code":"LSO"},{"id":121,"name":"Liberia","code":"LBR"},{"id":120,"name":"Libya","code":"LBY"},{"id":209,"name":"Liechtenstein","code":"LIE"},{"id":119,"name":"Lithuania","code":"LTU"},{"id":210,"name":"Luxembourg","code":"LUX"},{"id":262,"name":"Macao","code":"MAC"},{"id":118,"name":"Madagascar","code":"MDG"},{"id":117,"name":"Malawi","code":"MWI"},{"id":116,"name":"Malaysia","code":"MYS"},{"id":211,"name":"Maldives","code":"MDV"},{"id":115,"name":"Mali","code":"MLI"},{"id":212,"name":"Malta","code":"MLT"},{"id":223,"name":"Marshall Islands","code":"MHL"},{"id":284,"name":"Martinique","code":"MTQ"},{"id":114,"name":"Mauritania","code":"MRT"},{"id":213,"name":"Mauritius","code":"MUS"},{"id":193,"name":"Mayotte","code":"MYT"},{"id":113,"name":"Mexico","code":"MEX"},{"id":222,"name":"Micronesia (country)","code":"FSM"},{"id":111,"name":"Moldova","code":"MDA"},{"id":214,"name":"Monaco","code":"MCO"},{"id":112,"name":"Mongolia","code":"MNG"},{"id":215,"name":"Montenegro","code":"MNE"},{"id":216,"name":"Montserrat","code":"MSR"},{"id":110,"name":"Morocco","code":"MAR"},{"id":109,"name":"Mozambique","code":"MOZ"},{"id":142,"name":"Myanmar","code":"MMR"},{"id":108,"name":"Namibia","code":"NAM"},{"id":218,"name":"Nauru","code":"NRU"},{"id":107,"name":"Nepal","code":"NPL"},{"id":5,"name":"Netherlands","code":"NLD"},{"id":220,"name":"New Caledonia","code":"NCL"},{"id":106,"name":"New Zealand","code":"NZL"},{"id":105,"name":"Nicaragua","code":"NIC"},{"id":104,"name":"Niger","code":"NER"},{"id":103,"name":"Nigeria","code":"NGA"},{"id":261,"name":"Niue","code":"NIU"},{"id":285,"name":"Norfolk Island","code":"NFK"},{"id":294,"name":"North America","code":"OWID_NAM"},{"id":128,"name":"North Korea","code":"PRK"},{"id":66,"name":"North Macedonia","code":"MKD"},{"id":266,"name":"Northern Mariana Islands","code":"MNP"},{"id":102,"name":"Norway","code":"NOR"},{"id":277,"name":"Oceania","code":"OWID_OCE"},{"id":217,"name":"Oman","code":"OMN"},{"id":101,"name":"Pakistan","code":"PAK"},{"id":224,"name":"Palau","code":"PLW"},{"id":140,"name":"Palestine","code":"PSE"},{"id":100,"name":"Panama","code":"PAN"},{"id":99,"name":"Papua New Guinea","code":"PNG"},{"id":98,"name":"Paraguay","code":"PRY"},{"id":97,"name":"Peru","code":"PER"},{"id":96,"name":"Philippines","code":"PHL"},{"id":286,"name":"Pitcairn","code":"PCN"},{"id":11,"name":"Poland","code":"POL"},{"id":95,"name":"Portugal","code":"PRT"},{"id":93,"name":"Puerto Rico","code":"PRI"},{"id":226,"name":"Qatar","code":"QAT"},{"id":245,"name":"Reunion","code":"REU"},{"id":92,"name":"Romania","code":"ROU"},{"id":12,"name":"Russia","code":"RUS"},{"id":91,"name":"Rwanda","code":"RWA"},{"id":297,"name":"Saint Barthelemy","code":"BLM"},{"id":260,"name":"Saint Helena","code":"SHN"},{"id":227,"name":"Saint Kitts and Nevis","code":"KNA"},{"id":229,"name":"Saint Lucia","code":"LCA"},{"id":280,"name":"Saint Martin (French part)","code":"MAF"},{"id":353,"name":"Saint Pierre and Miquelon","code":"SPM"},{"id":230,"name":"Saint Vincent and the Grenadines","code":"VCT"},{"id":239,"name":"Samoa","code":"WSM"},{"id":231,"name":"San Marino","code":"SMR"},{"id":232,"name":"Sao Tome and Principe","code":"STP"},{"id":90,"name":"Saudi Arabia","code":"SAU"},{"id":89,"name":"Senegal","code":"SEN"},{"id":88,"name":"Serbia","code":"SRB"},{"id":233,"name":"Seychelles","code":"SYC"},{"id":87,"name":"Sierra Leone","code":"SLE"},{"id":86,"name":"Singapore","code":"SGP"},{"id":281,"name":"Sint Maarten (Dutch part)","code":"SXM"},{"id":85,"name":"Slovakia","code":"SVK"},{"id":83,"name":"Slovenia","code":"SVN"},{"id":195,"name":"Solomon Islands","code":"SLB"},{"id":82,"name":"Somalia","code":"SOM"},{"id":81,"name":"South Africa","code":"ZAF"},{"id":295,"name":"South America","code":"OWID_SAM"},{"id":127,"name":"South Korea","code":"KOR"},{"id":258,"name":"South Sudan","code":"SSD"},{"id":9,"name":"Spain","code":"ESP"},{"id":141,"name":"Sri Lanka","code":"LKA"},{"id":79,"name":"Sudan","code":"SDN"},{"id":234,"name":"Suriname","code":"SUR"},{"id":10,"name":"Sweden","code":"SWE"},{"id":7,"name":"Switzerland","code":"CHE"},{"id":77,"name":"Syria","code":"SYR"},{"id":198,"name":"Taiwan","code":"TWN"},{"id":76,"name":"Tajikistan","code":"TJK"},{"id":64,"name":"Tanzania","code":"TZA"},{"id":75,"name":"Thailand","code":"THA"},{"id":74,"name":"Togo","code":"TGO"},{"id":287,"name":"Tokelau","code":"TKL"},{"id":235,"name":"Tonga","code":"TON"},{"id":73,"name":"Trinidad and Tobago","code":"TTO"},{"id":71,"name":"Tunisia","code":"TUN"},{"id":70,"name":"Turkey","code":"TUR"},{"id":69,"name":"Turkmenistan","code":"TKM"},{"id":236,"name":"Turks and Caicos Islands","code":"TCA"},{"id":237,"name":"Tuvalu","code":"TUV"},{"id":68,"name":"Uganda","code":"UGA"},{"id":67,"name":"Ukraine","code":"UKR"},{"id":72,"name":"United Arab Emirates","code":"ARE"},{"id":1,"name":"United Kingdom","code":"GBR"},{"id":13,"name":"United States","code":"USA"},{"id":256,"name":"United States Virgin Islands","code":"VIR"},{"id":63,"name":"Uruguay","code":"URY"},{"id":62,"name":"Uzbekistan","code":"UZB"},{"id":221,"name":"Vanuatu","code":"VUT"},{"id":257,"name":"Vatican","code":"VAT"},{"id":238,"name":"Venezuela","code":"VEN"},{"id":84,"name":"Vietnam","code":"VNM"},{"id":255,"name":"Wallis and Futuna","code":"WLF"},{"id":248,"name":"Western Sahara","code":"ESH"},{"id":355,"name":"World","code":"OWID_WRL"},{"id":61,"name":"Yemen","code":"YEM"},{"id":60,"name":"Zambia","code":"ZMB"},{"id":80,"name":"Zimbabwe","code":"ZWE"}]}},"origins":[{"id":28346,"title":"Ethnologue","description":"Ethnologue is a comprehensive reference work cataloging the world’s languages, providing data on over 7,000 living languages, including their distribution, number of speakers, and classification. It serves as a key resource for linguists, educators, and researchers interested in global linguistic diversity.","producer":"SIL Global","citationFull":"Eberhard, David M., Gary F. Simons, and Alison J. Robinson (eds.). 2026. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. Twenty-ninth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL Global. Online version: https://www.ethnologue.com/codes/.","urlMain":"https://www.ethnologue.com/codes/","dateAccessed":"2026-09-24","datePublished":"2026-02-17","license":{"url":"https://www.ethnologue.com/codes/#terms-of-use","name":"© 2026 SIL Global"}}]}