Does Your Nation Have The Most Speakers Of Your Most Commonly Spoken National Language? – Brilliant Maps

The
map
above
shows
which
countries
in
Europe
have
the
largest
number
of
speakers
of
their
most
widely
spoken
national
languages
and
which
ones
don’t.

So
for
example
Ireland
is
marked
in
red
because
English
is
one
of
Ireland’s
two
official
languages,
but
there
are
more
English
speakers
living
in
the
United
States
than
either
Ireland
or
the
UK.

The
map
author’s
explains
that:

While
most
European
countries
are
the
largest
nation
in
the
world
that
speaks
their
national
language,
some
countries
have
other
nations
both
within
Europe
and
outside
Europe
who
have
more
speakers
of
their
national
language.

• For
  the
  UK
  (62
  million),
  the
  USA
  (297
  million),
  India
  (229
  million),
  Nigeria
  (125
  million),
  Pakistan
  (108
  million),
  Indonesia
  (86
  million)
  and
  Philippines
  (70
  million)
  have
  more
  Anglophones,
  although
  most
  of
  those
  speak
  it
  as
  a
  2nd
  or
  third
  language
  rather
  than
  as
  native
  speakers.
• For
  France,
  the
  DR
  Congo
  has
  more
  Francophones
  than
  metropolitan
  France
  
  Note:
  I
  think
  this
  could
  be
  disputed
  as
  some
  sources
  still
  France
  has
  more
  speakers,
  as
  the
  DRC
  as
  low
  as
  50
  million
  (below
  France)
  and
  as
  high
  as
  75
  million
  (above
  France).
  In
  either
  case,
  it’s
  an
  interesting
  case
  because
  the
  DRC
  was
  not
  a
  French
  colony
  but
  a
  Belgian
  one,
  so
  they
  speak
  a
  version
  of
  Belgian
  French,
  rather
  than
  France
  French.
• For
  Spain,
  has
  the
  4th
  most
  Spanish
  speakers
  in
  the
  world,
  Mexico
  (130
  million),
  USA
  (57
  million)
  ,
  Colombia
  (52
  million),
  Spain
  (47
  million),
  Argentina
  (46
  million)
• For
  Belgium,
  the
  Netherlands
  has
  more
  Dutch
  speakers;
  and
  several
  countries
  have
  more
  Francophones
  including
  France,
  Canada,
  DR
  Congo,
  Morocco,
  Algeria,
  Cameroon,
  Ivory
  Coast,
  and
  even
  Italy
• For
  Ireland,
  several
  dozens
  of
  countries
  has
  more
  English-speakers
  (NOTE:
  English
  is
  more
  commonly
  spoken
  in
  Ireland
  than
  Irish
  Gaelic)
• For
  Switzerland,
  both
  Germany
  and
  Austria
  have
  more
  German-speakers;
  several
  countries
  have
  more
  Francophones
  including
  France,
  Canada,
  DR
  Congo,
  Morocco,
  Algeria,
  Tunisia,
  Cameroon,
  Ivory
  Coast,
  Italy,
  Belgium,
  and
  Madagascar;
  and
  Italy
  has
  more
  Italian-speakers
• For
  Liechtenstein
  Germany,
  Austria
  and
  Switzerland
  all
  have
  more
  German
  speakers
• For
  Portugal,
  Brazil
  and
  Angola
  has
  more
  Portuguese-speakers
• For
  Austria,
  Germany
  has
  more
  German-speakers
• For
  Andorra,
  Spain
  and
  France
  both
  have
  more
  Catalan
  speakers
• For
  Moldova,
  Romania
  has
  more
  Romanian-speakers
• For
  Monaco,
  France
  and
  several
  other
  nations
  have
  more
  Francophones
  (see
  list
  above
  for
  Belgium/Switzerland
  for
  reference)
• For
  Vatican
  and
  San
  Marino,
  Italy
  has
  more
  Italian-speakers
• For
  Kosovo,
  Albania
  has
  more
  Albanian-speakers
• For
  Belarus,
  Russia
  and
  Ukraine
  has
  more
  Russian-speakers
  (NOTE:
  Russian
  is
  more
  commonly
  spoken
  in
  Belarus
  than
  Belarusian)

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Europe

Which
one
surprised
you
the
most?

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Author: Brilliant Maps