Languages of the United Kingdom at a glance
- 28living languages
- 5language families
- 68.5 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
- 22with a CLDR share
Tap the map to list every language whose area covers a spot in the United Kingdom. Areas are generalisations from published atlases and overlap, and a language that is mapped here is not necessarily spoken everywhere inside its area.
Languages spoken in the United Kingdom
Languages with a Unicode CLDR share come first, biggest first by estimated speakers; the rest follow A to Z. Estimated speakers are the share applied to CLDR’s own population figure for the country.
| Language | Family | Share of population | Estimated speakers | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English | Indo-European | 98% | 67,089,918 | Not endangered |
| French | Indo-European | 17% | 11,638,047 | Not endangered |
| German | Indo-European | 9% | 6,161,319 | Not endangered |
| Spanish | Indo-European | 8% | 5,476,728 | Not endangered |
| Polish | Indo-European | 4% | 2,738,364 | Not endangered |
| Eastern Panjabi | Indo-European | 3.6% | 2,464,528 | Not endangered |
| Urdu | Indo-European | 3.5% | 2,396,068 | Not endangered |
| Tamil | Dravidian | 3.2% | 2,190,691 | Not endangered |
| Gujarati | Indo-European | 2.9% | 1,985,314 | Not endangered |
| Scots | Indo-European | 2.5% | 1,711,478 | Threatened |
| Welsh | Indo-European | 1.3% | 889,968 | Threatened |
| Romanian | Indo-European | 0.8% | 547,673 | Not endangered |
| Bengali | Indo-European | 0.4% | 273,836 | Not endangered |
| Mandarin Chinese | Sino-Tibetan | 0.3% | 205,377 | Not endangered |
| Standard Arabic | Afro-Asiatic | 0.3% | 205,377 | Not endangered |
| Italian | Indo-European | 0.2% | 136,918 | Not endangered |
| Lithuanian | Indo-European | 0.2% | 136,918 | Not endangered |
| Portuguese | Indo-European | 0.2% | 136,918 | Not endangered |
| Somali | Afro-Asiatic | 0.2% | 136,918 | Not endangered |
| Turkish | Turkic | 0.2% | 136,918 | Not endangered |
| Irish | Indo-European | 0.2% | 102,689 | Shifting |
| Scottish Gaelic | Indo-European | 0.1% | 75,305 | Shifting |
| Antigua and Barbuda Creole English | Indo-European | Not endangered | ||
| Archaic Angloromani | Indo-European | Not endangered | ||
| Balkan Romani | Indo-European | Not endangered | ||
| Central Romani | Indo-European | Not endangered | ||
| Judeo-Iraqi Arabic | Afro-Asiatic | Not endangered | ||
| Sinte-Manus Romani | Indo-European | Not endangered |
Read more: where is English spoken?
Language families in the United Kingdom
- Indo-European (22 languages)
- Afro-Asiatic (3 languages)
- Dravidian (1 language)
- Sino-Tibetan (1 language)
- Turkic (1 language)
About these numbers
The list of languages in the United Kingdom comes from the overlap of Glottography and Glottolog language areas and positions with the country outline, together with the languages Glottolog assigns to the country. The shares come from Unicode CLDR release 48 and are estimates. See every source and licence.
Questions about languages in the United Kingdom
How many languages are spoken in the United Kingdom?
28 living languages are mapped in the United Kingdom, from 5 families. The number depends on how a catalogue decides where one language ends and another begins, so other sources give other totals.
What is the most spoken language in the United Kingdom?
By Unicode CLDR's estimate, English is spoken by 98% of the population, about 67,089,918 people, followed by French (17%). Shares are approximate, can add up to more than 100% because many people speak several languages, and only cover languages CLDR has a figure for.
Which language families are found in the United Kingdom?
Indo-European (22 languages), Afro-Asiatic (3 languages), Dravidian (1 language), Sino-Tibetan (1 language) and Turkic (1 language).