Curated list · updated 2026
Countries with the most official languages
The most linguistically official countries in our dataset, ranked by official and constitutionally recognised languages. Bolivia tops the list with 37. These counts are compiled by us from national constitutions; Wikidata undercounts several of them.
| # | Country | # Official | Official languages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Bolivia | 37 | Spanish, Aymara, Quechua, Guarani |
| 2 |  India | 22 | Hindi, English |
| 3 |  Zimbabwe | 16 | English, Xhosa, Ndau, Sesotho, Tsonga, Northern Ndebele, Venda, Shona, Nambya, Kalanga, Khoisan, Chewa, Tonga, Tswana, Zimbabwe Sign Language, Barwe |
| 4 |  Mali | 13 | Bozo, Senufo, Bambara, Maninka, Minyanka, Fula, Soninke, Kassonke, Songhay, Dogon, Hassaniya Arabic, Tamasheq, Bobo |
| 5 |  South Africa | 12 | English, South African Sign Language, Xhosa, Tsonga, Sesotho, Zulu, Venda, Afrikaans, Northern Sotho, Swazi, Tswana, Southern Ndebele |
| 6 |  Afghanistan | 9 | Uzbek, Turkmen, Arabic, Balochi, Nuristani, Dari, Pashayi, Pamir, Pashto |
| 7 |  Norway | 4 | Norwegian, Nynorsk, Bokmål, Sámi |
| 8 |  Papua New Guinea | 4 | English, Tok Pisin, Hiri Motu, Papua New Guinean Sign Language |
| 9 |  Rwanda | 4 | French, English, Swahili, Kinyarwanda |
| 10 |  Senegal | 4 | French, Balanta, Badyara, Wolof |
| 11 |  Singapore | 4 | English, Tamil, Malay, Standard Chinese |
| 12 |  Switzerland | 4 | French, German, Italian, Romansh |
| 13 |  Belgium | 3 | French, German, Dutch |
| 14 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian |
| 15 |  Burkina Faso | 3 | Dioula, Bissa, Mooré |
| 16 |  Burundi | 3 | French, English, Kirundi |
| 17 |  Curaçao | 3 | English, Dutch, Papiamento |
| 18 |  Ecuador | 3 | Spanish, Northern Quichua, Shuar |
| 19 |  Equatorial Guinea | 3 | French, Spanish, Portuguese |
| 20 |  Eritrea | 3 | English, Arabic, Tigrinya |
| 21 |  Fiji | 3 | English, Fijian, Fiji Hindi |
| 22 |  Luxembourg | 3 | French, German, Luxembourgish |
| 23 |  Malawi | 3 | English, Chewa, Tumbuka |
| 24 |  New Zealand | 3 | English, New Zealand Sign Language, Māori |
| 25 |  Palau | 3 | English, Japanese, Palauan |
| 26 |  Peru | 3 | Spanish, Aymara, Quechua |
| 27 |  Seychelles | 3 | French, English, Seychellois Creole |
| 28 |  Vanuatu | 3 | French, English, Bislama |
| 29 |  Algeria | 2 | Arabic, Standard Algerian Berber |
| 30 |  Aruba | 2 | Dutch, Papiamento |
| 31 |  Austria | 2 | German, Austrian Sign Language |
| 32 |  Azerbaijan | 2 | Azerbaijani, Azerbaijani Sign Language |
| 33 |  Barbados | 2 | English, Bajan Creole |
| 34 |  Belarus | 2 | Russian, Belarusian |
| 35 |  Brunei | 2 | British English, Malay |
| 36 |  Cameroon | 2 | French, English |
| 37 |  Canada | 2 | French, English |
| 38 |  Cape Verde | 2 | Portuguese, Cape Verdean Creole |
| 39 |  Central African Republic | 2 | French, Sango |
| 40 |  Chad | 2 | French, Arabic |
| 41 |  Cyprus | 2 | Turkish, Modern Greek |
| 42 |  Djibouti | 2 | French, Arabic |
| 43 |  Eswatini | 2 | English, Swazi |
| 44 |  Finland | 2 | Finnish, Swedish |
| 45 |  Grenada | 2 | English, Grenadian Creole English |
| 46 |  Guinea | 2 | French, languages of Guinea |
| 47 |  Iraq | 2 | Arabic, Kurdish |
| 48 |  Ireland | 2 | English, Irish |
| 49 |  Jamaica | 2 | English, Jamaican Patois |
| 50 |  Kazakhstan | 2 | Russian, Kazakh |
| 51 |  Kenya | 2 | English, Swahili |
| 52 |  Kosovo | 2 | Serbian, Albanian |
| 53 |  Lesotho | 2 | English, Sesotho |
| 54 |  Madagascar | 2 | French, Malagasy |
| 55 |  Malta | 2 | English, Maltese |
| 56 |  Mauritius | 2 | French, English |
| 57 |  Morocco | 2 | Arabic, Standard Moroccan Tamazight |
| 58 |  North Macedonia | 2 | Albanian, Macedonian |
| 59 |  Pakistan | 2 | Urdu, English |
| 60 |  Paraguay | 2 | Spanish, Guarani |
| 61 |  Philippines | 2 | English, Filipino, Taglish |
| 62 |  Puerto Rico | 2 | English, Spanish |
| 63 |  Samoa | 2 | English, Samoan |
| 64 |  Sierra Leone | 2 | English, Krio |
| 65 |  Somalia | 2 | Somali, Arabic |
| 66 |  South Korea | 2 | Korean, Korean Sign Language |
| 67 |  Sri Lanka | 2 | Tamil, Sinhala |
| 68 |  Sudan | 2 | English, Arabic |
| 69 |  Tanzania | 2 | English, Swahili |
| 70 |  Timor-Leste | 2 | Portuguese, Tetum |
| 71 |  Tonga | 2 | English, Tongan |
| 72 |  Uganda | 2 | English, Swahili |
| 73 |  Vatican City | 2 | Latin, Italian |
| 74 |  Venezuela | 2 | Spanish, Venezuelan Sign Language |
| 75 |  Albania | 1 | Albanian |
| 76 |  Andorra | 1 | Catalan |
| 77 |  Angola | 1 | Portuguese |
| 78 |  Antigua and Barbuda | 1 | English |
| 79 |  Argentina | 1 | Spanish |
| 80 |  Armenia | 1 | Armenian |
| 81 |  Australia | 1 | English |
| 82 |  Bahamas | 1 | English |
| 83 |  Bahrain | 1 | Arabic |
| 84 |  Bangladesh | 1 | Bangla |
| 85 |  Belize | 1 | English |
| 86 |  Benin | 1 | French |
| 87 |  Bhutan | 1 | Dzongkha |
| 88 |  Botswana | 1 | English |
| 89 |  Brazil | 1 | Portuguese |
| 90 |  Bulgaria | 1 | Bulgarian |
| 91 |  Cambodia | 1 | Khmer |
| 92 |  Chile | 1 | Spanish |
| 93 |  China | 1 | Putonghua |
| 94 |  Colombia | 1 | Spanish |
| 95 |  Costa Rica | 1 | Spanish |
| 96 |  Croatia | 1 | Croatian |
| 97 |  Cuba | 1 | Spanish |
| 98 |  Czech Republic | 1 | Czech |
| 99 |  DR Congo | 1 | French |
| 100 |  Denmark | 1 | Danish |
| 101 |  Dominica | 1 | English |
| 102 |  Dominican Republic | 1 | Spanish |
| 103 |  Egypt | 1 | Arabic |
| 104 |  El Salvador | 1 | Spanish |
| 105 |  Estonia | 1 | Estonian |
| 106 |  Ethiopia | 1 | Amharic |
| 107 |  France | 1 | French |
| 108 |  Gabon | 1 | French |
| 109 |  Gambia | 1 | English |
| 110 |  Georgia | 1 | Georgian |
| 111 |  Germany | 1 | German |
| 112 |  Ghana | 1 | English |
| 113 |  Greece | 1 | Greek |
| 114 |  Guatemala | 1 | Spanish |
| 115 |  Guinea-Bissau | 1 | Portuguese |
| 116 |  Guyana | 1 | English |
| 117 |  Honduras | 1 | Spanish |
| 118 |  Hungary | 1 | Hungarian |
| 119 |  Iceland | 1 | Icelandic |
| 120 |  Indonesia | 1 | Indonesian |
| 121 |  Iran | 1 | Persian |
| 122 |  Israel | 1 | Hebrew |
| 123 |  Italy | 1 | Italian |
| 124 |  Ivory Coast | 1 | French |
| 125 |  Japan | 1 | Japanese |
| 126 |  Jordan | 1 | Arabic |
| 127 |  Kuwait | 1 | Arabic |
| 128 |  Kyrgyzstan | 1 | Kyrgyz |
| 129 |  Laos | 1 | Lao |
| 130 |  Latvia | 1 | Latvian |
| 131 |  Lebanon | 1 | Arabic |
| 132 |  Liberia | 1 | English |
| 133 |  Libya | 1 | Arabic |
| 134 |  Liechtenstein | 1 | German |
| 135 |  Lithuania | 1 | Lithuanian |
| 136 |  Malaysia | 1 | Malay |
| 137 |  Maldives | 1 | Maldivian |
| 138 |  Mauritania | 1 | Arabic |
| 139 |  Mexico | 1 | Spanish, nahuatl, Yucatec Maya |
| 140 |  Moldova | 1 | Romanian |
| 141 |  Monaco | 1 | French |
| 142 |  Mongolia | 1 | Mongolian |
| 143 |  Montenegro | 1 | Montenegrin |
| 144 |  Mozambique | 1 | Portuguese |
| 145 |  Myanmar | 1 | Burmese |
| 146 |  Namibia | 1 | English |
| 147 |  Nepal | 1 | Nepali |
| 148 |  Netherlands | 1 | Dutch |
| 149 |  Nicaragua | 1 | Spanish |
| 150 |  Niger | 1 | Hausa |
| 151 |  Nigeria | 1 | English |
| 152 |  Oman | 1 | Arabic |
| 153 |  Panama | 1 | Spanish |
| 154 |  Poland | 1 | Polish |
| 155 |  Portugal | 1 | Portuguese |
| 156 |  Qatar | 1 | Arabic |
| 157 |  Republic of the Congo | 1 | French |
| 158 |  Romania | 1 | Romanian |
| 159 |  Russia | 1 | Russian |
| 160 |  Saint Lucia | 1 | English |
| 161 |  San Marino | 1 | Italian |
| 162 |  Saudi Arabia | 1 | Arabic |
| 163 |  Serbia | 1 | Serbian |
| 164 |  Slovakia | 1 | Slovak |
| 165 |  Slovenia | 1 | Slovene |
| 166 |  South Sudan | 1 | English |
| 167 |  Spain | 1 | Spanish |
| 168 |  St Kitts and Nevis | 1 | English |
| 169 |  Suriname | 1 | Dutch |
| 170 |  Sweden | 1 | Swedish |
| 171 |  Tajikistan | 1 | Tajik |
| 172 |  Thailand | 1 | Thai |
| 173 |  Togo | 1 | French |
| 174 |  Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | English |
| 175 |  Tunisia | 1 | Arabic |
| 176 |  Turkey | 1 | Turkish |
| 177 |  Turkmenistan | 1 | Turkmen |
| 178 |  Ukraine | 1 | Ukrainian |
| 179 |  United Arab Emirates | 1 | Arabic |
| 180 |  United Kingdom | 1 | English |
| 181 |  United States | 1 | Spanish, Hawaiian |
| 182 |  Uzbekistan | 1 | Uzbek |
| 183 |  Vietnam | 1 | Vietnamese |
| 184 |  Zambia | 1 | English |
🏆 Bolivia holds the Guinness World Record for the most official languages, 37 (Spanish plus 36 indigenous tongues such as Quechua and Aymara). Guinness World Records ↗
Counts of official and constitutionally-recognised languages (Guinness World Records, WEF, Wikipedia). "Get by in" shows the widely-usable major languages.