Ranked: The Countries with the Most Linguistic Diversity

[FOOLS_NIGHTMARE]

The Briefing

• Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world, with approximately 840 different languages spoken across the islands
• In second place, Indonesia has around 711 different languages. Only 20% of the population speaks the national language of Bahasa Indonesian at home

Ranked: The Most Diverse Countries By Language
Thousands of languages are spoken worldwide, but only a fraction are used widely. In fact, the speakers of 23 languages account for more than half of the total global population.
Despite this, there are still pockets around the globe that are rich in linguistic diversity. Here’s a look at the top 10 countries where the most languages are spoken.
These numbers include established and immigrant dialects.
Top 10 Countries with the Most Languages
Despite a population of just 8.8 million, Papua New Guinea comes in first with a total of 840 languages spoken across the country. To put things into perspective, that’s almost 12% of the world’s languages spoken in an area that’s roughly the size of California.

Rank	Country	Total Languages	Population 2020 (M)
1	Papua New Guinea	840	8.8
2	Indonesia	711	270.6
3	Nigeria	517	201.0
4	India	456	1,366.0
5	United States	328	328.2
6	Australia	312	25.4
7	China	309	1,398.0
8	Mexico	292	127.6
9	Cameroon	274	25.9
10	Brazil	221	211.0

A likely reason for the country’s linguistic diversity is its isolation from modern life. Over 80% of Papua New Guinea’s population lives in rural areas and has minimal contact with external influences or other tribes.
Second on the list is Indonesia, with 711 different languages used throughout the country. Like Papua New Guinea, a major factor that could explain its language diversity is its geography—Indonesia is made up of around 17,500 islands (although more than 7,000 of them are uninhabited).
The Future of Language Diversity
While it’s clear that a multitude of languages still exist, around 40% of the world’s languages are at risk of dying out. Even in parts of the world where immense linguistic diversity remains, languages are disappearing with each subsequent generation.
In efforts to combat this, organizations like the United Nations are actively trying to promote and protect these endangered languages.

Ranked: The Countries with the Most Linguistic Diversity

Thousands of languages are spoken globally, but they aren't evenly dispersed. Here's a look at countries with the most linguistic diversity.

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[Death Professor]

8.8 M and 840 languages, damn.

 

[nang2]

Language is just a tool for communication. Too many of them are a burden not an asset.

 

[nautilaceae]

This article didn't take into account linguistic root. I would argue India is linguistically most diverse. Indian languages are made up of 4 different language family, Indo-European, Dravidian, Tibetan-Burmese, and Austro-Asiatic.

Papua New Guina languages come from just Papuan language family. Indonesian 95% Austronesian family and a small section from Papuan family.

 

[Juggernaut_Flat_Plane_V8]

Indonesia is wayyy more diverse than India racially, lingustically