| Population | 55,000,000 in United Kingdom (1984). 508,000,000 including second-language speakers (1999 WA). Population total all countries: 309,352,280. |
| Region | Also spoken in American Samoa, Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Cook Islands, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Finland, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Honduras, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia (Peninsular), Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Montserrat, Namibia, Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Pitcairn, Puerto Rico, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Switzerland, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe. |
| Dialects | Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, West Country, East Anglia, Birmingham (Brummy, Brummie), South Wales, Edinburgh, Belfast, Cornwall, Cumberland, Central Cumberland, Devonshire, East Devonshire, Dorset, Durham, Bolton Lancashire, North Lancashire, Radcliffe Lancashire, Northumberland, Norfolk, Newcastle Northumberland, Tyneside Northumberland, Lowland Scottish, Somerset, Sussex, Westmorland, North Wiltshire, Craven Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Sheffield Yorkshire, West Yorkshire. Lexical similarity 60% with German, 27% with French, 24% with Russian. |
| Classification | Indo-European, Germanic, West, English |
| Language use | National language. |
| Language development | Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1382–2002. |
| Comments | SVO; prepositions; genitives after noun heads; articles, adjectives, numerals before noun heads; question word initial; word order distinguishes subject, object, indirect objects, given and new information, topic and comment; active and passive; causative; comparative; consonant and vowel clusters; nontonal. Island, plains, hills. Deciduous forest. Industrial workers, fishermen; craftsman. Christian. |
Also spoken in:
American Samoa
| Language name | English |
| Population | 1,248 in American Samoa, foreign born (1970 census). |
| Language use | Official language. 15,050 mainly second-language speakers. |
Anguilla
| Language name | English |
| Population | 946 in Anguilla (2004). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Antigua and Barbuda
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. |
Aruba
| Language name | English |
| Population | 3,000. |
| Dialects | Aruba English. |
Australia
| Language name | English |
| Population | 15,682,000 in Australia (1987). |
| Dialects | Australian Standard English, Aboriginal English, Neo-Nyungar (Noonga, Noongar, Noogar). |
| Language use | National language. |
| Comments | Minor regional dialect differences. Neo-Nyungar is the community dialect of the Nyungar people. |
Bahamas
| Language name | English |
| Population | 49,331 in Bahamas (2004). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Barbados
| Language name | English |
| Population | 13,000 in Barbados (1995). |
| Language use | National language. |
Belize
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. 55,998 second-language speakers in Belize (1991 census). Used in education, government, commerce. |
Bermuda
| Language name | English |
| Population | 58,800 in Bermuda (1989). |
| Dialects | Bermudan English. |
| Language use | Official language. |
| Comments | Colloquial English may not be a creole but a regional variety of uncreolized English. |
Botswana
| Language name | English |
| Alternate names | Sekgoa |
| Language use | Official language. International trade, medium of western influences, language of instruction from fifth grade, written language, official purposes, as second language. Taught from the beginning of primary school as a required subject. |
British Indian Ocean Territory
| Language name | English |
| Population | 3,500 in British Indian Ocean Territory (2004). |
| Language use | Official language. |
| Comments | The indigenous population no longer resides in the islands. Current residents include members of the USA military, a small detachment of British officials, and support staff, mainly of Mauritian and Philippine origin. |
British Virgin Islands
| Language name | English |
| Population | 2,000 in British Virgin Islands (1998). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Brunei
| Language name | English |
| Population | 8,000 in Brunei. |
| Language use | National language. Used in government, education, and by educated speakers as first or second language. |
Cambodia
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Replacing French as second language, especially in Phnom Penh. |
Cameroon
| Language name | English |
| Region | Used mainly in South West and North West provinces. |
| Language use | Official language. |
Canada
| Language name | English |
| Population | 17,100,000 in Canada (1998 Statistics Canada). 820,000 first-language speakers in Quebec (1995 Statistics Canada); plus another 1,500,000 in Quebec whose first or second language is English (1995 Statistics Canada). |
| Dialects | Newfoundland English. |
| Language use | Official language. |
Cayman Islands
| Language name | English |
| Population | 20,000 in Cayman Islands (2002). |
| Dialects | Cayman Islands English. |
| Language use | National language. |
| Comments | The colloquial English seems to have borrowed creole features similar to Jamaica and Central America without having undergone creolization (John Holm 1989:479–480). Structurally similar to a creole language. May be close to Belize Kriol. Agriculturalists: cotton. |
China
| Language name | English |
| Population | 59,000 in China (1993). |
| Region | Mainly in Hong Kong. |
Cook Islands
| Language name | English |
| Population | 683 in Cook Islands (1966 UN report). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Dominica
| Language name | English |
| Population | 10,000 in Dominica (2004). |
| Dialects | Dominican English. |
| Language use | Official language. |
Dominican Republic
| Language name | English |
| Population | 8,000 in Dominican Republic (1989 J. Holm). |
| Region | Samaná Peninsula, northeastern Dominican Republic. |
| Dialects | Samaná English. |
| Language use | Spanish is used as second language. Some use Haitian Creole. |
| Comments | A community of descendants of ex-USA slaves settled in 1824. It is reported that there was a settlement of African slaves here in the early 1500s. There are features of creolization and archaic Black English. |
Eritrea
| Language name | English |
| Language use | National language. |
| Comments | Language of higher education and many technical fields. |
Ethiopia
| Language name | English |
| Population | 1,986 in Ethiopia (1998 census). |
| Language use | Official language. 169,726 second-language users. Language of higher education, many technical fields, and international communication. |
Falkland Islands
| Language name | English |
| Population | 1,991 in Falkland Islands (1993 Johnstone). |
| Language use | National language. |
Fiji
| Language name | English |
| Population | 4,929 Europeans in Fiji (1976 census). An additional 10,276 or 1.8% of population (1976 census) are part-European, and speak English and Fijian. |
| Language use | Official language. Also used by many urban Chinese (4,652 in 1976), Rotuman, occasionally by Indians, rarely by Fijians (P. Geraghty 1981). There are also reports of a Fijian Pidgin English. Main language of commerce, education, government. |
Gambia
| Language name | English |
| Population | 1,000 in Gambia (2004). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Ghana
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. Second-language speakers in Ghana: 1,000,000 (1977 Voegelin and Voegelin). |
Gibraltar
| Language name | English |
| Population | 3,300 in Gibraltar (1993 Johnstone). |
| Dialects | Yanito. |
| Language use | Official language. |
| Comments | Yanito is spoken by most Gibraltarians among themselves. It is a dialect of English with a strong Spanish influence, with over 500 words coming from Genoese (Ligurian) and Hebrew. |
Grenada
| Language name | English |
| Population | 750 in Grenada (2004). |
| Dialects | Grenadian English. |
| Language use | Official language. |
| Comments | Post-creole English with French Creole influences (M. Alleyne). |
Guadeloupe
| Language name | English |
| Population | 200 in Guadeloupe (2002). |
| Region | St. Barthélemy Island. |
| Dialects | Gustavia English (St. Barth English). |
| Language use | All are fluent in French. |
| Comments | English with some creole influence. |
Guam
| Language name | English |
| Population | 28,800 in Guam (1987). |
| Language use | National language. |
| Comments | USA military and dependents. |
Guyana
| Language name | English |
| Dialects | Guyanese English. |
| Language use | National language. |
| Comments | Spoken as first language by some Blacks and some Hindustanis. |
Honduras
| Language name | English |
| Population | 31,500 in Honduras (2001). Population includes 22,500 Bay Islands English speakers on the north coast. |
| Region | Bay Islands (Guanaja, Roatán, Utila), and large cities along north coast of mainland. |
| Dialects | Bay Islands English. |
| Comments | Some creole influence. |
India
| Language name | English |
| Language use | National language. Second-language speakers in India: 11,021,610 (1961 census). |
Ireland
| Language name | English |
| Population | 2,600,000 in Ireland (1983). |
| Dialects | South Hiberno English, North Hiberno English. |
| Language use | National language. |
Israel
| Language name | English |
| Population | 100,000 in Israel (1993). |
| Alternate names | Anglit |
| Language use | Auxiliary official language. |
Jamaica
| Language name | English |
| Language use | National language. |
Kenya
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. Mainly second-language speakers in Kenya. |
Kiribati
| Language name | English |
| Population | 492 in Kiribati (2000). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Lebanon
| Language name | English |
| Population | 3,300 in Lebanon (2004). |
| Language use | Has been used to some extent since the founding of the American University of Beirut in 1866. Many English language publications. Not spoken on the street or in Lebanese homes. |
Lesotho
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. |
Liberia
| Language name | English |
| Population | 69,000 in Liberia (1993). |
| Dialects | Liberian Standard English. |
| Language use | Official language. |
Malawi
| Language name | English |
| Population | 16,000 in Malawi (1993). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Malaysia (Peninsular)
| Language name | English |
Malta
| Language name | English |
| Population | 2,400 in Malta (1993 Johnstone). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Marshall Islands
| Language name | English |
| Population | 600 in Marshall Islands (2004). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Mauritius
| Language name | English |
| Population | 3,000 in Mauritius (1993 Johnstone). |
| Language use | Official language. Not widely known. Used in secondary school, courts, for road signs. |
Micronesia
| Language name | English |
| Population | 5,341 in Micronesia (2000). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Montserrat
| Language name | English |
| Population | 100 in Montserrat (2004). |
| Language use | National language. |
Namibia
| Language name | English |
| Population | 10,941 in Namibia (1991 census). |
| Language use | Official language. Not understood or spoken by everyone. |
Nauru
| Language name | English |
| Population | 714 in Nauru (2000). |
| Language use | National language. 7,254 including second-language users (1979 Government figures). |
Netherlands Antilles
| Language name | English |
| Population | 1,800 in Netherlands Antilles (2004). |
| Region | More use on Saba and Statia than other islands. |
| Language use | Gaining importance in Netherlands Antilles. |
| Comments | Post-creole English is the dialect used (Alleyne). |
New Zealand
| Language name | English |
| Population | 3,213,000 in New Zealand (1987). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Nigeria
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. Second-language speakers in Nigeria: 1,000,000 (1977 Voegelin and Voegelin). Used in government and education. |
Niue
| Language name | English |
| Population | 78 in Niue (2004). |
| Language use | National language. Second-language speakers in Niue: 2,082. |
Norfolk Island
| Language name | English |
| Population | 1,678 in Norfolk Island (1980 Government report). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Northern Mariana Islands
| Language name | English |
| Language use | National language. |
Pakistan
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. Mainly second-language speakers in Pakistan. |
Palau
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. |
Papua New Guinea
| Language name | English |
| Population | 50,000 in Papua New Guinea (1987). |
| Language use | Official language. |
| Language development | Taught in primary schools. |
Philippines
| Language name | English |
| Population | 32,802 in the Philippines (1990 census). |
| Language use | Official language. 52% of the population said they could speak it as a second language (1980 census). |
Pitcairn
| Language name | English |
| Population | 46 (1998 UN). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Puerto Rico
| Language name | English |
| Population | 82,000 in Puerto Rico (1995). |
| Language use | National language. 376,371 second-language users (1970 census). |
Rwanda
| Language name | English |
| Population | 300 in Rwanda (2004). |
| Language use | Official language. Mainly second-language speakers in Rwanda. There may be more users of English than of French. |
Saint Helena
| Language name | English |
| Population | 5,400 in Saint Helena (2004). |
| Language use | National language. |
Saint Kitts and Nevis
| Language name | English |
| Population | 200 in Saint Kitts and Nevis (2004). |
| Language use | National language. |
Saint Lucia
| Language name | English |
| Population | 1,600 in Saint Lucia (2004). |
| Dialects | Saint Lucian English. |
| Language use | Official language. |
| Comments | There is an emerging English vernacular on Saint Lucia in a certain rural area. It is significantly restructured, heavily French creole influenced, English lexicon (Paul Garrett 1998). |
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
| Language name | English |
| Population | 188 in Saint Pierre and Miquelon (1967 census). |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
| Language name | English |
| Population | 400 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2004). |
| Language use | National language. |
Samoa
| Language name | English |
| Population | 200 in Samoa (2004). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Seychelles
| Language name | English |
| Population | 1,601 in Seychelles (1971 census). |
| Language use | Official language. |
| Comments | Principal language of the schools. |
Sierra Leone
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. Used in administration, law, education, commerce. |
Singapore
| Language name | English |
| Population | 227,000 in Singapore (1985). |
| Language use | Official language. Second-language users (literate in English) are 71% of population (2000 census). Ethnic groups which use English: Chinese 154,000, 68%; European and Eurasian 34,000, 15%; Indian 32,000, 14%; Malay 6,000, 3%. Chinese varieties and Tamil also used at home. |
Solomon Islands
| Language name | English |
| Language use | National language. |
Somalia
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. Used more in the north. |
South Africa
| Language name | English |
| Population | 3,457,467 in South Africa (1996 census). |
| Language use | Official language. The main means of communication in urban areas. Many second-generation people from India, Portugal, Germany, and Greece speak English as first language. |
Sri Lanka
| Language name | English |
| Population | 74,170 in Sri Lanka (2000 WCD). |
Swaziland
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. |
| Comments | Taught in all government and private schools. |
Tanzania
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. Second-language speakers in Tanzania: 1,500,000 (1977 Voegelin and Voegelin). Used by some Asian residents as first language. |
| Language development | Taught in primary schools. Used as medium of instruction in secondary schools and universities. |
Tokelau
| Language name | English |
| Population | 40 in Tokelau (2004). |
| Language use | National language. Used in schools. |
Tonga
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. |
Trinidad and Tobago
| Language name | English |
| Population | 2,600 in Trinidad and Tobago (2004). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Turks and Caicos Islands
| Language name | English |
| Population | 920 in Turks and Caicos Islands (2004). |
| Language use | Official language. |
U.S. Virgin Islands
| Language name | English |
| Population | 8,414 in U.S. Virgin Islands (1970 census). |
| Language use | Official language. |
Uganda
| Language name | English |
| Language use | Official language. Second-language speakers: 1,000,000 in Uganda (1977 Voegelin and Voegelin). Used in primary schools, law courts. |
USA
| Language name | English |
| Population | 210,000,000 in the USA (1984). 8,400,000 USA residents 14 years old or older who do not speak fluent English; 38% or 7,700,000 households headed by immigrants. |
| Dialects | Black English. |
| Comments | Many regional dialects. |
Vanuatu
| Language name | English |
| Population | 1,900 in Vanuatu (1995). |
| Language use | Official language. First-language speakers are from the United Kingdom. |
Zambia
| Language name | English |
| Population | 41,434 in Zambia (1969 census). |
| Language use | Official language. Spoken as first language by Europeans mainly. A small minority of Zambian Africans speak it as a first language. Used as a second language. The only language of Parliament. |
Zimbabwe
| Language name | English |
| Population | 375,490 in Zimbabwe (1969 census). |
| Language use | Official language. Spoken by most Europeans and an increasing number of Africans. Used in all or most education. |