Do you want to be ahead of the game when learning a language? If you want to know what the next big thing is, and the languages which are most spoken and most common in the world, read on. Maybe you even want to start learning one of them! Show
Learn languages at your paceThe 20 most widely-spoken languages in 2022Let’s focus on the top 5… 1. EnglishHow many people speak English? 1,132 million speakers Learn this language if…you love languages without genders that use simple verb conjugations and have a lot of resources to choose from. Did you know? “I”, “we”, “who”, “two” and “three” date back tens of thousands of years, making them the oldest words in the English language. If you can understand this article and exchange some words in English, you’re already in luck! English is still the most-spoken language as well as the most common in the world, not due to its native speakers alone, but because many others learn it as a second language. It is a part of the West Germanic language family and is present in six of seven continents as an official language (with 64% of its native speakers being Americans). It is well worth the effort as our lingua franca and a crucial tool for business between cultures! 2. Mandarin ChineseHow many people speak Mandarin Chinese? 1,117 million speakers Learn this language if…you love tone languages with simple grammar and don’t mind dedicating more of your time to discover the complexities behind them. Did you know? Using two eights in a row (88) is Chinese internet slang for “bye bye”. The second most spoken language in the world is Mandarin Chinese. It has the largest number of native speakers of any language and is spoken by 70% of all Chinese speakers. That makes it the largest of all Chinese dialects by far. It is also a great reason to learn more about this 1000-year old giant! Many fear learning Mandarin due to its 50,000 different characters – which, in comparison to the 26-letter alphabet, are quite intimidating – but 2,500 characters would be enough for everyday Mandarin to be understood. We think it’s worth the dedication! 3. HindiHow many people speak Hindi? 615 million speakers Learn this language if…you don’t mind learning a language with genders, since it is of easy pronunciation and read as it is written. Did you know? The Hindi language does not use the word “the”, or what we call a definite article. Many might associate the Hindi language with colourful Bollywood movies or the chaotic traffic in Delhi. But Hindi has so much more to give…such as 615 million potential friends and access to an incredible variety of cultures! Giving this Indo-Aryan language a chance will allow you to discover not only incredible music, entertaining films and heart-warming people, it will also allow you to see just how closely it still operates with English. In fact, Hindi gave English words like guru, avatar, mantra, pajamas, cheetah, bungalow and shampoo.
Learn languages at your pace4. SpanishHow many people speak Spanish? 534 million speakers Learn this language if…you want to learn a language that is spoken as it is written but still love a good grammar challenge. Did you know? Spanish is also the official language of a country in Central Africa, Equatorial Guinea. We talk a lot about Spanish around here, and how could we not? This melodic, cheerful Romance language conquers new hearts wherever it goes. It has also seen an incredible development in its number of speakers due to its growing cultural influence. Many believe Spanish is intimidating due to the rolled “r”, the genders and the complex verb conjugations. However, we think those are all details when you consider the bigger picture: access to 21 Spanish-speaking countries, understanding your favourite party songs and mastering one of the most requested languages nowadays! 5. FrenchHow many people speak French? 280 million speakers Learn this language if…you enjoy a good pronunciation challenge, as well as complex grammar…while getting your foot in the door of a huge variety of countries! Did you know? 75% of French citizens did not speak French as a mother tongue when the French Revolution took place. Instead, they spoke regional languages. French continues to be a cultural giant, but the reason might not be as…well…parisienne as you might think! Africa is actually set to be the future of the French language, as 45% of all French speakers were based in Africa in 2018. The Francophone population is also expected to reach 572 million speakers by the year 2030 due to the growing population in the African continent. Having said that, France continues to be a huge attraction and a key country for world politics. The cultural variety and rich history it gives us access to is a wonderful reason to start learning this Romance language today! The top 6 – 20 most common languages in the world
How can you find out about the top spoken languages in the world?The Ethnologue, one of the most trusted platforms regarding languages and their profiles, tells us not the top 3, not the top 5…but the top 200 most-spoken languages around the world last year. Learning one of these languages gives you access to millions of speakers, which in turn gives you a more beautiful experience of the world! And why is this page so important, you ask? Because it includes both native speakers and foreign speakers in their count: this gives any language learner the awareness of the total number of speakers who are walking this earth and who can be potential language partners! After all, not only native speakers can be helpful for your learning, but other learners can also help you stay on track, too!
Learn languages at your pace
In today’s increasingly globalized world, having a shared means of communication—or an international language, rather—is more important than ever. With over 1.1 billion speakers worldwide, English is currently the closest we’ve come to a lingua franca, a common language that connects people from different backgrounds. However, Mandarin Chinese may one day catch up. Here’s a look at the top 10 most spoken languages across the globe:
While English and Mandarin Chinese come close when looking at their total number of speakers, English has a wider geographical distribution—it’s classified as an official language in 67 different countries worldwide. In contrast, Mandarin Chinese is recognized as an official language in just five regions. Top 10 Languages By Native SpeakersThings look slightly different when looking at total native speakers, or people who consider a language their first/primary one. In this instance, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish outrank English:
This begs the question—will English remain the “dominant” language in the years to come, or will the world be switching to a new lingua franca in the future? »For a more in-depth look at languages, visit: The 100 Most Spoken Languages Around the World
Where does this data come from? Source: Ethnologue
Amazon is best known for its sprawling ecommerce empire, but three-quarters of the company’s profits actually come from cloud computing.
The Amazon growth story has been a remarkable one so far. On the top line, the company has grown every single year since its inception. Even in going back to 2004, Amazon generated a much more modest $6.9 billion in revenue compared to the massive $469 billion for 2021. Most of these sales come from their retail and ecommerce operations, which the company has come to be known for. However, on the bottom line, the source of profit paints a completely different picture. That’s because 74% of Amazon’s operating profit comes from Amazon Web Services (AWS). Here’s a closer look at the financials around Amazon and AWS:
Ultimately, the data suggests that the cloud business has been, and possibly will always remain, a higher margin business and consistent profit center in comparison to ecommerce and the physical distribution of goods. A Glance at AWSAWS is Amazon’s cloud computing service that provides the critical infrastructure for an assortment of applications like data storage and networking. With this, they help fuel over a million organizations including businesses like Twitter and Netflix and even both the U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments. Here are some other notable entities and the monthly payments they’ve made towards AWS:
Source: Continho (2020) Based on these monthly figures from 2020, AWS collects $1.3 billion in sales a year just from these 10 customers, while raking in $62 billion of revenue overall. Moreover, this makes them the leader in the competitive cloud market. In an industry worth an excess of $180 billion, Amazon’s 33% market share position exceeds both Google and Microsoft (Azure) combined. Their market share also surpasses the bottom six shown on the chart combined, who are formidable tech giants in their own right. The Future of AWS?AWS has been a cash cow for years and there have even been rumors of an Amazon split up, where AWS would spin off as its own entity. It’s believed by some that if the cloud segment of the business separates, it will be seen as a pure play on the cloud industry and will be awarded a higher valuation multiple by the market. One thing is for sure, from the perspective of profits, Amazon could be better be described as a cloud company, with an ecommerce business on the side.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Amazon SEC Filings
An analysis of 90+ major cities reveals which ones are the least affordable housing markets based on their price-to-income ratio.
It’s become increasingly difficult for middle-class families to purchase a home over the last few years—and the global pandemic has only made things worse. According to Demographia’s 2022 Housing Affordability Report, the number of housing markets around the world deemed “severely unaffordable” increased by 60% compared to 2019 (prior to the pandemic). This graphic looks at some of the least affordable housing markets across the globe, relative to median household income. The report covers 92 different cities in eight nations: Australia, Canada, China, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Least Affordable Housing MarketsBefore diving in, it’s worth outlining the methodology used in this report, to help explain what’s classified as a severely unaffordable housing market. To calculate affordability, a city’s median housing price and divided by its median household income. From there, a city is given a score:
All the cities on this graphic are classified as severely unaffordable—and, for the 12th year in a row, Hong Kong takes the top spot as the world’s most unaffordable housing market, with a score of 23.2.
One reason for Hong Kong’s steep housing costs is its lack of supply, partly due to its lack of residential zoning—which only accounts for 7% of the region’s zoned land. For context, 75% of New York City’s land area is dedicated to residential housing. Sydney moved up one spot this year, making it the second most expensive city to purchase a home on the list, with a score of 15.3. Besides Hong Kong, no other city has scored this high in the last 18 years this report has been released. There are several theories for Sydney’s soaring housing rates, but industry expert Tom Forrest, CEO of Urban Taskforce Australia, boils it down to one fundamental issue in an interview with Australia Broker—supply isn’t keeping up with demand:
The COVID-19 ImpactMiddle-income earners were already feeling the squeeze prior to the global pandemic, but COVID-19 only exacerbated housing affordability issues. As people began to work from home, high-income earners started to look for more spacious housing that wasn’t necessarily in the city center, driving up demand in suburban areas that were relatively affordable prior to the pandemic. At the same time, supply chain issues and material costs impacted construction, which created a perfect storm that ultimately drove housing prices up. But with interest rates rising and COVID-19 restrictions easing around the world, some experts are predicting a market cool down this year—at least in some parts of the world. >>Like this? Then you might like this article: How Much Prime Real Estate Could You Buy for $1M?
Where does this data come from?
Source: Demographia |