A while ago, we covered the most useless languages, now we will cover the most useful languages. So, what are the most useful languages?
9 most useful languages
9. Hindi
At first, it probably surprises you that Hindi is even on this list in the first place, but when you think about it, it does make sense. India is the world’s 7th largest economy, so a lot of business is done there, which would make it quite useful if people knew how to speak Hindi.
If Hindi was more well spoken, we’d all be better off, no longer would Indian manufacturers and Western companies have to communicate through an intermediary.
This would allow for cheaper prices on Indian-made goods, which would make them even more attractive to everyday buyers.
Hindi is spoken by around 545 million people, either as a first or second language.
8. Dutch
Dutch too is likely a surprise on this list, when you think of global superpowers or colonial empires, the Dutch don’t tend to top the list. But that doe not mean that Dutch is any less useful.
The Netherlands is one of Europe’s strongest economies after France, Germany and the UK. A huge amount of European trade and imports come through the Netherlands each year.
Especially in the UK and US, it is ranked as one of the top five languages requested by employers.
Dutch isn’t as impressive as some of the other languages on this list, with only 28 million speakers, as either their first or second language. However, all great languages started somewhere. And that 28 million make up some of the best minds in the Western Hemisphere alike.
7. German
Whilst German may have some complicated grammar, and sometimes unpronouncable words, there are benefits to learning German. For one, Germany is an economic powerhouse, and Austria is a popular tourist destination.
German is also the main language spoken in mainland Western Europe (even more than French)!
Germany is a great importing, but also exporting nation, which helps to spread the language. A huge amount of European trade is done through Germany, with this set to rise.
German is also likely to become the dominant language of the EU, combined with French, once Brexit is completed.
There are currently around 220 million German speakers in the world, who either speak it as a first or second language, which makes it an even more useful language!
6. Arabic
Arabic is a no-brainer. It is the official language of Islam, but also the Arab League. Most countries (and cities) on Earth have a small Arabic-speaking minority, from the US, to Algeria, to China to Brazil to Canada!
Arabic is the official language of 25 countries, mainly spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
Arabic is also one of the most customised languages in the world, with over 30 dialects to choose from!
Thanks to this, Arabic has around 420 million speakers in the world!
5. Russian
The Russian language is huge to say the least. Russia is the largest country on Earth by far, being even larger than the surface area of Pluto!
The same can be said of the Russian language.
It is an extremely powerful and useful language, being the official language of 38 territories and 17 countries! The language plays a major part in the power games of many North Asian, and Euro-Asian countries thanks to the heritage of the Russian Empire and USSR.
Russian is by far the most spoken language in Europe as a whole (sorry French, German and English). Russian also has a speaking population of 265 million, which isn’t even the entire population of Russia itself!
4. Portuguese
Portuguese may or may not surprise you. Portuguese is one of the most spoken languages on the planet, but not really because of Portugal.
Whilst the Portuguese colonial empire may have initially spread the language, it is Brazil that has made it one of the most useful languages to learn.
Brazil is a major exporter of wood, but also engineering giants. Brazil may be famous for its wood, but it’s the industry that has made it strong. Companies like Embraer, AmBev and Itau Unibanco are all Brazilian conglomerates.
Thanks to this industry, the Portuguese language has spread across the world, being spoken in 10 countries and 260 million people, which makes it one of the most useful languages to learn.
3. French
French is probably the most obvious language on this list. When it comes to the most useful languages, French is repeatedly ranked in the top 3!
French is spoken throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, and parts of the US and Canada. 29 countries currently have French as one of their official languages!
French has become a fairly useful language thanks to the former French colonial empire(s), which conquered new places, and brought the French language as the language of power.
Currently, French has a speaking population of 275 million people, this is as both a first and second language.
2. Spanish
This too is a fairly obvious answer when it comes to the most useful languages. Spanish is also repeatedly ranked among the top when it comes to this question.
This is due mainly to the widespread Spanish Empire which collonised most of South America, but also a large part of the Pacific Ocean Islands. Over 20 countries in South America alone, speak Spanish.
Even the US, a country famous for spreading the English language through business and commerce, isn’t 100% free. 35 million people in the US alone, are native Spanish speakers.
Spanish is an even more common primary language, ranking at #2, where English lands at #3!
Spanish is spoken by around 750 million speakers, as either a first or second language.
1. English
This goes without saying. English has long been one of the most useful languages to learn due to how widespread the language is across the globe.
Whilst English may be quite a difficult language to learn by most accounts, the benefits far outweigh the difficulty. Most foreign companies have hundreds of employees who speak English, because the benefit is just so great.
English is spoken by 1/7 (give or take) of the world’s population (1.5 billion by some estimates) as either a first or second language. Canada, Australia, the US and UK (all majority English speaking nations) are repeatedly ranked as some of the world’s strongest economies.
I hope you enjoyed this article on the most useful languages. Do you think I left out any languages? Did I miss any key facts? Tell me in the comments!