Family

Summary by language family

The genetic classifications given in the language entries of Part I name 94 different language families (that is, top-level genetic groups). Six of these, each of which has at least 5% of the world's languages, stand out as the major language families of the world. Together they account for nearly two-thirds of all languages and five-sixths of the world's population. Table 3 summarizes the distribution of languages and their populations within these six families. The columns are as for table 1, with the addition of a final column listing the countries under which the main entries for the languages of that family are found in Part I.

In addition to the other 88 language families, the genetic classification scheme also includes special categories for artificial languages, creoles, deaf sign languages, language isolates, mixed languages, pidgins, and unclassified languages. Table 4 summarizes the distribution of languages and their populations for these other language families and special categories. In most cases the population as a percentage of the world population is negligible; a figure is shown in that column only when the value is at least one-hundredth of one percent. Together tables 3 and 4 account for all known living languages of the world.

Table 3. Major language families of the world

Language family	Living languages		Number of speakers				Countries
	Count	Percent	Count	Percent	Mean	Median
Afro-Asiatic	353	5.11	339,478,607	5.93	961,696	20,151	Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cameroon, Chad, Cyprus, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen
Austronesian	1,246	18.03	311,740,132	5.45	250,193	3,384	Brunei, Cambodia, Chile, China, Cook Islands, East Timor, Fiji, French Polynesia, Guam, Indonesia, Kiribati, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mayotte, Micronesia, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Suriname, Taiwan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, USA, Vanuatu, Viet Nam, Wallis and Futuna
Indo-European	430	6.22	2,562,896,428	44.78	5,960,224	150,000	Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Maldives, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Turkey, USA, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Venezuela
Niger-Congo	1,495	21.63	358,091,103	6.26	239,526	26,000	Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Sino-Tibetan	399	5.77	1,275,531,921	22.28	3,196,822	18,686	Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Viet Nam
Trans-New Guinea	561	8.12	3,359,894	0.06	5,989	1,245	Australia, East Timor, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea
Totals	4,484	64.87	4,851,098,085	84.75

Table 4. Other language families of the world

Language family	Living languages		Number of speakers				Countries
	Count	Percent	Count	Percent	Mean	Median
Alacalufan	1	0.01	20		20	20	Chile
Algic	31	0.45	194,980		6,290	3,995	Canada, USA
Altaic	64	0.93	145,069,278	2.53	2,266,707	65,000	Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Amto-Musan	2	0.03	270		135	70	Papua New Guinea
Andamanese	4	0.06	521		130	96	India
Arauan	7	0.10	3,333		476	195	Brazil
Araucanian	2	0.03	302,000		151,000	2,000	Chile
Arawakan	49	0.71	670,565	0.01	13,685	1,300	Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Honduras, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
Artificial language	1	0.01	1,100		1,100	1,100	France
Arutani-Sape	2	0.03	24		12	5	Brazil, Venezuela
Australian	224	3.24	35,227		157	10	Australia
Austro-Asiatic	169	2.45	101,339,384	1.77	599,641	8,000	Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam
Aymaran	3	0.04	2,228,378	0.04	742,793	736	Bolivia, Peru
Barbacoan	5	0.07	42,350		8,470	3,450	Colombia, Ecuador
Basque	3	0.04	664,308	0.01	221,436	67,500	France, Spain
Bayono-Awbono	2	0.03	200		100	100	Indonesia
Caddoan	4	0.06	68		17	20	USA
Cahuapanan	2	0.03	11,384		5,692	11,384	Peru
Carib	29	0.42	67,815		2,338	450	Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
Chapacura-Wanham	4	0.06	1,978		494	40	Brazil
Chibchan	21	0.30	254,846		12,136	2,000	Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
Chimakuan	1	0.01	10		10	10	USA
Choco	7	0.10	69,570		9,939	8,050	Colombia, Panama
Chon	2	0.03	6		3	2	Argentina
Chukotko-Kamchatkan	5	0.07	13,712		2,742	150	Russia
Creole	82	1.19	28,815,529	0.50	351,409	34,500	Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Cameroon, Cape Verde Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritius, Micronesia, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Réunion, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, São Tomé e Príncipe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, USA, Uganda, Vanuatu
Deaf sign language	119	1.72	Unknown				Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Korea, South, Laos, Latvia, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, USA, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Dravidian	73	1.06	221,515,995	3.87	3,034,466	24,000	India, Nepal, Pakistan
East Bird's Head	3	0.04	34,783		11,594	12,000	Indonesia
East Papuan	33	0.48	123,095		3,730	2,200	Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands
Eskimo-Aleut	10	0.14	89,115		8,912	4,000	Canada, Greenland, Russia, USA
Geelvink Bay Bay	33	0.48	20,824		631	250	Indonesia
Guahiban	5	0.07	28,651		5,730	1,237	Colombia
Harakmbet	2	0.03	811		406	311	Peru
Hmong-Mien	35	0.51	6,284,271	0.11	179,551	50,000	China, Viet Nam
Hokan	19	0.27	9,500		500	75	Mexico, USA
Huavean	4	0.06	18,344		4,586	900	Mexico
Iroquoian	7	0.10	22,687		3,241	175	Canada, USA
Japanese	12	0.17	123,445,034	2.16	10,287,086	5,000	Japan
Jivaroan	4	0.06	99,292		24,823	9,333	Ecuador, Peru
Kartvelian	5	0.07	4,806,404	0.08	961,281	79,800	Georgia, Israel, Turkey
Katukinan	3	0.04	658		219	10	Brazil
Keres	2	0.03	7,971		3,986	3,391	USA
Khoisan	22	0.32	363,600		16,527	4,200	Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania
Kiowa Tanoan	5	0.07	6,249		1,250	1,298	USA
Kwomtari-Baibai	6	0.09	3,402		567	345	Papua New Guinea
Language Isolate	36	0.52	67,284,147	1.18	1,869,004	619	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, South, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, USA, Venezuela
Left May	6	0.09	1,990		332	330	Papua New Guinea
Lower Mamberamo	2	0.03	800		400	200	Indonesia
Lule-Vilela	1	0.01	20		20	20	Argentina
Macro-Ge	24	0.35	51,037		2,127	728	Bolivia, Brazil
Maku	6	0.09	2,551		425	300	Brazil, Colombia
Mascoian	4	0.06	16,160		4,040	2,500	Paraguay
Mataco-Guaicuru	11	0.16	92,800		8,436	2,008	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay
Mayan	68	0.98	6,064,703	0.11	89,187	36,000	Belize, Guatemala, Mexico
Misumalpan	2	0.03	190,800		95,400	7,400	Nicaragua
Mixe-Zoque	17	0.25	153,330		9,019	5,200	Mexico
Mixed Language	19	0.27	678,572	0.01	35,714	2,000	Armenia, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Ireland, Malawi, Micronesia, Niger, Norway, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, USA, United Kingdom
Mura	1	0.01	150		150	150	Brazil
Muskogean	6	0.09	15,307		2,551	496	USA
Na-Dene	41	0.59	180,272		4,397	80	Canada, USA
Nambiquaran	3	0.04	1,346		449	136	Brazil
Nilo-Saharan	197	2.85	34,953,324	0.61	177,428	40,000	Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda
North Caucasian	33	0.48	4,616,040	0.08	139,880	6,693	Azerbaijan, Georgia, Russia
Oto-Manguean	172	2.49	1,903,398	0.03	11,066	4,729	Mexico
Panoan	19	0.27	42,428		2,233	387	Bolivia, Brazil, Peru
Peba-Yaguan	1	0.01	5,692		5,692	5,692	Peru
Penutian	23	0.33	5,653		246	12	Canada, USA
Pidgin	5	0.07	100		20	100	Canada, India, Liberia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea
Quechuan	45	0.65	10,100,102	0.18	224,447	25,000	Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Salishan	19	0.27	3,144		165	75	Canada, USA
Salivan	3	0.04	16,135		5,378	2,500	Colombia, Venezuela
Sepik-Ramu	100	1.45	238,123		2,381	745	Indonesia, Papua New Guinea
Siouan	12	0.17	32,614		2,718	100	Canada, USA
Sko	7	0.10	5,666		809	640	Indonesia, Papua New Guinea
Subtiaba-Tlapanec	4	0.06	70,143		17,536	3,461	Mexico
Tacanan	6	0.09	5,054		842	1,180	Bolivia
Tai-Kadai	74	1.07	78,375,999	1.37	1,059,135	25,000	China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam
Tarascan	2	0.03	120,000		60,000	120,000	Mexico
Torricelli	53	0.77	111,265		2,099	952	Papua New Guinea
Totonacan	11	0.16	286,670		26,061	4,000	Mexico
Tucanoan	20	0.29	22,563		1,128	550	Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Tupi	60	0.87	5,017,354	0.09	83,623	200	Bolivia, Brazil, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru
Unclassified	43	0.62	501,237	0.01	11,657	622	Afghanistan, Angola, Brazil, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Colombia, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Mauritania, Myanmar, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Spain, United Kingdom, Venezuela, Viet Nam
Uralic	36	0.52	22,623,030	0.40	628,418	5,000	Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Norway, Russia, Sweden
Uru-Chipaya	2	0.03	1,202		601	2	Bolivia
Uto-Aztecan	56	0.81	1,947,164	0.03	34,771	5,144	El Salvador, Mexico, USA
Wakashan	4	0.06	760		190	200	Canada
West Papuan	26	0.38	310,142		11,929	4,600	Indonesia
Witotoan	6	0.09	7,749		1,292	150	Colombia, Peru
Yanomam	4	0.06	32,293		8,073	5,074	Brazil, Venezuela
Yeniseian	2	0.03	772		386	2	Russia
Yukaghir	2	0.03	120		60	30	Russia
Zamucoan	2	0.03	5,571		2,786	1,800	Paraguay
Zaparoan	4	0.06	91		23	5	Ecuador, Peru
Totals	2,428	35.13	872,763,125	15.25