Language is perhaps the most important function
of the human body – it allows us to get
sustenance as a child, it allows us to get virtually
anything we want as an adult, and it allows us
many hours of entertainment through literature,
radio, music, and films. This list (in order of least
to most spoken) summarizes the most important
languages in use today. You may love to learn one or more of them. Who knows you might end up travelling out of Nigeria in 2015. But never forget your fatherland!

10. French
Number of speakers: 129 million
Often called the most romantic language in the
world, French is spoken in tons of countries,
including Belgium, Canada, Rwanda, Cameroon,
and Haiti. Oh, and France too. We’re actually very
lucky that French is so popular, because without it,
we might have been stuck with Dutch Toast, Dutch
Fries, and Dutch kissing (ew!).
To say “hello” in French, say “Bonjour” (bone-
JOOR).

9. Malay-Indonesian
Number of speakers: 159 million
Malay-Indonesian is spoken – surprise – in
Malaysia and Indonesia. Actually, we kinda fudged
the numbers on this one because there are many
dialects of Malay, the most popular of which is
Indonesian. But they’re all pretty much based on
the same root language, which makes it the ninth
most-spoken in the world.
Indonesia is a fascinating place; a nation made up
of over 13,000 islands it is the sixth most
populated country in the world. Malaysia borders
on two of the larger parts of Indonesia (including
the island of Borneo), and is mostly known for its
capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
To say “hello” in Indonesian, say “Selamat
pagi” (se-LA-maht PA-gee).

8. Portuguese
Number of speakers: 191 million
Think of Portuguese as the little language that
could. In the 12th Century, Portugal won its
independence from Spain and expanded all over
the world with the help of its famous explorers like
Vasco da Gama and Prince Henry the Navigator.
(Good thing Henry became a navigator . . . could
you imagine if a guy named “Prince Henry the
Navigator” became a florist?) Because Portugal got
in so early on the exploring game, the language
established itself all over the world, especially in
Brazil (where it’s the national language), Macau,
Angola, Venezuela, and Mozambique.
To say “hello” in Portuguese, say “Bom dia” (bohn
DEE-ah).

7. Bengali
Number of speakers: 211 million
In Bangladesh, a country of 120+ million people,
just about everybody speaks Bengali. And because
Bangladesh is virtually surrounded by India (where
the population is growing so fast, just breathing
the air can get you pregnant), the number of
Bengali speakers in the world is much higher than
most people would expect.
To say “hello” in Bengali, say “Ei Je” (EYE-jay).

6. Arabic
Number of speakers: 246 million
Arabic, one of the world’s oldest languages, is
spoken in the Middle East, with speakers found in
countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria,
Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Furthermore, because
Arabic is the language of the Koran, millions of
Moslems in other countries speak Arabic as well.
So many people have a working knowledge of
Arabic, in fact, that in 1974 it was made the sixth
official language of the United Nations.
To say “hello” in Arabic, say “Al salaam
a’alaykum” (Ahl sah-LAHM ah ah-LAY-koom).

5. Russian
Number of speakers: 277 million
Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Yakov
Smirnoff are among the millions of Russian
speakers out there. Sure, we used to think of them
as our Commie enemies. Now we think of them as
our Commie friends. One of the six languages in
the UN, Russian is spoken not only in the Mother
Country, but also in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the
U.S. (to name just a few places).
To say “hello” in Russian, say
“Zdravstvuite” (ZDRAST-vet-yah).

4. Spanish
Number of speakers: 392 million
Aside from all of those kids who take it in high
school, Spanish is spoken in just about every
South American and Central American country, not
to mention Spain, Cuba, and the U.S. There is a
particular interest in Spanish in the U.S., as many
English words are borrowed from the language,
including: tornado, bonanza, patio, quesadilla,
enchilada, and taco grande supreme.
To say “hello” in Spanish, say “Hola” (OH-la).

3. Hindustani
Number of speakers: 497 million
Hindustani is the primary language of India’s
crowded population, and it encompasses a huge
number of dialects (of which the most commonly
spoken is Hindi). While many predict that the
population of India will soon surpass that of China,
the prominence of English in India prevents
Hindustani from surpassing the most popular
language in the world. If you’re interested in
learning a little Hindi, there’s a very easy way:
rent an Indian movie. The film industry in India is
the most prolific in the world, making thousands of
action/romance/musicals every year.
To say “hello” in Hindustani, say “Namaste” (Nah-
MAH-stay).

2. English
Number of speakers: 508 million
While English doesn’t have the most speakers, it is
the official language of more countries than any
other language. Its speakers hail from all around
the world, including New Zealand, the U.S.,
Australia, England, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Hong
Kong, South Africa, and Canada. We’d tell you
more about English, but you probably feel pretty
comfortable with the language already. Let’s just
move on to the most popular language in the
world.
To say “hello” in English, say “What’s up,
freak?” (watz-UP-freek).

1. Mandarin
Number of speakers: 1 billion+
Surprise, surprise, the most widely spoken
language on the planet is based in the most
populated country on the planet. Beating second-
place English by a 2 to 1 ratio, but don’t let that
lull you into thinking that Mandarin is easy to
learn. Speaking Mandarin can be really tough,
because each word can be pronounced in four
ways (or “tones”), and a beginner will invariably
have trouble distinguishing one tone from another.
But if over a billion people could do it, so could
you. Try saying hello!
To say “hello” in Mandarin, say “Ni hao” (Nee
HaOW). (“Hao” is pronounced as one syllable, but
the tone requires that you let your voice drop
midway, and then raise it again at the end.)
http://listverse.com/2008/06/26/top-10-most-spoken-languages-in-the-world/

I cannot forget our mothers' tongue therefore I went extra mile in researching where the dominant native languages of Nigeria rank. I may not be able to say hello in Hausa and Igbo. Hope you guys help me out...Lols
36. Hausa
It's is predominantly spoken by 0.52% of the world population. It's the language of about 80% of Northern Nigeria population.

43. Yoruba
Yoruba is solely spoken in many Western states of Nigeria, part of Benin republic and Togo. Some even claim that a particular ethnic in Brazil have Yoruba in their native language.( Yet to be confirmed) 0.43% of the world population speak Yoruba .
To say "hello" in Yoruba, simply say "Bawo ni". Correct me if I am wrong

52. Igbo
0.36% of the world population speak Igbo. it's predominant language in Eastern part of Nigeria. It's reputed that Igbo is the most difficult language to learn in Nigeria.
Thanks for reading.

Yoruba and hausa language nko
I learnt they are very popular too. For instance, yoruba is spoken in countries like Republic of Congo, Republic of Beneh, Togo, Brazil and of course Nigeria.
Estimated population of speakers, I DONT KNOW

Mandarin ni Marinda ko...

obiZEAL:
Mandarin ni Marinda ko...

Guy, you have to believe because it's a language spoken by the Chinese and you have to think of their population.

At least one of our own local languages should be in top 20

ok

so educative

I LOVE NIGERIA...... BUT I DOUBT THA HAUSA....ITS NT JUST HAUSA BUT HAUSA-FULANI