What languages are the most used online globally?
- Portugal Business News - Valerie Charoux
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
IT News – Here is the ranking of the Top 10 languages the most used online globally compared to the most spoken languages offline, according to a report published by Statista on February 18, 2026, and data from DataReportal and Ethnologue:
According to estimates from Ethnologue, a research center for language intelligence, roughly 1.53 billion people speak English around the world, including native and non-native speakers. According to figures from DataReportal's most recent Digital Global Overview report, almost half (49.2 percent) of websites are written in English and is thus the most used language online globally with a 49.2% share of all languages used online.
However, for the other languages that are the most used online globally, the reality is completely different compared to the number of speakers offline globally…
1 - Ranking of Top 10 languages the most used online globally:
1 – English
English ranks the No. 1 most spoken language online with a 49.2% share of all languages used online.
English also ranks the No. 1 most spoken language offline as there are 1,528 million (1.53 billion) English speakers globally in 2025.
2 - Spanish
Spanish ranks 2nd most spoken language online with a 6% share of all languages used online.
However, Spanish is only the 4th most spoken language offline as there are 559 million Spanish speakers globally in 2025.
3 – German
German ranks 3rd most spoken language online with a 5.9% share of all languages used online.
However, German is not ranked in the most spoken languages offline in 2025.
4 – Japanese
Japanese ranks 4th most spoken language online with a 5.2% share of all languages used online.
However, Japanese is not ranked in the most spoken languages offline in 2025.
5 – French
French ranks 5th most spoken language online with a 4.4% share of all languages used online.
French also ranks the 6th most spoken language offline as there are 312 million French speakers globally in 2025.
6 – Portuguese
Portuguese ranks 6th most spoken language online with a 4% share of all languages used online.
Portuguese also ranks the 8th most spoken language offline as there are 267 million Portuguese speakers globally in 2025.
7 – Russian
Russian ranks 7th most spoken language online with a 3.8% share of all languages used online.
However, Russian ranks 9th in the most spoken languages offline in 2025.
8 – Italian
Italian ranks 8th most spoken language online with a 2.8% share of all languages used online.
However, Italian is not ranked in the most spoken languages offline in 2025.
9 - Dutch - Flemish
Dutch - Flemish ranks 9th most spoken language online with a 2.2% share of all languages used online.
However, Dutch - Flemish is not ranked in the most spoken languages offline in 2025.
10 - Polish
Polish ranks 10th most spoken language online with a 1.8% share of all languages used online.
However, Polish is not ranked in the most spoken languages offline in 2025.
2 - What are the Top 10 most spoken languages offline globally?
1 – English ranks No. 1 most spoken language offline globally with 1,528 million (1.53 billion) speakers in 2025.
2 – Mandarin Chinese ranks 2nd most spoken language offline globally with 1,184 million speakers in 2025.
3 – Hindi ranks 3rd most spoken language offline globally with 609 million speakers in 2025.
4 – Spanish ranks 4th most spoken language offline globally with 559 million speakers in 2025.
5 – Arabic ranks 5th most spoken language offline globally with 335 million speakers.
6 – French ranks 6th most spoken language offline globally with 312 million speakers.
7 – Bengali ranks 7th most spoken language offline globally with 284 million speakers.
8 – Portuguese ranks 8th most spoken language offline globally with 267 million speakers.
9 - Russian ranks 9th most spoken language offline globally with 253.4 million speakers.
10 - Indonesian ranks 10th most spoken language offline globally with 252.4 million speakers.
