The variety of languages spoken by internet users means that savvy web marketers need to translate and localize their web content to communicate effectively with their audiences.

Determining Your Target Audience

When considering the diversity of languages online audiences are using, it’s a good idea to translate your website. But how do you know which languages to translate your website into? After all, depending on your target audience and the scope of your website, it may be efficient to translate your site into just one other language.

For example, an English-language website geared at US audiences might translate content only into Spanish, while a Canadian website would do well to translate its content into French.

Sometimes simply translating website content into another language isn’t enough. For many markets, localization is an essential aspect of website translation, allowing you to reach specific audiences that speak different flavors of the same language.

With this in mind, a look at the top ten languages spoken by web users can help businesses and individuals decide where to focus their website translation and localization efforts.

Top 10 Languages Spoken on the Internet

10) Chinese

According to data gathered by Statista, as of 2018 the tenth most common language among web users is Chinese, with 1.8 percent. What is interesting about this statistic is that Chinese is the most spoken language in the world with 1,1284 million speakers. Despite this fact, there are still nine other languages that are used more frequently online.

9) Persian

Next on the list of the most commonly used languages by internet surfers is Persian, with 1.9 percent.

8) Italian

With 2.5 percent of users searching for content in Italian, the Italian language is eighth on the list.

7) Portuguese

Portuguese comes in seventh, with a whopping 2.8 percent.

6) Japanese

Japanese claims 3.8 percent of online searches.

5) French

French commands 4.1 percent of internet users, making it the fifth most common language.

4) Spanish

Spanish — also one of the top three languages spoken in the world — accounts for 5.1 percent.

3) Russian

As recently as 2015, Russian was not included in the top 5 internet languages. However, recent increases in the number of searches being performed in Russian along with an uptick in the number of pages being translated into Russian, now see this language in the number 3 spot with 6.1 percent.

2) German

German is the second most popular language on the internet, with 6.3 percent of users selecting it as their language of choice.

1) English

English still retains the number one spot in the most commonly used languages among internet users, with a commanding 52.9 percent.

One of the key steps for brands to increase their sales is to connect with their buyers effectively. But before they can appeal to their emotions, they need to create content that matches their interests and needs, starting with choosing the right language.

Here’s a breakdown of the most used languages on the internet in 2024.

What is the most used language on the internet in 2024: top five

According to a study, English dominates the internet as the most common language for web content. More than half of all websites use English, which reflects its global popularity as the most spoken language worldwide with nearly 1.5 billion speakers.

The study also shows that no other language comes close to English in terms of online usage. This is so much so that its share of 51.7% is more than the combined shares of the other nine languages featured on this list, which total 32.9%.

Spanish, a language spoken by 60% of people living in Latin America and 6.8% of the global population, is in second place, with 5.5% of websites using it. Worldwide, it is the fourth most spoken language, with more than half a billion speakers. The German language, widely spoken in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Luxembourg, ranks next, with 4.8%.

Russian is the fourth most used language on the internet. 4.5% of websites feature content in Russian, which is the official language of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. In comparison, it is spoken by 3.2% of the world's population.

Japanese is in fifth place—4.4% of websites have content in the East Asian language, which is spoken by 1.6% of people worldwide. It is also the highest-ranked Asian language on this list.

What is the most used language on the internet in 2024: sixth to 10th

Japanese is followed by French and Portuguese, with shares of 4.3% and 3.2%, respectively.

Italian ranks eighth among the most common languages on the internet, with 2.4% of websites using it. Rounding out the 10 most used languages on the internet are Turkish and Dutch or Flemish, featured on 2% and 1.8% of all websites, respectively.

Of the 10 most used languages on the internet, the majority are European languages. The remaining are from Asia.

What is the top 10 most used language?

The most spoken languages in the world in 2024.

English (1,452 million speakers) ... .

Mandarin (1,118 million speakers) ... .

Hindi (602+ million speakers) ... .

Spanish (548+ million speakers) ... .

French (280 million speakers) ... .

Modern Standard Arabic (274 million speakers) ... .

Bengali (272+ million speakers) ... .

Russian (258+ million speakers).

What are the big 5 languages?

The 5 most spoken languages in the world.

Chinese. Thanks to the huge population of China and the thousands of Chinese communities around the world, Chinese is officially the world's most spoken language with over 1 billion speakers! ... .

Spanish. ... .

English. ... .

Hindi. ... .

Arabic..

What is the

1 universal language?

English remains the dominant language of international business and global communication through the influence of global media and the former British Empire that had established the use of English in regions around the world such as North America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.nullUniversal language - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org › wiki › Universal_languagenull

What is the No 1 language in the world?

Top 100 Languages by Population.