How many people in the world can
read English? The exact number is unknown but the number is in the billions
(see English language - Wikipedia). English is the predominant language in the world and on the web
(see English as a Global Language), and will likely remain so for a very long time, due in part to English being an official language of
India which will be the most populous country in the world by 2022. In 2004, Linguist David Crystal (see below), stated that, combining native and non-native speakers, India now has more people who speak or understand English than any other country in the world. In Africa, many speakers of English have become part of an "Afro-Saxon" language community that unites Africans from different countries
(see Mazrui and Mazrui). In a world of texting and messaging, ability to just
read English is as important as learning to be a proficient English speaker. That said, there are much better statistics on English speakers, native and non-native--
Linguist David Crystal estimates that
non-native English speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1 in the world--
For nations where English is not the native language, here are the best English speakers:
Source: Statista
Above chart: Almost two billion people study English as a
non-native language - that's nearly one in three people worldwide. Which countries actually speak English the best
as a second language? The English Proficiency Test
compiled an interesting ranking using the exam results of hundreds of thousands of people to illustrate the countries that have the best proficiency in English as a second language.
Read more on the i100. (Nov 6, 2015)
Top 5: Sweden, Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Finland
Interesting are the numbers of people who speak (not just read) English worldwide, both native-speakers and as a second language:
"
Anglospeak-percentage-knowledge". Licensed under
GFDL via
Commons.
more info:
List of countries by English-speaking population - Wikipedia
See also:
Why English Dominates the Web: Native & Non-native English Speakers
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