Most Used Languages on the Internet
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%.
→ Click Here to Launch Your Online Business with Shopify
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.