Language Family Tree
The world's languages, branch by branch.
Indo-European is the largest language family in the dataset, with 90 languages and roughly 5.5B speakers. Sino-Tibetan follows with 9 languages and about 1.7B speakers, then Afro-Asiatic with 12 and about 625M. Across 21 named families, 411 languages are catalogued here.
Indo-European90 languages, ~5.5B speakers
Indo-Aryan44
- Hindi~580M
- Urdu~313M
- Bangla~280M
- Punjabi~220M
- Marathi~99M
- Gujarati~66M
- Odia~45M
- Sindhi~43M
- Bhojpuri~35M
- Saraiki~30M
- Nepali~22M
- Maithili~20M
- Assamese~18M
- Rangpuri~17M
- Haryanvi~17M
- Magahi~17M
- Chhattisgarhi~16M
- Sinhala~15M
- Deccan~14M
- Sylheti~8M
- Kanauji~8M
- Mewati~6M
- Kashmiri~6M
- Konkani~5M
- Northern Hindko~4M
- Shekhawati~4M
- Garhwali~4M
- Lambadi~4M
- Kumaoni~3M
- Dogri~3M
- Sadri~3M
- Khandesi~2M
- Wagdi~2M
- Nimadi~2M
- Bhili~2M
- Domari~2M
- Manipuri~2M
- Hindi (Latin)~1M
- Rajasthani~1M
- Mewari~1M
- Bhilali~1M
- Hadothi~1M
- Kachhi~1M
- Southern Hindko~1M
Germanic11
- English~1.6B
- German~133M
- Dutch~33M
- Swedish~13M
- Afrikaans~10M
- Danish~7M
- Norwegian~6M
- Western Frisian~764K
- Luxembourgish~450K
- Icelandic~364K
- Faroese~73K
Romance9
- Spanish~514M
- French~327M
- Portuguese~249M
- Italian~70M
- Romanian~20M
- Catalan~8M
- Galician~3M
- Occitan~2M
- Asturian~615K
Slavic12
- Russian~204M
- Polish~42M
- Ukrainian~24M
- Czech~13M
- Serbian~8M
- Bulgarian~8M
- Slovak~7M
- Croatian~7M
- Bosnian~4M
- Belarusian~3M
- Slovenian~2M
- Macedonian~2M
Iranian6
- Persian~89M
- Pashto~58M
- Kurdish~12M
- Tajik~10M
- Hazaragi~2M
- Southern Luri~1M
Hellenic1
- Greek~12M
Albanian1
- Albanian~7M
Armenian1
- Armenian~5M
Baltic2
- Lithuanian~2M
- Latvian~1M
Celtic3
- Irish~1M
- Welsh~921K
- Scottish Gaelic~75K
Sino-Tibetan9 languages, ~1.7B speakers
Chinese6
- Chinese~1.3B
- Cantonese~155M
- Wu Chinese~85M
- Min Nan Chinese~40M
- Hakka Chinese~35M
- Gan Chinese~24M
Tibeto-Burman3
- Burmese~37M
- Tibetan~3M
- Dzongkha~419K
Other184 languages, ~909M speakers
Other184
- Western Panjabi~101M
- Egyptian Arabic~71M
- Nigerian Pidgin~50M
- Xiang Chinese~41M
- Algerian Arabic~39M
- Moroccan Arabic~33M
- Awadhi~27M
- Bavarian~23M
- Madurese~18M
- Marwari~17M
- Low German~12M
- Quechua~12M
- Iloko~11M
- Luba-Lulua~11M
- Tunisian Arabic~11M
- Umbundu~11M
- Hiligaynon~10M
- Kikuyu~10M
- Kimbundu~9M
- Mossi~9M
- Baluchi~9M
- Krio~9M
- Sichuan Yi~8M
- Minangkabau~8M
- Swiss German~8M
- Standard Moroccan Tamazight~8M
- Santali~8M
- Dyula~7M
- Tok Pisin~7M
- Bemba~7M
- Coptic~7M
- Luyia~6M
- Guarani~6M
- Betawi~6M
- Sukuma~6M
- Luo~6M
- Central Kurdish~6M
- Balinese~5M
- Main-Franconian~5M
- Buginese~5M
- Konkani~5M
- Zarma~4M
- Kamba~4M
- Kalenjin~4M
- Mazanderani~4M
- Zhuang~4M
- Makhuwa~4M
- Banjar~4M
- Sidamo~4M
- Gilaki~4M
- Southern Kurdish~4M
- Mandingo~4M
- Mandingo~4M
- Acehnese~4M
- Lombard~4M
- Tiv~4M
- Shan~4M
- Fon~4M
- Kabyle~4M
- Central Atlas Tamazight~4M
- Bikol~4M
- Waray~3M
- Gondi~3M
- Efik~3M
- Ibibio~3M
- Brahui~3M
- Tachelhit~3M
- Tachelhit~3M
- Nyankole~3M
- Aymara~3M
- Gusii~3M
- Sango~3M
- Sasak~3M
- Beja~3M
- Pampanga~3M
- Jamaican Creole English~3M
- Kurukh~3M
- Chiga~3M
- Luba-Katanga~3M
- Soga~3M
- Batak Toba~3M
- Mende~3M
- Timne~2M
- Tumbuka~2M
- Teso~2M
- Meru~2M
- Afar~2M
- Kangri~2M
- Nyamwezi~2M
- Western Balochi~2M
- Wolaytta~2M
- Tulu~2M
- Northern Luri~2M
- Serer~2M
- North Ndebele~2M
- Makasar~2M
- Riffian~2M
- Tamashek~2M
- Bodo~2M
- Masai~2M
- Rohingya~2M
- Riffian~2M
- Bashkir~2M
- Chuvash~2M
- Acoli~2M
- Scots~2M
- Makonde~2M
- Bini~2M
- Pangasinan~2M
- Kpelle~2M
- Susu~2M
- Sena~2M
- Makhuwa-Meetto~2M
- Gheg Albanian~1M
- Kara-Kalpak~1M
- Bulu~1M
- Venetian~1M
- Soninke~1M
- Bakhtiari~1M
- Frafra~1M
- West Flemish~1M
- Morisyen~1M
- Zaza~1M
- Gorontalo~1M
- Bena~1M
- Shambala~1M
- Lozi~1M
- Tigre~1M
- Khasi~1M
- Najdi Arabic~1M
- Kabardian~1M
- Talysh~1M
- Chimborazo Highland Quichua~1M
- Adangme~1M
- Sardinian~1M
- Newari~1M
- Ga~968K
- Chechen~929K
- Tetum~889K
- Ossetic~558K
- Avaric~549K
- Udmurt~535K
- Jola-Fonyi~490K
- Adyghe~452K
- Yakut~451K
- Erzya~437K
- Fiji Hindi~390K
- Divehi~385K
- Buriat~310K
- Moksha~296K
- Bislama~286K
- Kumyk~282K
- Komi~253K
- Lezghian~253K
- Karachay-Balkar~239K
- Ingush~225K
- Papiamento~217K
- Hiri Motu~211K
- Tuvinian~183K
- Abkhazian~112K
- Tahitian~94K
- Gilbertese~70K
- Komi-Permyak~63K
- Marshallese~60K
- Kalaallisut~56K
- Northern Sami~53K
- Kashubian~50K
- Chamorro~46K
- Romansh~44K
- Inuktitut~43K
- Inuktitut~43K
- Sanskrit~17K
- Palauan~16K
- Plains Cree~13K
- Chipewyan~12K
- Northern Frisian~10K
- Tuvalu~10K
- Nauru~7K
- Slave~2K
- Dogrib~2K
- Tokelauan~1K
- Niuean~1K
- Skolt Sami~619
- Gwichʼin~310
Afro-Asiatic12 languages, ~625M speakers
Semitic9
- Arabic~379M
- Levantine Arabic~44M
- Amharic~39M
- Sudanese Arabic~31M
- Tigrinya~11M
- Hebrew~9M
- Hassaniyya~9M
- Maltese~470K
- Hassaniyya~7K
Cushitic2
- Oromo~38M
- Somali~19M
Chadic1
- Hausa~45M
Austronesian19 languages, ~493M speakers
Malayo-Polynesian19
- Indonesian~181M
- Javanese~96M
- Filipino~73M
- Malay~40M
- Sundanese~34M
- Cebuano~28M
- Malagasy~27M
- Pattani Malay~3M
- West Albay Bikol~3M
- Lampung Api~2M
- Maguindanaon~1M
- Tausug~1M
- Rejang~1M
- Ngaju~1M
- Fijian~371K
- Samoan~253K
- Māori~145K
- Tongan~100K
- Hawaiian~30K
Niger-Congo49 languages, ~476M speakers
Bantu27
- Swahili~194M
- Nyanja~19M
- Zulu~15M
- Shona~14M
- Kinyarwanda~12M
- Xhosa~11M
- Rundi~9M
- Southern Sotho~7M
- Tswana~7M
- Ganda~6M
- Northern Sotho~6M
- Tsonga~5M
- Ndau~4M
- Lingala~4M
- Kituba~3M
- Fang~2M
- Swati~2M
- Tonga~2M
- Lomwe~2M
- Kongo~2M
- Venda~1M
- Masaaba~1M
- Ronga~1M
- Manyika~1M
- South Ndebele~967K
- Ngazidja Comorian~333K
- Ndzwani Comorian~306K
Atlantic-Congo7
- Yoruba~32M
- Igbo~31M
- Akan~13M
- Wolof~13M
- Bambara~10M
- Fula~9M
- Ewe~5M
Atlantic10
- Nigerian Fulfulde~16M
- Central-Eastern Niger Fulfulde~2M
- Maasina Fulfulde~2M
- Saafi-Saafi~283K
- Mandjak~145K
- Balanta-Ganja~115K
- Mankanya~95K
- Noon~45K
- Bassari~18K
- Ménik~3K
Kwa2
- Baoulé~3M
- Abron~2M
Mande2
- Dan~2M
- Kita Maninkakan~1M
Senufo1
- Cebaara Senoufo~1M
Dravidian5 languages, ~293M speakers
Southern3
- Tamil~91M
- Kannada~52M
- Malayalam~46M
South-Central2
- Telugu~101M
- Waddar~3M
Turkic9 languages, ~189M speakers
Oghuz4
- Turkish~82M
- Azerbaijani~33M
- Turkmen~7M
- Azerbaijani~1M
Karluk2
- Uzbek~39M
- Uyghur~8M
Kipchak3
- Kazakh~14M
- Kyrgyz~3M
- Tatar~2M
Japonic1 languages, ~118M speakers
Japanese1
- Japanese~118M
Austroasiatic5 languages, ~111M speakers
Vietic1
- Vietnamese~92M
Khmer1
- Khmer~15M
Munda2
- Ho~1M
- Mundari~1M
Khmeric1
- Northern Khmer~1M
Tai-Kadai5 languages, ~91M speakers
Tai5
- Thai~56M
- Northeastern Thai~17M
- Northern Thai~7M
- Southern Thai~6M
- Lao~5M
Koreanic1 languages, ~79M speakers
Korean1
- Korean~79M
Uralic3 languages, ~19M speakers
Ugric1
- Hungarian~12M
Finnic2
- Finnish~6M
- Estonian~854K
Creole2 languages, ~14M speakers
French-based1
- Haitian Creole~10M
English-based1
- Liberian English~4M
Nilo-Saharan3 languages, ~7M speakers
Nilotic2
- Dinka~4M
- Lango~2M
Fur1
- Fur~1M
Mongolic1 languages, ~7M speakers
Mongolian1
- Mongolian~7M
Mayan8 languages, ~6M speakers
Quichean5
- Qʼeqchiʼ~2M
- Kaqchikel~2M
- Kʼicheʼ~2M
- Sacapulteco~10K
- Uspanteco~8K
Mamean2
- Mam~840K
- Ixil~162K
Cholan1
- Ch'orti'~24K
Kartvelian1 languages, ~4M speakers
Georgian1
- Georgian~4M
Hmong-Mien1 languages, ~2M speakers
Hmongic1
- Hmong Daw~2M
Language Isolate1 languages, ~1M speakers
Basque1
- Basque~1M
Northeast Caucasian1 languages, ~110K speakers
Lak1
- Lak~110K
Xincan1 languages, ~5K speakers
Xincan1
- Xinca~5K
Language data: Unicode CLDR (speaker counts are estimates). Family names follow the CLDR-derived grouping; Glottolog cross-references live in the data layer.
About this visualization
About this data
All 411 languages in the Speakrow dataset, grouped by family and branch. Speaker counts are estimates assembled from Unicode CLDR population data (the ~ prefix is a reminder, not decoration). Families labeled "Other" are languages the CLDR-derived grouping does not classify.
Family membership is about descent, not similarity. English and Hindi share a family because both descend from Proto-Indo-European, despite looking nothing alike today; Finnish and Hungarian are related to each other but not to the Indo-European languages that surround them. Speaker totals count first and additional speakers together, so they are not a partition of the world's population.
Common questions
- What is the largest language family in the world?
- Indo-European is the largest, with 90 languages and roughly 5.5B speakers in this dataset. Sino-Tibetan is second with 9 languages and about 1.7B speakers.
- How many language families are there?
- 21 named families appear here, covering 411 languages. This is a curated dataset of the world's more widely spoken languages, not a complete catalogue: linguists count roughly 7,000 living languages in total.
- What does it mean for languages to be in the same family?
- It means they descend from a common ancestor language, not that they sound alike or are mutually intelligible. English and Hindi are both Indo-European because both descend from Proto-Indo-European, even though a speaker of one understands none of the other.
- Why do the speaker counts have a tilde?
- Because they are estimates. Speaker totals are assembled from Unicode CLDR population data and count both first-language and additional speakers, so they should be read as approximations rather than counted figures.