3,226 of the world’s 7,170 living languages are endangered in 2026, about 44%, and most of those endangered languages have fewer than 1,000 users left (Ethnologue, 29th edition, 2026). UNESCO estimates that one language disappears every two weeks, and the largest peer-reviewed forecast warns that at least 1,500 languages could cease to be spoken by 2100, with the rate of loss tripling within 40 years (Bromham et al., Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2022). The imbalance behind the decline is stark: the 20 largest languages are the native tongue of more than 3.7 billion people, meaning 0.3% of the world’s languages account for nearly half of humanity (Ethnologue, 2026). Online, the skew is even sharper, with English alone making up 49.6% of website content (W3Techs, 2026). This analysis consolidates data from Ethnologue, Nature Ecology and Evolution, UNESCO, Statistics Canada, and 12 other primary sources to map where the world’s endangered languages stand in 2026.
TL;DR
- 7,170 living languages are in use today, and 3,226 of them, roughly 44%, are endangered (Ethnologue, 29th edition, 2026).
- UNESCO estimates one of the world’s languages disappears every two weeks.
- Without intervention, language loss could triple within 40 years, with at least 1,500 languages gone by 2100 (Bromham et al., 2022).
- The world’s 20 largest languages are the native tongue of 3.7+ billion people; thousands of others share the remainder (Ethnologue, 2026).
- About 6,000 of the world’s 7,000 recognized languages are Indigenous (UNESCO).
- Te reo Maori conversation ability in New Zealand rose 15% between the 2018 and 2023 censuses, to 213,849 people (Stats NZ).
- Welsh has 538,000 speakers (17.8% of Wales) and an official target of one million by 2050 (ONS Census 2021; Welsh Government).
- 237,420 Indigenous people in Canada can converse in one of 70+ Indigenous languages, but the count fell 4.3% from 2016 to 2021 (Statistics Canada).
- English is 49.6% of web content; fewer than 40 languages each reach 0.1% of websites (W3Techs, July 2026).
- Wikipedia exists in 347 active languages, under 5% of living languages (Wikimedia Meta, 2026).
- Meta’s MMS models cover speech-to-text and text-to-speech in 1,107 languages, versus roughly 100 for typical speech systems (Meta AI, 2023).
- More than 70 million deaf people use 300+ sign languages, most with no technology support at all (World Federation of the Deaf, via UN).
1. How Many Languages Are Endangered in 2026
The baseline census of world languages comes from Ethnologue, whose 29th edition (2026) counts 7,170 living languages tracked across 242 countries with about 5 million data points. Of those, 3,226 languages are endangered under the EGIDS vitality scale, which flags a language the moment its community starts passing a more dominant language to children. Roughly 44% of all living languages are now losing their next generation of speakers, and endangered languages typically have fewer than 1,000 users remaining. UNESCO’s framing is similar: of about 7,000 recognized languages, around half are currently endangered, with 1,500 particularly at risk.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Living languages in use today | 7,170 | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Languages classified as endangered | 3,226 | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Share of all languages endangered | ~44% | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Typical remaining users of an endangered language | fewer than 1,000 | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Countries covered by the language census | 242 | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Languages UNESCO counts as currently endangered | ~half of 7,000 | UNESCO, Cutting Edge (2023) |
| Languages UNESCO flags as particularly at risk | 1,500 | UNESCO, Cutting Edge (2023) |
| Estimated frequency of language disappearance | one every two weeks | UNESCO, Cutting Edge (2023) |
Note: Ethnologue and UNESCO use different vitality scales (EGIDS versus the World Atlas of Languages categories), so their endangerment counts differ in detail while agreeing on the headline: close to half of human languages are at risk.
2. The Rate of Loss and What Predicts It
The most rigorous forecast of language loss is Bromham et al. (2022) in Nature Ecology and Evolution, which modeled endangerment risk across 6,511 languages, more than 90% of the world’s spoken languages. The study found 37% of the analyzed languages threatened or worse. Without intervention, language loss could triple within 40 years, with at least 1,500 languages ceasing to be spoken by the end of the century, at least one lost per month. Two predictors stand out: greater road density, which encourages population movement, and more average years of formal schooling, evidence that education systems built around dominant languages can accelerate loss. Contact with other languages per se was not a driver.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Languages analyzed in the global model | 6,511 (90%+ of spoken languages) | Bromham et al., Nature Ecology and Evolution (2022) |
| Share of analyzed languages threatened | 37% | Bromham et al. (2022) |
| Projected increase in loss rate within 40 years | 3x | Bromham et al. (2022) |
| Languages projected lost by 2100 without intervention | at least 1,500 | Bromham et al. (2022) |
| Projected loss frequency by 2100 | at least 1 per month | Bromham et al. (2022) |
| Key environmental predictor of endangerment | higher road density | Bromham et al. (2022) |
| Key institutional predictor of endangerment | more years of schooling | Bromham et al. (2022) |
| Endangered and at-risk languages tracked by ELCat/ELP | 3,400+ | Endangered Languages Project |
Context: the Catalogue of Endangered Languages (ELCat), maintained by the University of Hawaii at Manoa and surfaced through the Endangered Languages Project, is the reference database for per-language vitality; the project also counts 22,000+ registered “language champions” worldwide.
3. Speaker Concentration: Giants and the Long Tail
Language endangerment is a distribution problem. Ethnologue’s speaker rankings show Mandarin Chinese as the largest language by native speakers and English as the largest overall once second-language speakers are counted, with English used in 188 countries versus Mandarin’s 108. Just 0.3% of the world’s languages, the top 20, are the native tongue of more than 3.7 billion people, nearly half of humanity, while thousands of small languages divide the rest. The long tail is overwhelmingly Indigenous: UNESCO counts about 6,000 of the world’s 7,000 recognized languages as Indigenous, spoken by peoples who make up just 6.2% of the global population.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Native speakers of the 20 largest languages | 3.7+ billion | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Share of languages accounting for ~half of humanity | 0.3% | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Largest language by native speakers | Mandarin Chinese | Ethnologue, most spoken languages |
| Largest language including L2+ speakers | English | Ethnologue, most spoken languages |
| Countries where English vs Mandarin is spoken | 188 vs 108 | Ethnologue, most spoken languages |
| World languages that are Indigenous | ~6,000 of 7,000 | UNESCO, Cutting Edge (2023) |
| Indigenous peoples’ share of global population | 6.2% | UNESCO, Cutting Edge (2023) |
| Region with highest share of Indigenous peoples | Asia-Pacific (70.5%) | UNESCO, Cutting Edge (2023) |
Note: the same UNESCO briefing reports that Indigenous peoples are 6.2% of the world’s population but 15% of the extreme poor, and that 47% of employed Indigenous people have no education versus 17% of non-Indigenous counterparts. Language loss tracks those inequities, not linguistic merit.
4. Revitalization: Maori, Welsh, and Hawaiian
Decline is not destiny, and three well-measured cases show what sustained policy does. In New Zealand, Stats NZ census data show 213,849 people could hold an everyday conversation in te reo Maori in 2023, up 15% from 185,955 in 2018, with the Kohanga Reo “language nest” preschools running since 1982 and a government target of one million speakers by 2040. Hawaiian rebounded from under 0.1% of the state population in 1997 to roughly 24,000 fluent speakers after the Aha Punana Leo immersion preschools opened in 1984. Welsh shows the hard part: despite decades of support, the 2021 census counted 538,000 speakers (17.8%), down from 562,000 (19.0%) in 2011, even as the government holds to its Cymraeg 2050 target of one million speakers.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Te reo Maori conversational speakers, NZ (2023) | 213,849 (4.3% of NZ) | Stats NZ, 2023 Census |
| Te reo Maori speaker growth, 2018 to 2023 | 185,955 to 213,849 (+15%) | Stats NZ, 2018 and 2023 Censuses |
| NZ government speaker target (Maihi Karauna) | 1 million by 2040 | NZ Government, Maihi Karauna strategy (2019) |
| First Kohanga Reo immersion preschools | 1982 | Stats NZ / NZ Government |
| Welsh speakers, Wales (2021) | 538,000 (17.8%) | ONS, Census 2021 |
| Welsh speakers, change 2011 to 2021 | 562,000 (19.0%) to 538,000 (17.8%) | ONS, Census 2021 |
| Welsh Government speaker target | 1 million by 2050 | Welsh Government, Cymraeg 2050 |
| Fluent Hawaiian speakers (2011 census figures) | ~24,000 (2,000 native) | U.S. Census (2011), via State of Hawaii |
Outlier: a 2016 State of Hawaii estimate put residents speaking Hawaiian at home at about 18,000, and over 80% of graduates from Hawaiian immersion laboratory schools go on to college. Immersion education is the common engine in all three cases; the broader market for learning these languages as an adult is covered in our language learning statistics, and app-based courses for Hawaiian, Navajo, Welsh, and Scottish Gaelic are tracked in our Duolingo statistics.
5. Indigenous Languages in North America
Canada runs the most detailed national count of Indigenous language vitality. Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census recorded 237,420 Indigenous people able to conduct a conversation in one of more than 70 Indigenous languages, a 4.3% decline from 2016. The internal split matters more than the headline: mother-tongue speakers fell 8.1%, while second-language speakers grew 7.0%. Transmission at home is still weakening, but deliberate adult learning is expanding, the statistical signature of a revitalization movement in progress. Cree languages lead with 86,480 speakers, followed by Inuktitut with 39,620 and Ojibway languages with 24,255.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Indigenous people in Canada who can converse in an Indigenous language (2021) | 237,420 | Statistics Canada, 2021 Census |
| Change in speakers, 2016 to 2021 | -4.3% | Statistics Canada, 2021 Census |
| Distinct Indigenous languages spoken in Canada | 70+ | Statistics Canada, 2021 Census |
| Largest Indigenous language group (Cree languages) | 86,480 speakers | Statistics Canada, 2021 Census |
| Inuktitut speakers | 39,620 | Statistics Canada, 2021 Census |
| Indigenous mother-tongue vs second-language trend | -8.1% vs +7.0% | Statistics Canada, 2021 Census |
Note: Canada’s next census was collected in May 2026, so the first post-IDIL-midpoint read on these trends will land in 2027-2028 releases.
6. The Digital Language Divide
A language absent from the internet is invisible to the systems people use daily, and the web’s language mix is extraordinarily concentrated. W3Techs’ running survey puts English at 49.6% of website content as of July 2026, with Spanish second at 6.1%, and fewer than 40 languages each reaching even 0.1% of websites. Wikipedia, the broadest multilingual project on the web, has 347 active language editions, under 5% of the world’s 7,170 living languages. Speech technology is catching up faster than content: Meta’s Massively Multilingual Speech project released speech-to-text and text-to-speech for 1,107 languages, against roughly 100 for typical systems, and Google Translate added 110 languages in 2024, its largest expansion ever, under a stated initiative to support the 1,000 most spoken languages.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| English share of website content (July 2026) | 49.6% | W3Techs, content language survey |
| Second-largest web content language | Spanish, 6.1% | W3Techs, content language survey |
| Languages with at least 0.1% of websites each | fewer than 40 | W3Techs, content language survey |
| Active Wikipedia language editions | 347 | Wikimedia Meta, List of Wikipedias |
| Articles in the largest edition (English) | 7.2 million | Wikimedia Meta, List of Wikipedias |
| Languages covered by typical speech recognition | ~100 | Meta AI, MMS (2023) |
| Languages with MMS speech-to-text and text-to-speech | 1,107 | Meta AI, MMS (2023) |
| Languages MMS can identify | 4,000+ | Meta AI, MMS (2023) |
| Languages added to Google Translate in 2024 | 110 (614M speakers, ~8% of world population) | Google, Translate expansion (2024) |
Context: about a quarter of Google’s 110 new languages were African, its largest African expansion to date. The commercial stakes of language coverage are mapped in our localization industry statistics, and the hardware side of real-time cross-language speech is covered in our live translation devices statistics.
7. Sign Languages, Documentation, and the UNESCO Decade
Endangerment is not limited to spoken languages. The United Nations, citing the World Federation of the Deaf, counts more than 70 million deaf people worldwide using more than 300 different sign languages, with more than 80% of deaf people living in developing countries. Most sign languages have small signing communities and next to no presence in language technology, the same risk profile as small spoken languages; the human infrastructure that carries them is profiled in our sign language interpreting statistics. On the documentation side, the Endangered Languages Documentation Programme has funded over 500 projects worldwide since 2002 with Arcadia funding, archiving results openly in the Endangered Languages Archive. The coordinating framework for this decade is UNESCO’s International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032, whose platform had logged 3,340 events in 61 countries covering 226 languages by mid-2026.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Deaf people worldwide | 70+ million | World Federation of the Deaf, via UN |
| Distinct sign languages in use | 300+ | World Federation of the Deaf, via UN |
| Deaf people living in developing countries | 80%+ | World Federation of the Deaf, via UN |
| Documentation projects funded by ELDP since 2002 | 500+ | ELDP |
| ELDP host since 2021 | Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences | ELDP |
| IDIL platform events logged (through mid-2026) | 3,340 in 61 countries, 226 languages | IDIL 2022-2032 |
| IDIL registered community members | 4,247 (1,777 organizations) | IDIL 2022-2032 |
Note: documentation funding remains a rounding error next to the scale of the problem; ELDP’s 500+ projects since 2002 stand against 3,226 currently endangered languages, roughly one funded documentation project per six endangered languages over 24 years.
Summary: Endangered Languages by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Living languages worldwide (2026) | 7,170 | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Endangered languages | 3,226 (~44%) | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Typical users left in an endangered language | fewer than 1,000 | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| Estimated disappearance rate | one every two weeks | UNESCO |
| Languages threatened in largest peer-reviewed model | 37% of 6,511 | Bromham et al., Nature Ecology and Evolution (2022) |
| Projected loss by 2100 without intervention | at least 1,500 languages | Bromham et al. (2022) |
| Projected loss rate by 2100 | at least 1 per month | Bromham et al. (2022) |
| Native speakers of the top 20 languages | 3.7+ billion (~half of humanity) | Ethnologue, 29th edition (2026) |
| World languages that are Indigenous | ~6,000 of 7,000 | UNESCO |
| Te reo Maori conversational speakers, NZ (2023) | 213,849 (+15% vs 2018) | Stats NZ, 2023 Census |
| Welsh speakers, Wales (2021) | 538,000 (17.8%) | ONS, Census 2021 |
| Welsh and NZ speaker targets | 1 million each (2050 / 2040) | Welsh Government; NZ Government |
| Fluent Hawaiian speakers (2011 figures) | ~24,000 | U.S. Census, via State of Hawaii |
| Indigenous language speakers, Canada (2021) | 237,420 (-4.3% vs 2016) | Statistics Canada, 2021 Census |
| Indigenous L2 speaker growth in Canada | +7.0% (2016-2021) | Statistics Canada, 2021 Census |
| English share of web content | 49.6% | W3Techs (July 2026) |
| Active Wikipedia language editions | 347 | Wikimedia Meta (2026) |
| Languages with MMS speech models | 1,107 (vs ~100 typical) | Meta AI (2023) |
| Sign languages in use worldwide | 300+ (70M+ deaf people) | World Federation of the Deaf, via UN |
| ELDP documentation projects since 2002 | 500+ | ELDP |
Methodology and Sources
Data was gathered by aggregating figures directly from primary language censuses, national statistical offices, peer-reviewed research, and named program disclosures, cross-referencing overlapping metrics across two or more sources and flagging figures tied to older census cycles.
- Ethnologue, How many languages are there in the world? (29th edition) (2026)
- Ethnologue, How many languages are endangered? (2026)
- Ethnologue, What is the most spoken language? (2026)
- Bromham et al., Global predictors of language loss and the future of linguistic diversity, Nature Ecology and Evolution (2022)
- UNESCO, Cutting Edge: Indigenous languages, gateways to the world’s cultural diversity (2023)
- UNESCO, International Decade of Indigenous Languages 2022-2032
- IDIL 2022-2032 platform metrics (accessed July 2026)
- Endangered Languages Project / Catalogue of Endangered Languages (ELCat)
- Stats NZ, Te reo Maori proficiency and support continues to grow (2023 Census)
- ONS, Welsh language in Wales (Census 2021) (2022)
- Welsh Government, Cymraeg 2050: Welsh language strategy (2017)
- Aha Punana Leo, Hawaiian immersion preschools (founded 1983; U.S. Census 2011 and State of Hawaii 2016 speaker figures)
- Statistics Canada, Indigenous languages, 2021 Census of Population (2022)
- W3Techs, Usage statistics of content languages for websites (accessed July 20, 2026)
- Wikimedia Meta, List of Wikipedias (accessed July 2026)
- Meta AI, Massively Multilingual Speech (MMS) (2023)
- Google, 110 new languages in Google Translate (2024)
- United Nations, International Day of Sign Languages (World Federation of the Deaf figures)
- Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (ELDP)
Data watch: Ethnologue publishes a new edition annually, so a 30th-edition refresh of the 7,170 and 3,226 counts is expected in 2027; Statistics Canada collected its 2026 Census in May 2026, with Indigenous-language results due in 2027-2028; New Zealand’s next census follows its five-year cycle; the ONS census cycle next reports Welsh figures in the early 2030s, with the Welsh Government’s Annual Population Survey providing interim reads; W3Techs updates daily; and UNESCO’s IDIL reporting runs through 2032 with a midterm assessment.
Last updated: July 20, 2026. We review and update this page quarterly as new data is published.