This is a complete list of the official languages designated in the sovereign states of the world. It includes all languages that have official language status either statewide or in a part of the state, or that have status as a national language, regional language, or minority language. Only states, which are defined as sovereign, internationally recognised, independent political entities, are listed. This is not a list of countries or nations, although many states listed, are simultaneously also countries and/or nations. For dependent territories, refer to the corresponding sovereign states. [edit] Definitions - Official language: one designated as having a unique legal status in the state, typically, the language used in a nation's legislative bodies, and often, official government business
- Regional language: one designated as having official status limited to a specific area, administrative division, or territory of the state (on this page a regional language will have parentheses next to it that contain a region, province, etc. where the language has regional status)
- Minority language: (as used here) one spoken by a minority population within the state and officially designated as such; typically afforded protection and designated an officially permissible language for legal and government business in a specific area or territory of the state (on this page a minority language will be followed by parentheses that identify its minority status)
- National language: one that uniquely represents the national identity of a state, nation, and/or country and so designated by a country's government; some are technically minority languages (on this page a national language will be followed by parentheses that identify it as a national language status). Some countries have more than one language with this status.
 Afghanistan[1] - Pashto (statewide) (official)
- Dari (statewide) (official)
- Uzbek (statewide) (third official language in areas where spoken by majority of population)
- Turkmen (statewide) (third official language in areas where spoken by majority of population)
- Pashai (statewide) (third official language in areas where spoken by majority of population)
- Nuristani (statewide) (third official language in areas where spoken by majority of population)
- Balochi (statewide) (third official language in areas where spoken by majority of population)
- Pamiri (statewide) (third official language in areas where spoken by majority of population)
 Colombia - Spanish (the languages and dialects of ethnic groups are also official in their territories [13])
 Ecuador - Spanish (Quechua or Kichwa and Shuar are official languages of intercultural relation, ancient languages are official in their territories.[14])
 Norway (Languages of Norway) - Norwegian (statewide) (Bokmål and Nynorsk are the official forms, and municipalities choose between them or a neutral stance.
- Sami (indigenous language in vast areas from Engerdal to the Russian border, official administrative language in Kautokeino, Karasjok, Gáivuotna - Kåfjord), Nesseby, Porsanger, Tana, Tysfjord, and Snåsa)
- Kven (national minority language, administrative language in Porsanger
- Romani (national minority language)
- Scandoromani (national minority language)
 Sweden - No official language statewide, Swedish is the de facto official language. -as of July 1 2009, swedish is the official language de jure.
- Finnish (in Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala, Övertorneå, and the surrounding areas) (minority language)
- Meänkieli (in Gällivare, Haparanda, Kiruna, Pajala, Övertorneå, and the surrounding areas) (minority language)
- Romani (historical minority language)
- Sami (in Arjeplog, Gällivare, Jokkmokk, Kiruna, and the surrounding areas) (minority language)
- Yiddish (historical minority language)
- Swedish Sign Language (minority language)
 Switzerland - German (in Aargau, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Basel-Landschaft, Basel-Stadt, Bern, Fribourg, Glarus, Graubünden, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Saint Gallen, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, Solothurn, Thurgau, Uri, Valais, Zug, and Zürich)
- French (in Bern, Fribourg, Geneva, Jura, Neuchâtel, Valais, and Vaud)
- Italian (in Ticino and Graubünden)
- Romansh (in Graubünden)
 United Kingdom - English[25], with the following specifications:
- English (in Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Montserrat, Northern Ireland (de facto), the Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena and Turks and Caicos Islands)
- Cornish[26] (minority language in Cornwall)
- Dgèrnésiais (in Guernsey)
- French (in Guernsey and Jersey)
- Irish (in Northern Ireland)
- Jèrriais (in Jersey)
- Pitcairnese (in the Pitcairn Islands)
- Scots (minority language in Northern Ireland and Scotland)
- Scottish Gaelic (in Scotland)
- Welsh (in Wales)
 United States - No official language nationwide, English is the de facto official language.
- English (official, in Alabama, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming)
- English (de facto, in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, District of Columbia )
- Spanish (official language in Puerto Rico and de facto in many states of the Union like New Mexico, Texas )
- Carolinian (regional language in the Northern Mariana Islands)
- Chamorro (regional language in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands)
- French (regional language in parts of Louisiana and Maine)
- Hawaiian (regional language in Hawaii)
- Samoan (regional language in American Samoa)
[edit] Partially recognised states  Kosovo - Albanian (territory wide)
- Serbian (territory wide)
- English (territory wide, during the NATO occupation of the territory on behalf of the UN)
- Turkish (territory wide, upon request)
[edit] States recognised by Russia [edit] References and footnotes - ^ Constitution of Afghanistan (Article 16)
- ^ Constitution of Albania (Article 14)
- ^ a b Constitution of Algeria (Article 3) (MS Word format)
- ^ Constitution of Andorra (Article 2)
- ^ "Angola". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ao.html#People.
- ^ Constitution of Antigua and Barbuba, 1981 (Article 29)
- ^ Argentina: Country Information
- ^ Constitution of Armenia (Article 12)
- ^ Constitution of Austria (Article 8)
- ^ a b Constitution of Austria, Article 8 & State Treaty for the Re-establishment of an Independent and Democratic Austria) (Article 7, Page 188)
- ^ Constitution of Azerbaijan, Constitution of Azerbaijan (English translation) (Article 21)
- ^ Constitution of Belgium, in Dutch, French and German (Article 4)
- ^ Constitution of Colombia, 1991 (Article 10)
- ^ Constitution of Ecuador 2008, (Article 2)
- ^ Constitution of France (Article 2)
- ^ Constitution of Ireland (Article 8)
- ^ The Constitution of Jamaica section 20(6e) (implicit)
- ^ Article 152 of the Constitution of Malaysia designated Malay as the national language. Section 2 of that article allowed English to be used officially until otherwise provided by Parliament. In 1967, the Parliament of Malaysia passed the National Language Act, making Malay the official language of Malaysia. The act does, however, allow the use of English for some official purposes.
- ^ http://www.brandeis.edu/coexistence/linked%20documents/Nigel%20-%20Mauritius%20FINAL.pdf.
- ^ Constitution of Monaco (Article 8)
- ^ "Article 3 – Language". The Constitution of The Republic of Namibia. orusovo.com. http://www.orusovo.com/namcon/chap1.htm#art3. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/wa.html 32% Namibians speak German
- ^ "Taiwan (self-governing island, Asia)". Britannica Online Encyclopedia. 1975-04-05. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/580902/Taiwan. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "Taiwan Information: People and Language". Asia-planet.net (Information provided by Tourism Bureau, ROC). http://www.asia-planet.net/taiwan/people.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
- ^ "United Kingdom; Key Facts". Commonwealth Secretariat. http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookHomeInternal/139560/. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
- ^ "Cornish gains official recognition". BBC News. November 6, 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2410383.stm. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ^ (Russian) "Конституция Республики Абхазия". President of Abkhazia. http://www.abkhaziagov.org/ru/state/sovereignty/. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
- ^ (Russian) "Конституции Республики Южная Осетия". The State Committee on Information and Press of the Republic of South Ossetia. http://cominf.org/2004/10/15/1127818105.html. Retrieved 2009-03-17.
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