Most Spoken Endangered Languages in the World

About This Dataset

Languages classified as vulnerable or endangered by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, ranked by estimated number of remaining speakers. While some major languages like Sicilian and Venetian retain millions of speakers, they face increasing pressure from dominant national languages and lack formal education support.

✨ AI Insight

The data reveals a stark contrast between the most spoken endangered languages and those with significantly fewer speakers. Sicilian, with 5 million speakers, stands out as a robust language, yet it is still vulnerable to decline. In contrast, languages like Cornish and Manx have dwindled to just 3,500 and 1,800 speakers, respectively, highlighting the precarious situation of many regional languages. The predominance of Italian languages in this list suggests cultural and historical factors at play, while the lack of formal education and institutional support for these languages likely exacerbates their endangerment. The trend indicates that without proactive measures, even languages with millions of speakers could face extinction.

Source: UNESCO

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Sicilian (Italy) leads with 5,000,000 in All Time.

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Average value in All Time: 2,288,163 · median: 2,350,000.

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Gap in All Time: Sicilian (Italy) is 2777.8× larger than Manx (Isle of Man).