This is a list of
official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
s by country and territory. 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
A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection— de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the ...
,
regional language, or
minority language
A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...
.
Definitions
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Official language
An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...
: 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.
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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 has parentheses next to it that contain a region, province, etc. where the language has regional status.)
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Minority language
A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities. With a total number of 196 sovereign states recognized internationally (as of 2019) and ...
: (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 is followed by parentheses that identify its minority status.)
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National language
A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection— de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the ...
: one that uniquely represents the national identity of a state, nation, and/or country and is so designated by a country's government; some are technically minority languages. (On this page a national language is followed by parentheses that identify it as a national language status.) Some countries have more than one language with this status.
List of countries/territories
See also
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List of official languages
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List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:List of Official Languages By State
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Language policy
Official languages