Mainland China: This is where the vast majority of Mandarin speakers reside. It's the official language of China and spoken by over 95% of the population.
Taiwan: Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Taiwan, although it's referred to as "Guoyu" there.
Singapore: Mandarin is one of the four official languages of Singapore, alongside English, Malay, and Tamil.
Malaysia: Mandarin is spoken by a significant portion of the Chinese population in Malaysia.
Hong Kong: Cantonese is the dominant language in Hong Kong, but Mandarin is widely understood and used in official settings.
Macau: Mandarin is also widely spoken in Macau alongside Cantonese.
Other Countries: You can find Mandarin speakers in other countries, especially in areas with large Chinese diaspora communities. These include:
* Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Philippines
* North America: United States, Canada
* South America: Peru, Brazil
* Europe: United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy
* Australia: A significant number of Chinese immigrants live in Australia.
* Africa: South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia
It's important to note that:
* Different dialects: Mandarin is just one dialect of Chinese. Others include Cantonese, Wu, Hakka, and Min Nan.
* Language family: Chinese is part of the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family.
So, while Mandarin Chinese is primarily spoken in China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, it has a global reach due to the Chinese diaspora and increasing popularity of the language.