While English is widely spoken as a second language and is often considered the "lingua franca" for international communication, the most spoken language globally is Mandarin Chinese.
Here's a breakdown:
* Mandarin Chinese: Spoken by over 1 billion people, primarily in China.
* Hindi: Spoken by over 600 million people, primarily in India.
* English: Spoken by over 1.5 billion people, but many of those are second language speakers.
* Spanish: Spoken by over 500 million people, primarily in Latin America and Spain.
* Arabic: Spoken by over 400 million people, primarily in the Middle East and North Africa.
It's important to note that these numbers can vary depending on the definition of "speaker" and the specific dialect of the language.