Here's why:
* Number of speakers: It has the largest number of native speakers, estimated to be over 1 billion.
* Official language: It's the official language of mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and several other countries.
* Growing influence: China's rising global influence is also contributing to Mandarin's increasing popularity.
While English has a larger number of total speakers (including second language speakers), Mandarin Chinese leads when it comes to native speakers.