Which Country Has the Most Official Languages?

There is a big gap between the number of languages spoken in a country and the number it makes official. Papua New Guinea has more than 800 living languages but only four official ones. Bolivia has around 36 indigenous languages plus Spanish — and its 2009 constitution makes all 37 official.

The leaders

1. Bolivia — 37 official languages: Spanish plus 36 recognised indigenous languages including Quechua, Aymara and Guaraní. Every level of government is required to use at least two.
2. Zimbabwe — 16 official languages under its 2013 constitution, from Shona and Ndebele to Khoisan, Nambya and sign language.
3. South Africa — 12: English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda, Swazi, Ndebele, Northern Sotho, and — added in 2023 — South African Sign Language.
4. India — 22 languages in the constitution's Eighth Schedule, plus Hindi and English as the languages of central government. Individual states add their own.
5. Spain, Switzerland, Singapore, Belgium — each with three or four, reflecting distinct language communities within one state.

Why a country ends up multilingual on paper

Three common routes. Federations of distinct nations: Switzerland (German, French, Italian, Romansh) and Belgium (Dutch, French, German) give each community official status to hold the country together. Post-colonial recognition: Bolivia, South Africa and Zimbabwe elevated indigenous languages that colonial rule had suppressed, as a matter of rights and identity. Practical administration: India and Singapore use multiple languages because no single one is understood everywhere.

The opposite: countries with no official language

The United States has no official language at the federal level (though most states name English). The United Kingdom, Australia, Mexico, and several others also have a de facto national language but no law naming one. So the range runs from zero to thirty-seven.