The most common second languages in each country in the world - full list

English is the most commonly spoken second language in the world (Image: Getty)

There are a huge range of languages spoken across the world, reflecting each country's history and heritage. A native language is the one people use most to communicate while a secondary language is one that residents learn or pick up over time.

They often spread through immigration, colonialisation or local culture. Across the 195 nations, English stands out as the most commonly spoken second language with close to one billion speakers worldwide. New maps from MoveHub shows the second most commonly spoken language in every country across the globe.

According to the maps, which use data from the CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia, 55 countries use English as their second language. Meanwhile, 14 use French, 13 Russian, eight Spanish and six Arabic.

Countries across Western Europe, Northern Africa, and Southeast Asia and Oceania most commonly use English as a second tongue. English is also common in countries with a history of immigration.

Second-most common languages also highlight different cultures within certain countries. For example, China's second language is Cantonese and Spain's is Catalan.

The most common second language in England is Polish while Spanish is the second most popular in the USA. In Australia, the second most commonly spoken language is Mandarin.

Meanwhile, there are believed to be between 1,000 and 2,000 languages spoken across Africa. While the most popular language in the continent is Arabic, English comes second and Swahili third.

The most commonly spoken second languages across Europe (Image: MoveHub)

Top 10 most popular second primary languages

• English - 55 countries.
• French - 14 countries.
• Russian - 13 countries.
• Spanish - 8 countries.
• Creole - 8 countries.
• Arabic - 6 countries.
• Kurdish - 4 countries.
• Portugese - 4 countries.
• Italian - 3 countries.
• Quechua - 3 countries.