Data reference 2026
Business Languages of Asia 2026 is a free, sourced data reference covering 16 Asian markets. It separates each market’s official language from the language actually used in business, lists census and agency statistics with links to the original publications, and counts living languages from Ethnologue’s 29th edition. All figures are downloadable as CSV.
Quick definition
An official language is the language a constitution or statute designates for government, law and public life. A business language is the language companies actually work in: contracts, customer communication, websites and internal documents. In much of Asia the two diverge. Singapore lists four official languages but works mainly in English, while Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and the Philippines run business in English alongside a local language. For localization, the business language usually decides what gets translated first.
See also: Languages spoken in China, Languages spoken in India and our website localization services.
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Key findings
Five figures from the official sources below that change how a localization plan for Asia should be prioritised. Each one links to the publication it comes from.
80.72%
The national Putonghua prevalence rate reached 80.72% in 2020, up from 53.06% in 2000 (Ministry of Education / State Language Commission, 2021).
96.8%
96.8% of Taiwanese nationals aged 6+ use Mandarin as a main or secondary language, and 86.0% also use Hokkien (2020 Population and Housing Census, DGBAS (Table 4-1)).
39.9%
Tagalog was the language generally spoken at home in 39.9% of households (2020 Census of Population and Housing, Philippine Statistics Authority).
58.1%
English is now the language most frequently spoken at home for 58.1% of residents aged 5+, up from 48.3% in 2020 and 32.3% in 2010 (General Household Survey 2025, Department of Statistics Singapore; Census of Population 2020; Census of Population 2010).
62.5%
The share of people aged 5+ who can speak, read and write Tetun rose from 53.4% in 2010 to 62.5% in 2015 (Census 2015, Thematic Report Vol. 11 (Education), General Directorate of Statistics (Table 4.1)).
Official vs business
Official status and working business language are not always the same thing. This table separates the two, because for most localization decisions the second column matters more than the first.
| Market | Official / national language(s) | Commonly used in business | Script note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brunei | Malay | Not published | Latin; Jawi also used |
| Cambodia | Khmer | Not published | Khmer |
| China | Standard Mandarin (Putonghua) | Mandarin; English in multinational settings | Simplified Chinese |
| Hong Kong | Chinese and English | Cantonese, English; Putonghua growing | Traditional Chinese |
| India | Hindi and English (central government); 22 scheduled languages | English and Hindi; regional languages by state | Devanagari and others |
| Indonesia | Bahasa Indonesia | Bahasa Indonesia; English in multinationals | Latin |
| Japan | Japanese | Japanese (standard / hyojungo) | Kanji, hiragana, katakana; vertical setting possible |
| Laos | Lao | Not published | Lao |
| Malaysia | Malay (Bahasa Malaysia) | Malay and English; Mandarin and Tamil in communities | Latin |
| Myanmar | Myanmar (Burmese) | Not published | Myanmar (Burmese) |
| Philippines | Filipino and English | English and Filipino/Tagalog | Latin |
| Singapore | English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil | English | Latin; Simplified Chinese; Tamil |
| Taiwan | Mandarin Chinese | Mandarin | Traditional Chinese |
| Thailand | Thai | Thai; English in tourism and international business | Thai |
| Timor-Leste | Tetum and Portuguese (Indonesian and English are constitutional “working languages” in public administration) | Not published | Latin |
| Vietnam | Vietnamese | Vietnamese | Latin (with diacritics) |
Official status reflects each market’s constitutional or statutory designation. “Commonly used in business” reflects practical working use; “Not published” means we found no primary source and have not guessed.
Trend data
Three markets where an earlier and a later official measurement show the language picture moving. Each row is a different measure from a different source, so compare the change within a market, not between markets.
Putonghua prevalence rate
Can speak, read and write Tetun, aged 5+
English most spoken at home, aged 5+
Sourced statistics
The figures below are the ones we could attribute to a named, dated source. Different sources measure different things (“usual spoken language” is not the same as “can speak”, and some censuses count households rather than people), so the measure is stated in each row. Each source name links to the publication it came from.
| Market | What is measured | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cambodia | Mother tongue, census population | Khmer 95.8%; ethnic minority languages 2.9%; foreign languages 1.3% | General Population Census 2019, National Institute of Statistics (Table 2.7.1) |
| China | National Putonghua (Standard Mandarin) prevalence rate, national sample survey | 80.72% (2020), up from 53.06% (2000) | Ministry of Education / State Language Commission, 2021 |
| Hong Kong | Usual spoken language | Cantonese 88.2%; English 4.6%; other Chinese dialects 2.8%; Putonghua 2.3%; other 2.1% | Hong Kong 2021 Population Census |
| India | Main languages identified | 121 | Census of India, 2011 |
| India | Mother tongues with 10,000+ speakers | 270 | Census of India, 2011 |
| India | Constitutionally recognised (scheduled) languages | 22 | Eighth Schedule, Constitution of India |
| India | Population reporting Hindi as mother tongue or first language | 43.63% | Census of India, 2011 |
| Indonesia | Regional languages | 718 | Indonesia’s Language Agency (Badan Bahasa), language mapping 1991–2019 |
| Japan | Status of the Ryukyuan languages | All classified endangered | UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd ed., 2010 |
| Laos | Ethnic groups (ethnicity, not language) | 49 groups; Lao ethnic group 53.2% of citizens | Results of Population and Housing Census 2015, Lao Statistics Bureau |
| Philippines | Language generally spoken at home, share of households | Tagalog 39.9%; Bisaya/Binisaya 16.0%; Hiligaynon/Ilonggo 7.3%; Ilocano 7.1%; Cebuano 6.5% | 2020 Census of Population and Housing, Philippine Statistics Authority |
| Singapore | Language most frequently spoken at home, residents aged 5+ (2025) | English 58.1%; Mandarin 26.6%; Malay 7.0%; Chinese dialects 4.9%; Tamil 2.2% | General Household Survey 2025, Department of Statistics Singapore |
| Singapore | English as most frequent home language, change since 2010 | 32.3% (2010), 48.3% (2020), 58.1% (2025) | Census of Population 2010; Census of Population 2020; General Household Survey 2025, Department of Statistics Singapore |
| Taiwan | Main language used, ROC nationals resident, aged 6+ | Mandarin 66.4%; Hokkien 31.7%; Hakka 1.5%; Indigenous languages 0.2% | 2020 Population and Housing Census, DGBAS (Table 4-1) |
| Taiwan | Main or secondary language used (answers overlap) | Mandarin 96.8%; Hokkien 86.0%; Hakka 5.5%; Indigenous languages 1.1% | 2020 Population and Housing Census, DGBAS (Table 4-1) |
| Thailand | Language usually spoken in the household, persons | Thai only 90.7%; Thai and other languages 6.4%; other languages only 2.9% | 2010 Population and Housing Census, National Statistical Office (Table 7) |
| Timor-Leste | Can speak, read and write, aged 5+ | Tetun 62.5%; Indonesian 36.6%; Portuguese 30.8%; English 15.6% | Census 2015, Thematic Report Vol. 11 (Education), General Directorate of Statistics (Table 4.1) |
Figures are reproduced from the sources named and linked. Thailand percentages are calculated from the published counts. Philippine Statistics Authority lists Bisaya/Binisaya and Cebuano as separate categories; they are kept separate here.
Linguistic diversity
Ethnologue counts the living languages in each country. We use one edition for every market so the counts are comparable.
| Market | Living indigenous languages | Established non-indigenous languages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myanmar | 115 | 16 | Ethnologue, 29th ed., 2026 |
| Malaysia | 111 | 21 | Ethnologue, 29th ed., 2026 |
| Vietnam | 96 | 15 | Ethnologue, 29th ed., 2026 |
| Laos | 73 | 13 | Ethnologue, 29th ed., 2026 |
| Thailand | 52 | 27 | Ethnologue, 29th ed., 2026 |
| Cambodia | 22 | 9 | Ethnologue, 29th ed., 2026 |
| Timor-Leste | 20 | 2 | Ethnologue, 29th ed., 2026 |
| Japan | 16 | 5 | Ethnologue, 29th ed., 2026 |
| Brunei | 7 | 10 | Ethnologue, 29th ed., 2026 |
Eberhard, D. M., Simons, G. F. & Robinson, L. (eds.), Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 29th edition, SIL Global, 2026. Free country summaries.
You are welcome to use this chart on your own site, in a presentation or in teaching materials, with attribution to this page. The figures come from Ethnologue (29th edition, 2026), so please keep the source line on the chart, or credit Ethnologue alongside it. To embed it, copy this HTML:
<a href="https://asialocalize.com/business-languages-of-asia/"><img src="https://asialocalize.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/living-languages-nine-asian-markets-ethnologue-2026-chart-v2.png" alt="Bar chart: living indigenous and established non-indigenous languages in nine Asian markets, Ethnologue 29th edition (2026). Myanmar 115 + 16, Malaysia 111 + 21, Vietnam 96 + 15, Laos 73 + 13, Thailand 52 + 27, Cambodia 22 + 9, Timor-Leste 20 + 2, Japan 16 + 5, Brunei 7 + 10." width="1200" height="960" style="max-width:100%;height:auto"></a>
<p>Source: <a href="https://asialocalize.com/business-languages-of-asia/">Business Languages of Asia 2026, AsiaLocalize</a>. Data: Ethnologue, 29th ed. (SIL Global, 2026).</p>Data gaps
Several markets do not publish language statistics from their census, and we say so rather than reproduce estimates. Malaysia’s Census 2020 reports ethnic group, not language. Brunei’s 2021 census report has race and religion tables but no language table. Myanmar’s 2014 census asked about religion and ethnicity but not language. Laos’s 2015 census reports ethnicity only. Timor-Leste’s 2022 census asked about mother tongue, but the main tables do not publish it. For these markets the Ethnologue counts above are the most reliable comparable figure. We have also not reproduced Thailand’s per-language census rows, because we could not match them reliably to the published table.
Methodology
Each figure was taken from a named primary source (a national census, a government statistics or language agency, Ethnologue, or UNESCO) and is presented with the measure it refers to, because language statistics are frequently compared when they are not measuring the same thing. Percentages describing home or usual spoken language are not interchangeable with figures describing the number of people who can speak a language, and household shares are not the same as shares of people. Where sources disagree or a figure could not be attributed, the row is omitted rather than estimated. Ethnologue counts all come from the same edition. This page is maintained by AsiaLocalize and updated when new census or agency data is published.
From data to delivery
Which language a market actually works in determines how much has to be adapted rather than simply translated. Where that lands depends on the asset: website localization and app localization for products, game localization and multimedia localization where voice and on-screen text are involved, eLearning localization for training material, and transcreation where marketing copy has to be rewritten rather than rendered. Scripts matter separately from language: Japanese vertical setting, Thai, Khmer, Lao, Burmese and Devanagari all reflow differently from Latin, which is a multilingual desktop publishing problem rather than a translation one.
Adapt your site to the language each market actually does business in.
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Localize UI strings, store listings and in-app content for Asian users.
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On-screen text, voice and cultural adaptation for players in each market.
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Subtitles, voice-over and on-screen graphics for video and audio.
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Training material adapted for learners in each language and market.
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Marketing copy rewritten, not just rendered, for each audience.
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Layouts that reflow correctly for Thai, Khmer, Lao, Burmese, Devanagari and vertical Japanese.
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Country guides
Each guide covers the languages spoken in that market, how they are used in business, and what that means for translation and localization.
Use the data
Every figure on this page is available as a CSV file with the measure, year, source and source link for each row. You are welcome to use it, with attribution to this page.
If this reference is useful in your own work, you are welcome to cite or link to it:
AsiaLocalize, Business Languages of Asia 2026: A Data Reference. https://asialocalize.com/business-languages-of-asia/
To link to it from your site, you can copy this HTML:
Source: <a href="https://asialocalize.com/business-languages-of-asia/">Business Languages of Asia 2026, AsiaLocalize</a>Please cite the original primary sources named in the tables when quoting a specific figure.
This compilation is licensed under CC BY 4.0: you may reuse it with attribution to this page. Figures quoted from primary sources (census offices, Ethnologue, UNESCO) remain subject to those sources’ own terms.
References
More languages
Professional translation and localization into the main business languages of the markets covered on this page, by native linguists in an ISO 17100 certified workflow.
Tell us which markets and languages you are targeting and what needs translating or localizing, and we will send a quote with a clear timeline. AsiaLocalize is ISO 17100 certified and works across 120+ languages, from Mandarin and Japanese to Khmer, Lao and Burmese.
It depends on the market. Mandarin dominates in China and Taiwan, Japanese in Japan, Thai in Thailand and Bahasa Indonesia in Indonesia. English is the main working language in Singapore and is used alongside a local language in Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and the Philippines. The comparison table on this page lists the official and business language for all 16 markets.
Singapore works mainly in English, and English is used in business alongside a local language in Hong Kong (with Cantonese), India (with Hindi and regional languages), Malaysia (with Malay) and the Philippines (with Filipino). In China and Indonesia, English is mostly limited to multinational settings.
China’s national Putonghua prevalence rate reached 80.72% in 2020, up from 53.06% in 2000, according to the Ministry of Education and the State Language Commission (2021).
Among the nine markets in the Ethnologue table, Myanmar has the most living indigenous languages at 115, followed by Malaysia with 111 and Vietnam with 96. Brunei has the fewest at 7. All counts come from Ethnologue’s 29th edition (2026).
Several censuses do not publish language data. Malaysia’s Census 2020 reports ethnic group, Brunei’s 2021 census has no language table, Myanmar’s 2014 and Laos’s 2015 censuses recorded ethnicity but not language, and Timor-Leste’s 2022 main tables do not publish mother tongue. We leave these cells empty rather than estimate.
Yes. The full dataset is available as a free CSV with the measure, year, source and source link for each row. You can use it with attribution to this page, and when quoting a specific figure please cite the original primary source named in the tables.
The reference is reviewed when new census or language-agency data is published. It was last updated in October 2026 and covers 16 markets, with every figure attributed to a named, dated source.
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