Serbian 63.6%, Montenegrin (official) 22%, Bosnian 5.5%,
Albanian 5.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2003 census)
Montserrat
English
Morocco
Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the
language of business, government, and diplomacy
Mozambique
Emakhuwa 26.1%, Xichangana 11.3%, Portuguese 8.8%
(official; spoken by 27% of population as a second language), Elomwe
7.6%, Cisena 6.8%, Echuwabo 5.8%, other Mozambican languages 32%,
other foreign languages 0.3%, unspecified 1.3% (1997 census)
Namibia
English 7% (official), Afrikaans common language of most of
the population and about 60% of the white population, German 32%,
indigenous languages 1% (includes Oshivambo, Herero, Nama)
Nauru
Nauruan (official; a distinct Pacific Island language),
English widely understood, spoken, and used for most government and
commercial purposes
Nepal
Nepali 47.8%, Maithali 12.1%, Bhojpuri 7.4%, Tharu
(Dagaura/Rana) 5.8%, Tamang 5.1%, Newar 3.6%, Magar 3.3%, Awadhi
2.4%, other 10%, unspecified 2.5% (2001 census)
note: many in government and business also speak English (2001 est.)
Netherlands
Dutch (official), Frisian (official)
Netherlands Antilles
Papiamento 65.4% (a
Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English 15.9% (widely
spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other
1.9%, unspecified 1.8% (2001 census)
New Caledonia
French (official), 33 Melanesian-Polynesian dialects
New Zealand
English (official), Maori (official), Sign Language
(official)
Nicaragua
Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995
census)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast
Niger
French (official), Hausa, Djerma
Nigeria
English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani
Niue
Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and
Samoan; English
Norfolk Island
English (official), Norfolk - a mixture of 18th
century English and ancient Tahitian
Northern Mariana Islands
Philippine languages 24.4%, Chinese 23.4%,
Chamorro 22.4%, English 10.8%, other Pacific island languages 9.5%,
other 9.6% (2000 census)
Norway
Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official),
small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities; note - Sami is official
in six municipalities
Oman
Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects
Pakistan
Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%,
Pashtu 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%,
English (official; lingua franca of Pakistani elite and most
government ministries), Burushaski and other 8%
Palau
Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral
(Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are
official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official),
Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%,
Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census)
Panama
Spanish (official), English 14%; note - many Panamanians
bilingual
Papua New Guinea
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca,
English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region
note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's
total)
Paraguay
Spanish (official), Guarani (official)
Peru
Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large
number of minor Amazonian languages
Philippines
Filipino (official; based on Tagalog) and English
(official); eight major dialects - Tagalog, Cebuano, Ilocano,
Hiligaynon or Ilonggo, Bicol, Waray, Pampango, and Pangasinan
Pitcairn Islands
English (official), Pitkern (mixture of an 18th
century English dialect and a Tahitian dialect)
Poland
Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census)
Portugal
Portuguese (official), Mirandese (official - but locally
used)
Puerto Rico
Spanish, English
Qatar
Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language
Romania
Romanian 91% (official), Hungarian 6.7%, Romany (Gypsy)
1.1%, other 1.2%
Russia
Russian, many minority languages
Rwanda
Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French
(official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in
commercial centers
Saint Barthelemy
French (primary), English
Saint Helena
English
Saint Kitts and Nevis
English
Saint Lucia
English (official), French patois
Saint Martin
French (official language), English, Dutch, French
Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles)
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
French (official)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
English, French patois
Samoa
Samoan (Polynesian), English
San Marino
Italian
Sao Tome and Principe
Portuguese (official)
Saudi Arabia
Arabic
Senegal
French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka
Serbia
Serbian 88.3% (official), Hungarian 3.8%, Bosniak 1.8%,
Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 4.1%, unknown 0.9% (2002 census)
note: Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Croatian all
official in Vojvodina
Seychelles
Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%,
unspecified 0.2% (2002 census)
Sierra Leone
English (official, regular use limited to literate
minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne
(principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole,
spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled
in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10%
of the population but understood by 95%)
Singapore
Mandarin 35%, English 23%, Malay 14.1%, Hokkien 11.4%,
Cantonese 5.7%, Teochew 4.9%, Tamil 3.2%, other Chinese dialects
1.8%, other 0.9% (2000 census)
Slovakia
Slovak (official) 83.9%, Hungarian 10.7%, Roma 1.8%,
Ukrainian 1%, other or unspecified 2.6% (2001 census)
Slovenia
Slovenian 91.1%, Serbo-Croatian 4.5%, other or unspecified
4.4% (2002 census)
Solomon Islands
Melanesian pidgin in much of the country is lingua
franca; English (official; but spoken by only 1%-2% of the
population); 120 indigenous languages
Somalia
Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English
South Africa
IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi
9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%,
other 7.2% (2001 census)
Spain
Castilian Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%,
Basque 2%, are official regionally
Sri Lanka
Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil
(national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken
competently by about 10% of the population
Sudan
Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie,
diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages
note: program of "Arabization" in process
Suriname
Dutch (official), English (widely spoken), Sranang Tongo
(Surinamese, sometimes called Taki-Taki, is native language of
Creoles and much of the younger population and is lingua franca
among others), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), Javanese
Svalbard
Norwegian, Russian
Swaziland
English (official, government business conducted in
English), siSwati (official)
Sweden
Swedish, small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
Switzerland
German (official) 63.7%, French (official) 20.4%,
Italian (official) 6.5%, Serbo-Croatian 1.5%, Albanian 1.3%,
Portuguese 1.2%, Spanish 1.1%, English 1%, Romansch (official) 0.5%,
other 2.8% (2000 census)
note: German, French, Italian, and Romansch are all national and
official languages
Syria
Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian
widely understood; French, English somewhat understood
Taiwan
Mandarin Chinese (official), Taiwanese (Min), Hakka dialects
Tajikistan
Tajik (official), Russian widely used in government and
business
Tanzania
Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili
in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce,
administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in
Zanzibar), many local languages
note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people
living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili
is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety
of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua
franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most
people is one of the local languages
Thailand
Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and
regional dialects
Timor-Leste
Tetum (official), Portuguese (official), Indonesian,
English
note: there are about 16 indigenous languages; Tetum, Galole,
Mambae, and Kemak are spoken by significant numbers of people
Togo
French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina
(the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes
spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the
north)
Tokelau
Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English
Tonga
Tongan, English
Trinidad and Tobago
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a
dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Tunisia
Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce),
French (commerce)
Turkey
Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian
note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European
part of Turkey
Turkmenistan
Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7%
Turks and Caicos Islands
English (official)
Tuvalu
Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui)
Uganda
English (official national language, taught in grade schools,
used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio
broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo
languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital
and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages,
Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Ukraine
Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, other 9% (includes
small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities)
United Arab Emirates
Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu
United Kingdom
English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of
Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland)
United States
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European
3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census)
note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
Uruguay
Spanish, Portunol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on
the Brazilian frontier)
Uzbekistan
Uzbek 74.3%, Russian 14.2%, Tajik 4.4%, other 7.1%
Vanuatu
local languages (more than 100) 72.6%, pidgin (known as
Bislama or Bichelama) 23.1%, English 1.9%, French 1.4%, other 0.3%,
unspecified 0.7% (1999 Census)
Venezuela
Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects
Vietnam
Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a
second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area
languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)
Virgin Islands
English 74.7%, Spanish or Spanish Creole 16.8%,
French or French Creole 6.6%, other 1.9% (2000 census)
Wallis and Futuna
Wallisian 58.9% (indigenous Polynesian language),
Futunian 30.1%, French 10.8%, other 0.2% (2003 census)
West Bank
Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many
Palestinians), English (widely understood)
Western Sahara
Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic
World
Mandarin Chinese 13.22%, Spanish 4.88%, English 4.68%, Arabic
3.12%, Hindi 2.74%, Portuguese 2.69%, Bengali 2.59%, Russian 2.2%,
Japanese 1.85%, Standard German 1.44%, French 1.2% (2005 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only
Yemen
Arabic
Zambia
English (official), major vernaculars - Bemba, Kaonda, Lozi,
Lunda, Luvale, Nyanja, Tonga, and about 70 other indigenous languages
Zimbabwe
English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the
Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal
dialects
This page was last updated on 18 December 2008
======================================================================
@2100 Legal system
Afghanistan
based on mixed civil and Sharia law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Akrotiri
the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court
system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to
the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws
of the Republic of Cyprus
Albania
has a civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction; has accepted jurisdiction of the International
Criminal Court for its citizens
Algeria
socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review
of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of
various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
American Samoa
NA
Andorra
based on French and Spanish civil codes; no judicial review
of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Angola
based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law;
modified to accommodate political pluralism and increased use of
free markets; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Anguilla
based on English common law
Antarctica
Antarctica is administered through meetings of the
consultative member nations; decisions from these meetings are
carried out by these member nations (with respect to their own
nationals and operations) in accordance with their own national
laws; US law, including certain criminal offenses by or against US
nationals, such as murder, may apply extraterritorially; some US
laws directly apply to Antarctica; for example, the Antarctic
Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. section 2401 et seq., provides civil and
criminal penalties for the following activities, unless authorized
by regulation of statute: the taking of native mammals or birds; the
introduction of nonindigenous plants and animals; entry into
specially protected areas; the discharge or disposal of pollutants;
and the importation into the US of certain items from Antarctica;
violation of the Antarctic Conservation Act carries penalties of up
to $10,000 in fines and one year in prison; the National Science
Foundation and Department of Justice share enforcement
responsibilities; Public Law 95-541, the US Antarctic Conservation
Act of 1978, as amended in 1996, requires expeditions from the US to
Antarctica to notify, in advance, the Office of Oceans, Room 5805,
Department of State, Washington, DC 20520, which reports such plans
to other nations as required by the Antarctic Treaty; for more
information, contact Permit Office, Office of Polar Programs,
National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia 22230; telephone:
(703) 292-8030, or visit their website at www.nsf.gov; more
generally, access to the Antarctic Treaty area, that is to all areas
between 60 and 90 degrees south latitude, is subject to a number of
relevant legal instruments and authorization procedures adopted by
the states party to the Antarctic Treaty
Antigua and Barbuda
based on English common law
Argentina
mixture of US and West European legal systems; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Armenia
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Aruba
based on Dutch civil law system, with some English common law
influence
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
the laws of the Commonwealth of
Australia and the laws of the Northern Territory of Australia, where
applicable, apply
Australia
based on English common law; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Austria
civil law system with Roman law origin; judicial review of
legislative acts by the Constitutional Court; separate
administrative and civil/penal supreme courts; accepts compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
Azerbaijan
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
Bahamas, The
based on English common law
Bahrain
based on Islamic law and English common law; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Bangladesh
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction
Barbados
English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Belarus
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Belgium
based on civil law system influenced by English
constitutional theory; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Belize
English law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Benin
based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Bermuda
English law
Bhutan
based on Indian law and English common law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Bolivia
based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Bosnia and Herzegovina
based on civil law system; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Botswana
based on Roman-Dutch law and local customary law; judicial
review limited to matters of interpretation; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Bouvet Island
the laws of Norway, where applicable, apply
Brazil
based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
British Indian Ocean Territory
the laws of the UK, where applicable,
apply
British Virgin Islands
English law
Brunei
based on English common law; for Muslims, Islamic Sharia law
supersedes civil law in a number of areas; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Bulgaria
civil and criminal law based on Roman law; accepts
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Burkina Faso
based on French civil law system and customary law; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Burma
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Burundi
based on German and Belgian civil codes and customary law;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Cambodia
primarily a civil law mixture of French-influenced codes
from the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)
period, royal decrees, and acts of the legislature, with influences
of customary law and remnants of communist legal theory; increasing
influence of common law; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with
reservations
Cameroon
based on French civil law system, with common law
influence; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Canada
based on English common law, except in Quebec, where civil
law system based on French law prevails; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Cape Verde
based on the legal system of Portugal; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Cayman Islands
British common law and local statutes
Central African Republic
based on French law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Chad
based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Chile
based on Code of 1857 derived from Spanish law and subsequent
codes influenced by French and Austrian law; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction; note - in June 2005, Chile completed overhaul of
its criminal justice system to a new, US-style adversarial system
China
based on civil law system; derived from Soviet and continental
civil code legal principles; legislature retains power to interpret
statutes; constitution ambiguous on judicial review of legislation;
has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Christmas Island
under the authority of the governor general of
Australia and Australian law
Clipperton Island
the laws of France, where applicable, apply
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
based upon the laws of Australia and local
laws
Colombia
based on Spanish law; a new criminal code modeled after US
procedures was enacted into law in 2004 and reached full
implemention in January 2008; judicial review of executive and
legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Comoros
French and Islamic law in a new consolidated code; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Congo, Democratic Republic of the
a new constitution was adopted by
referendum 18 December 2005; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction,
with reservations
Congo, Republic of the
based on French civil law system and
customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Cook Islands
based on New Zealand law and English common law
Coral Sea Islands
the laws of Australia, where applicable, apply
Costa Rica
based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of
legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Cote d'Ivoire
based on French civil law system and customary law;
judicial review in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Croatia
based on Austro-Hungarian law system with Communist law
influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Cuba
based on Spanish civil law and influenced by American legal
concepts, with large elements of Communist legal theory; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Cyprus
based on English common law, with civil law modifications;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Czech Republic
civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to
bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal
theory
Denmark
civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts;
accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Dhekelia
the Sovereign Base Area Administration has its own court
system to deal with civil and criminal matters; laws applicable to
the Cypriot population are, as far as possible, the same as the laws
of the Republic of Cyprus
Djibouti
based on French civil law system, traditional practices,
and Islamic law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Dominica
based on English common law; accepts ICJ jurisdiction
Dominican Republic
based on French civil codes; Criminal Procedures
Code modified in 2004 to include important elements of an accusatory
system; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Ecuador
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Egypt
based on Islamic and civil law (particularly Napoleonic
codes); judicial review by Supreme Court and Council of State
(oversees validity of administrative decisions); accepts compulsory
ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
El Salvador
based on civil and Roman law with traces of common law;
judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Equatorial Guinea
partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal
custom; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Eritrea
primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with
revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been
promulgated; government also issues unilateral proclamations setting
laws and policies; also relies on customary and
post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving
Muslims, Islamic law; does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Estonia
based on civil law system; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction with reservations
Ethiopia
based on civil law; currently transitional mix of national
and regional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
European Union
comparable to the legal systems of member states;
first supranational law system
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
English common law
Faroe Islands
the laws of Denmark, where applicable, apply
Fiji
based on British system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Finland
civil law system based on Swedish law; the president may
request the Supreme Court to review laws; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction with reservations