Italian, Latin, French, various other
languages
Honduras
Spanish, Amerindian dialects
Hong Kong
Chinese (Cantonese) 89.2% (official), other Chinese
dialects 6.4%, English 3.2% (official), other 1.2% (2001 census)
Hungary
Hungarian 93.6%, other or unspecified 6.4% (2001 census)
Iceland
Icelandic, English, Nordic languages, German widely spoken
India
Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%,
Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%,
Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%
note: English enjoys associate status but is the most important
language for national, political, and commercial communication;
Hindi is the most widely spoken language and primary tongue of 41%
of the people; there are 14 other official languages: Bengali,
Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, Oriya,
Punjabi, Assamese, Kashmiri, Sindhi, and Sanskrit; Hindustani is a
popular variant of Hindi/Urdu spoken widely throughout northern
India but is not an official language (2001 census)
Indonesia
Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay),
English, Dutch, local dialects (the most widely spoken of which is
Javanese)
Iran
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects
26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Iraq
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a
Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian
Ireland
English (official) is the language generally used, Irish
(Gaelic or Gaeilge) (official) spoken mainly in areas along the
western coast
Isle of Man
English, Manx Gaelic
Israel
Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority,
English most commonly used foreign language
Italy
Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige
region are predominantly German speaking), French (small
French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene
(Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area)
Jamaica
English, English patois
Japan
Japanese
Jersey
English 94.5% (official), Portuguese 4.6%, other 0.9% (2001
census)
Jordan
Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and
middle classes
Kazakhstan
Kazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%, Russian (official,
used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic
communication") 95% (2001 est.)
Kenya
English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous
languages
Kiribati
I-Kiribati, English (official)
Korea, North
Korean
Korea, South
Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high
school
Kosovo
Albanian (official), Serbian (official), Bosnian, Turkish,
Roma
Kuwait
Arabic (official), English widely spoken
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyz 64.7% (official), Uzbek 13.6%, Russian 12.5%
(official), Dungun 1%, other 8.2% (1999 census)
Laos
Lao (official), French, English, and various ethnic languages
Latvia
Latvian (official) 58.2%, Russian 37.5%, Lithuanian and other
4.3% (2000 census)
Lebanon
Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian
Lesotho
Sesotho (southern Sotho), English (official), Zulu, Xhosa
Liberia
English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages few
of which can be written or used in correspondence
Libya
Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the
major cities
Liechtenstein
German (official), Alemannic dialect
Lithuania
Lithuanian (official) 82%, Russian 8%, Polish 5.6%, other
and unspecified 4.4% (2001 census)
Luxembourg
Luxembourgish (national language), German (administrative
language), French (administrative language)
Macau
Cantonese 85.7%, Hokkien 4%, Mandarin 3.2%, other Chinese
dialects 2.7%, English 1.5%, Tagalog 1.3%, other 1.6% (2001 census)
Macedonia
Macedonian 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%,
Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census)
Madagascar
English (official), French (official), Malagasy (official)
Malawi
Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%,
Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other
3.6% (1998 census)
Malaysia
Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese,
Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu,
Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai
note: in East Malaysia there are several indigenous languages; most
widely spoken are Iban and Kadazan
Maldives
Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from
Arabic), English spoken by most government officials
Mali
French (official), Bambara 80%, numerous African languages
Malta
Maltese (official) 90.2%, English (official) 6%, multilingual
3%, other 0.8% (2005 census)
Marshall Islands
Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8%
(1999 census)
note: English (official), widely spoken as a second language
Mauritania
Arabic (official and national), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof
(all national languages), French, Hassaniya
Mauritius
Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English
(official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%,
unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)
Mayotte
Mahorian (a Swahili dialect), French (official language)
spoken by 35% of the population
Mexico
Spanish only 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%,
indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; note - indigenous languages
include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)
Micronesia, Federated States of
English (official and common
language), Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian,
Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi
Moldova
Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian
language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Monaco
French (official), English, Italian, Monegasque
Mongolia
Khalkha Mongol 90%, Turkic, Russian (1999)
Montenegro
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
Tok Pisin, English, and Hiri Motu are official
languages; some 860 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of
the world's total)
note: Tok Pisin, a creole language, is widely used and understood;
English is spoken by 1%-2%; Hiri Motu is spoken by less than 2%
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, other minority languages
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
Bemba 30.1% (official), Nyanja 10.7% (official), Tonga 10.6%
(official), Lozi 5.7% (official), Chewa 4.9%, Nsenga 3.4%, Tumbuka
2.5%, Lunda 2.2% (official), Kaonde 2% (official), Lala 2%, Luvale
1.7% (official), English 1.7% (official), other 22.5% (2000 Census)
Zimbabwe
English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the
Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal
dialects
======================================================================
@2100
Field Listing :: Legal system
This entry contains a brief description of the legal system's
historical roots, role in government, and acceptance of
International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.
Country
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; 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; note - 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 its website at www.nsf.gov
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; the 2009 Constitution incorporates
indigenous community justice into Bolivia's judicial system
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