Culture

Mapped: Second Primary Languages Around the World

Published

2 years ago

October 22, 2021

Omri Wallach

Second Languages Around the World

Mapped: Second Primary Languages Around the World

After the primary language, what second languages are used as native tongues in your country?

The answer reveals a lot about history and location. Whether through immigration, colonization, or local culture, a primary language can either spread around the world or remain rooted in place.

This map from MoveHub shows the second most commonly spoken primary language in most countries, using data from the CIA World Factbook and Wikipedia as of February 2021.

The Difference Between Primary and Secondary Languages

First, it’s important to differentiate between primary languages and secondary languages.

A primary language—also known as a first or native language—is the language we use most frequently to communicate. These are languages we are usually born with, have a lot of exposure to, and use at home.

On the other hand, a secondary language is one we learn or pick up after our primary language. In many countries, English is the most commonly learned, with close to 1 billion speakers.

But a map of common second languages can simply show just how many countries prioritize learning English, the de-facto international language in many organizations. Instead, this map highlights the movement of people by showing the second-most common primary language.

The Second Most Common Primary Languages by Country

Even when filtering by primary language use, however, English and other Indo-European languages dominate the world.

With 55 countries speaking it as the second-most common primary language, English came out on top.

Top 10 Most Popular Second Primary Languages	Number of Countries
English	55
French	14
Russian	13
Spanish	8
Creole	8
Arabic	6
Kurdish	4
Portugese	4
Italian	3
Quechua	3

The use of English as a second primary language was primarily concentrated in Western Europe, Northern Africa, and Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Similarly to second-place French with 14 countries and third-place Russian with 13 countries, English was most common in proximity to English-speaking countries or where there was a history of immigration.

Other second-most common primary languages highlighted different cultures within countries, such as China’s second-most common language Cantonese. Alternatively, they showed the primary indigenous language before colonization, such as the Quechua languages in South America.

What other interesting or surprising language patterns can you spot in the map above?

Related Topics:spanish cantonese arabic culture french mandarin russian map mapped most common languages top language language most common languages first language english primary language chinese second language

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Culture

Ranked: Which Countries Drink the Most Beer?

Global consumption exceeded 185 million kiloliters in 2021, enough to fill more than 74,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Published

3 weeks ago

September 8, 2023

Bruno Venditti

Visualizing Global Beer Consumption

Global beer consumption exceeded 185 million kiloliters in 2021, enough to fill more than 74,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

So, which countries drink the most beer?

This graphic uses data from Kirin Holdings to compare global beer consumption by country. The Japanese company has been tracking beer consumption around the world since 1975.

Which Countries Drink the Most Beer?

Every region in the world increased its overall beer consumption in 2021 compared to 2020, with global consumption rising by 4%.

Asia holds a 31% share of the global beer market, remaining the world’s largest beer-consuming region over the last 14 years.

Rank	Country	Total Consumption (thousand kl)	Market Share
1	🇨🇳 China	38,093	20.5%
2	🇺🇸 U.S.	24,170	13.0%
3	🇧🇷 Brazil	14,540	7.8%
4	🇷🇺 Russia	8,937	4.8%
5	🇲🇽 Mexico	8,660	4.7%
6	🇩🇪 Germany	7,584	4.1%
7	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	4,608	2.5%
8	🇯🇵 Japan	4,188	2.3%
9	🇻🇳 Vietnam	4,159	2.2%
10	🇪🇸 Spain	4,131	2.2%

China was the largest beer-consuming country for the 19th consecutive year.

The tradition of brewing and enjoying beer in China spans approximately nine millennia. Recent archaeological discoveries have revealed that as far back as 7000 BC, ancient Chinese communities were engaged in producing beer-like alcoholic beverages, primarily on a small and localized basis.

China was also the leading producer of beer in 2022, followed by the United States.

Beer Consumption Per Capita

When examining per capita beer consumption, Asia falls behind Europe. In fact, nine of the top 10 consumers of beer per capita are European nations.

The Czech Republic remains the leader in per capita beer drinking for the 29th year. In 2021, the average Czech drank more than 184 liters of beer.

Rank	Country	Per Capita Beer Consumption (volume in liters)	Total Consumption (thousand kl)
1	🇨🇿 Czech Republic	184.1	1,969
2	🇦🇹 Austria	98.7	888
3	🇱🇹 Lithuania	96.3	260
4	🇷🇴 Romania	95.6	1,826
5	🇵🇱 Poland	94.1	3,557
6	🇪🇪 Estonia	91.4	119
7	🇩🇪 Germany	90.4	7,584
8	🇪🇸 Spain	88.5	4,131
9	🇳🇦 Namibia	85.7	223
10	🇭🇷 Croatia	82.4	338

The Czech Republic is known for its affordable beer. In some parts of the country, beer can even cost less than bottled water.

Small Brewers and Technology

Beer production is expected to rise over the next decade, boosted by new smaller brewers, particularly in Western countries.

Investments have also been made in new technology to expedite the brewing process, including the utilization of ‘BeerBots’ capable of accelerating the fermentation process.

According to Future Market Insights, the global beer market is projected to be valued at $690 billion in 2023, rising to $996 billion by 2033.