Datastream
Visualizing the Most Used Languages on the Internet
The Briefing
- English is the most common language online, used by 60.4% of the top 10M websites
- China has the most internet users in the world but only 1.4% of the top 10M websites use Chinese
The Most Used Languages on the Internet
Online content on the world wide web is consumed in thousands of different languages.
Some are more common than others, but it’s interesting to see that the online use of a language doesn’t always reflect how many people speak it. For example, Hindi is the third most spoken language worldwide, but it isn’t one of the top languages used on the internet.
Here’s a look at the top 20 most used languages on the internet, compared to their real-world use among the global population.
| Rank | Language | % of Top 10M Websites | Share of Speaking Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | 60.4% | 16.2% |
| 2 | Russian | 8.5% | 3.3% |
| 3 | Spanish | 4.0% | 6.9% |
| 4 | Turkish | 3.7% | 1.1% |
| 5 | Persian | 3.0% | 0.7% |
| 6 | French | 2.6% | 3.5% |
| 7 | German | 2.4% | 1.7% |
| 8 | Japanese | 2.1% | 1.6% |
| 9 | Vietnamese | 1.7% | 1.0% |
| 10 | Simplified Chinese | 1.4% | 14.3% |
| 11 | Portuguese | 1.3% | 3.2% |
| 12 | Standard Arabic | 1.1% | 3.5% |
| 13 | Italian | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| 14 | Indonesian | 0.7% | 2.5% |
| 15 | Greek | 0.7% | 0.2% |
| 16 | Polish | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| 17 | Dutch | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| 18 | Korean | 0.6% | 1.0% |
| 19 | Thai | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| 20 | Ukrainian | 0.4% | 0.5% |
“Share of speaking population” refers to the percentage of the global population that identifies as a speaker of a particular language, either as their native tongue or a second language. Data as of January 2021.
English is by far the most commonly used language online, used by 60.4%, or about six million of the top 10 million websites. Not surprisingly, it’s also the most spoken language worldwide, with over 1.13 billion speakers.
By contrast, Chinese is spoken by 14.3% of the global population–more than 1.11 billion people—but it’s only used by 1.4% of the top 10 million websites.
Interestingly, Russian takes the second spot in the ranking in part due to the significant online presence of Runet, the internet’s Russian language community. Furthermore, it’s also the official language of multiple countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union.
The Future of Languages on the Web
Although it’s likely that English and Russian will continue to dominate the web, Asian languages have the highest potential for growth in internet usage.
With an untapped audience of more than 1 billion people, the share of languages like Chinese and Arabic may grow alongside the region’s online population.
Where does this data come from?
Source: W3Techs, Ethnologue, and the United Nations via Hootsuite
Details: Based on the top 10 million websites by traffic rankings from Alexa.com.
Datastream
Super-Sized Bets for Football’s Big Game (2013-2022)
Expanding legalization has driven an increase in bets on football’s big game, with wagers more than doubling from 2021 to 2022. (Sponsored Content)
The Briefing
- Sports betting became legal outside Nevada when the federal ban was lifted in 2018.
- Legalization contributed to betting growth, with wagers on football’s big game increasing ten-fold over the last decade.
Super-Sized Bets for Football’s Big Game
With 99 million viewers in 2022, “more Americans tune in to the Super Bowl than any other television broadcast.” Its large viewership, combined with expanding legislation, has led to ballooning wagers.
In this graphic sponsored by Roundhill Investments, we show how these bets have grown over the last 10 years.
Annual Legal Bets on the Big Game
From 2013 through 2018, sports betting was only legal in Nevada and year-over-year growth was low. However, when the federal sports betting ban was lifted in May 2018, more states started allowing bets.
By 2022, 33 states plus Washington, DC were legally able to bet on the game. Wagers climbed quickly as a result.
| Year | Total Bets | Annual Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $99M | 5% |
| 2014 | $119M | 21% |
| 2015 | $116M | -3% |
| 2016 | $133M | 14% |
| 2017 | $138M | 4% |
| 2018 | $159M | 15% |
| 2019 | $191M | 20% |
| 2020 | $280M | 47% |
| 2021 | $486M | 73% |
| 2022 | $1.1B | 119% |
Data only for states that report bets on football’s big game, see graphic for full list of states included in 2022.
Impressively, legal bets surpassed the $1 billion mark in 2022. Growth was primarily driven by New York State legalizing online sports betting, with the state contributing nearly $500 million to the total.
Since the New York State Gaming Commission does not report event-specific totals, we have estimated this amount based on sports bets made the week leading up to and including the date of the big game.
Investment Exposure to an Emerging Industry
Due to legalization, bets on football’s big game have grown 10 times larger over the last decade. A further shift away from bookies and toward legal operators appears to be likely. In September 2022, 89% of Americans said it was important to bet with a legal operator this NFL season, up from 76% in February 2022.
For legal operators, this could translate into revenue opportunities. Companies that take legal bets reported more than $62 million in revenue from the big game alone in 2022, a 37% jump from the prior year.
Looking for exposure to the growing sports betting industry? Explore Roundhill’s sports betting ETF, $BETZ.
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