If you are someone who is striving to make it in the international business industry, then you might be wondering if there are specific languages that you need to learn. If you haven’t started learning a new language, then now is the time. At some point, if you want to start building your own business with the help of an international market, it really isn’t recommended to ignore these needs.

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Best Languages To Learn For Consulting

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But which languages should I target? Good question. Exporters need to know how much business is to be had in each world language.

We know for sure that doing business in the language of your client is one of the keys to international business success. Overseas consumers are increasingly demanding information in their own language – 60% of online consumers rarely or never buy from English-only websites. Also consider that 72.4% are more likely to buy products that have information available in their native language.

Clues to the most useful business languages can be found in a comprehensive 2017 report by the British Council, Languages For The Future. They combine evidence from their ‘four economic indicators’ to give a ranking of important economic languages. The indicators are as follows:

• Emerging high-growth markets
• The language needs of business
• Current UK exports
• UK government’s future trade priorities

Top 10 Languages Needed For Economic Purposes (British Council)

Rank	Language	‘Score’	2013 position
1	French	22	German
2	German	21	French
3	Chinese	20	Spanish
4	Arabic	19	Arabic
5	Spanish	16	Mandarin
6	Dutch	13.5	Dutch
7	Polish	10	Portuguese
8	Italian	8	Russian
9	Japanese	7	Swedish
10	Hindi	6	Polish

Another clue to important business languages is by analysing IMF figures. The following table shows languages sorted by their share of the world’s GDP.

best languages to learn for business 2020

The Top 10 Business Languages of the World in 2018 by GDP (IMF)

Rank	Language	GDP($US Billions)	% of World GDP
1	English	28.088	20.77%
2	Chinese	26.56	19.64%
3	Spanish	8.17	6.04%
4	Arabic	7.1	5.25%
5	Japanese	5.63	4.1%
6	Hindustani	5.51	4.07%
7	French	4.47	3.3%
8	German	4.38	3.2%
9	Russian	4.18	3.1%
10	Portuguese	3.7	2.7%

Some honourable mentions – Italian, Polish, Turkish, Indonesian and Korean – who narrowly miss out on this list, but are by no means insignificant business languages.

For comparison, it may also be useful to see these rankings alongside some slightly older research. In 2013, Common Sense Advisory provided an empirical study based on a World Online Wallet (WOW) – defined as ‘the total economic opportunity, both online and offline, calculated by associating a share of a country’s GDP to all major blocks of that society.’ Here is what their study showed us.

Top Business Languages by Percentage of WOW – Source Common Sense Advisory 2013

Rank	Language	GDP(in $US Billions)	% of WOW	Cumulative% of WOW
1	English	$ 16,193	35.8%	35.8%
2	Japanese	$ 4,744	10.5%	46.3%
3	German	$ 3,467	7.7%	54.0%
4	Spanish	$ 3,447	7.6%	61.6%
5	Simp. Chinese	$ 3,214	7.1%	68.7%
6	French	$ 2,699	6.0%	74.7%
7	Italian	$ 1,207	2.7%	77.4%
8	Portuguese	$ 2,114	2.5%	79.9%
9	Arabic	$ 1,102	2.4%	82.3%
10	Russian	$ 1,031	2.3%	84.6%
11	Dutch	$ 930	2.1%	86.7%
12	Korean	$ 924	2.0%	88.7%
13	Trad. Chinese	$ 560	1.2%	89.9%
14	Swedish	$ 474	1.1%	91.0%
15	Norwegian	$ 451	1.0%	92.0%

Although methodologies differ and each study’s results tell us slightly different things, all three point us in the direction of the most important business languages. Here’s a little bit more information about each one to help to inform your exporting decisions.

Which are the most important business languages?

English

Truly a global lingua franca, English retains its top spot as the language of over 378 million native speakers, and over 1.1 billion total speakers.

Chinese

China’s status as a gargantuan economic powerhouse is no longer any secret. Mandarin counts over 1.1 billion total speakers among its ranks; remarkably similar to English. With the biggest growth rate averages and the second-largest economy in the world, China’s immense importance can no longer be ignored.

Spanish

Any forward-thinking marketing campaign or export strategy would be well-advised to not overlook the Spanish language. The sheer volume of native Spanish speakers presents businesses with a golden opportunity. Along with the language being the third most popular on the Internet, some of the fastest-growing economies are those of Spanish-speaking countries.

Arabic

An historic, complex language that has given birth to scientific, mathematical and philosophical advances, Arabic is making a 21st century comeback as a language of business. With extremely favourable GDP statistics, having your business message available to the 400 million+ Arabic speakers has never been so important. Growing internet penetration among Arabic-speaking countries means that your business’ ability to speak the language has never been such a sound investment.

French

French is spoken on all five continents of the world and accounts for 20% of world trade in goods. With over 220,000,000 worldwide speakers, it’s not hard to see why la langue francaise is a major business language.

Japanese

A classic language of international business. As a language of only 125,000,000, Japanese punches above its weight thanks to the incredibly high purchasing power of consumers. This should come as no surprise: Japan is an extremely high-tech, diversified and online economy. Did you know that Japan is the third largest global eCommerce marketplace?

Hindi, or ‘Hindustani’

Many linguists consider Hindi and Urdu – of India – to be dialects of one language, ‘Hindustani’. And whilst English proficiency is good in this part of the world, speaking the language of over 500 million can gain your business a competitive edge.

German

With Europe’s largest population, largest economy and with the fifth-largest global economy, German’s status as a major business language needs little further explanation or justification.

Russian

Despite falling somewhat into the shadow of Chinese and others, it’s still impossible to overlook the importance of Russian for international business. It’s the second most popular Internet language – which means the online marketing opportunities are endless.

Portuguese

Driving Portuguese’s importance as a business language is the immense growth and promise of the Brazilian economy. The booming purchasing power of the average Brazilian consumer makes this language of over 215,000,000 a particularly enticing prospect – and that’s not forgetting the not-so-small matter of Portugal, a major European economic player. If you’re looking to get ahead of the curve as a business, Portuguese represents a very smart investment.

Dutch

Despite Dutch claiming only 23 million native speakers among its ranks, The Netherlands has the highest Internet usage as a proportion of its population in the world – making it a very wise investment for online marketing.

Polish

An Eastern Slavic language with over 40,000,000 speakers globally; the second most spoken Slavic language after Russian. There’s no mistaking the importance of speaking Polish if you’re a UK exporter.

Italian

The very substantial economic clout of Italy, coupled with native Italian speakers accounting for over 54 million Internet users makes Italian a sound investment – particularly for UK exporters.

Looking for more information? Take a look at our Passport To series of blog posts to discover why you might want to consider translating into these top business languages.

top languages to learn for international business

1. English is the most widely spoken language for international business

While there’s no universal language, English is as close as it gets to a global language for business. Two billion people around the world or about 25% of the population speaks English, with as many as 600-700 million who speak English as foreign speakers. Several international companies such as Nokia and Microsoft have declared English their official corporate language. 

English isn’t just the predominant language in the business world. It’s also widely-spoken among academia and is the preferred language of the internet. As the official language of Australia, South Africa, The United Kingdom and several other countries, English is sometimes referred to as the language of globalization. However, the language dominance of English may be challenged in the near future by shifting balances of power and other increasingly dominant global economies. 

2. Mandarin Chinese is an excellent choice for international business

While English may have more speakers around the world that use it as a second language, Mandarin Chinese has nearly three times more native speakers. China’s thriving economy has pushed their language to the forefront as a global business language. Because much of business in China is done face to face and based on customs of courtesy, learning Mandarin demonstrates respect for the Chinese people and their culture.

Chinese is also the second most popular language on the internet and growing quickly as Asian markets expand access to the web. China is expected to become the world’s leading economy in the near future so investing in learning the language now could net a payoff in business opportunities later.

3. German is the international business language of Europe

Europe is a patchwork of countries with a vibrant linguistic history. If you’re looking for one international business language to rule them all, German is your best bet. Germany is widely considered the economic powerhouse of the region and many other European countries recognize German as an official language including Switzerland, Belgium, and Austria. 

In fact, worldwide, German is the fourth most widely-spoken language. In addition to Germany being one of the most populated countries in Europe, many German speakers reside in neighboring countries such as Denmark, Holland, and Luxembourg. German is also one of only three procedural languages of the European Union, so learning to speak German can provide leverage to those in diplomatic, political, or academic fields.

4. Spanish is an international business language for North, South, and Central America

You might have assumed that speaking Spanish is essential in places like Central and South America, but Spanish is increasingly important as a language of business throughout North America as well. In fact, the United States is the second largest Spanish-speaking country in the world. Speaking Spanish is an advantage to businesses wishing to expand in the United States or even Canada.

Projections indicate the dominance of the Spanish language throughout the continent will double in the next decade as the Spanish-speaking population swells. Learning Spanish isn’t just a smart move for attracting international business but a good investment in the future of any global company.

5. Arabic is the fastest-growing international business language

You may be surprised to find Arabic on this list of useful international business languages, but you shouldn’t underestimate this language in a region where economies are booming. It’s the official language in a sizable portion of the Middle East and Africa including Egypt, Morocco, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and two dozen other countries around the world. 

Business opportunities for those who speak Arabic abound, especially in the United Kingdom where Arabic was recently named one of five “languages of the future” by the British Council. While some see Arabic as a challenging language, specifically the writing system, learning even a few basic phrases can give westerners a window into global business opportunities.

6. French is a versatile language for international business

Answering oui to the question “do you speak French?” is going to give you a leg up in 29 countries around the world where French is an official language. French is also the second most widely spoken language in Europe right behind German. In fact, because of the leftovers from centuries of French colonization, there are more non-native speakers than native speakers of French.³

French can be an especially helpful language to speak in Africa, where some of the fastest growing economies in the world use it to do business. Due to cultural and language barriers, some African countries prefer to only do business with other French-speaking global partners.

7. Portuguese is a surprisingly valuable international business language

Portuguese may seem like a niche language but recall Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, also speaks Portuguese. Largely due to the dense and thriving population of Brazil, Portuguese is among the ten most spoken languages in the world. Brazil is considered an economic prize for global business opportunities because more than 60% of its population is under 35, making it a prime target for marketers eager to capture millennial brand loyalty.

Portuguese is also gaining a foothold in Asia as China and other countries in the region look to expand their global markets into Latin America. Speaking Portuguese is one way to position yourself ahead of the competition for international business.