Arabic

How many people are native Arabic speakers?

About 310 million people speak some form of Arabic. Arabic is not a unique homogenous language and there are many different varieties. Modern Standard Arabic is the standard literary version of the language and is the official language of 27 states. However, Modern Standard Arabic is an auxiliary language used in formal education and is not learnt natively.

How many people speak Arabic in the world?

A total of 422 million speak some form of Arabic as a first or second language.

Origins of Arabic

Arabic is a Semitic language that emerged from the 1st to the 4th century AD. Modern Standard Arabic is the modernized version of Classical Arabic, such as that used in the Quran.