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This chart lists the thirty Native North American languages with the most native speakers. Note that this is only a chart of Native American/First Nations languages, not ALL languages spoken in these two countries. Among all languages, the top three languages spoken in the US and Canada are English (with 237 million speakers,) Spanish (with 114 million speakers,) and French (with 8 million speakers.) Other non-indigenous languages spoken by more than a million people in North America include the Chinese languages, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Italian, Korean, Arabic, Russian, and Polish.
Language name | Country/region spoken | Approximate number of speakers |
1. Nahuatl | Mexico | 2 million |
2. Mayan languages | Mexico | 1.5 million |
3. Zapotec | Mexico | 400,000 |
4. Mixtec | Mexico | 400,000 |
5. Mazahua | Mexico | 350,000 |
6. Totonac | Mexico | 250,000 |
7. Otomi | Mexico | 250,000 |
8. Mazatec | Mexico | 175,000 |
9. Navajo | Southwestern US | 150,000 |
10. Tlapanec | Mexico | 120,000 |
11. Purepecha | Mexico | 100,000 |
12. Mixe | Mexico | 90,000 |
13. Chinantec | Mexico | 80,000 |
14. Cree | Canada | 70,000 |
15. Inuktitut | Arctic region | 65,000 |
16. Tarahumara | Mexico | 60,000 |
17. Ojibwe | Canada and the northern US | 50,000 |
18. Zoque | Mexico | 42,000 |
19. Chatino | Mexico | 35,000 |
20. Tojolabal | Mexico | 32,000 |
21. Mayo | Mexico | 30,000 |
22. Triqui | Mexico | 30,000 |
23. Sioux (Dakota and Lakota) | Great Plains states | 26,000 |
24. Amuzgo | Mexico | 25,000 |
25. Popoluca | Mexico | 25,000 |
26. Tepehuan | Mexico | 24,000 |
27. Cherokee | Oklahoma and the US Southeast | 22,000 |
28. Huichol | Mexico | 20,000 |
29. Popoloca | Mexico | 20,000 |
30. Yup'ik | Alaska | 17,000 |
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