Which countries have the highest percentage of polyglots?

1. What reporters mean by “most polyglot” — three different measures

“Most polyglot” can mean (a) sheer linguistic diversity — total number of distinct languages present in a country; (b) prevalence of individual multilingual speakers (percentage of people fluent in 2+ languages); or (c) institutional multilingualism (number of official languages). Many popular lists conflate these. For raw language counts, Papua New Guinea tops lists with ~840 languages ^[1]. For many official languages, South Africa ^[5] and countries like India (22 official languages in some contexts) are often cited ^{[3] [2]}. For per-capita multilingualism, small multilingual states such as Luxembourg and multilingual education systems in places like Singapore or parts of India are commonly referenced, though quantifying the percentage of polyglots requires survey data not consistently cited in these summaries ^{[4] [6]}.

2. Countries repeatedly named across sources

Multiple overviews name Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Nigeria, India, South Africa, and a handful of European microstates. Papua New Guinea is consistently described as the world’s most linguistically diverse country (~840 languages) because of isolated communities and terrain ^{[1] [2]}. Indonesia and Nigeria are also singled out for hundreds of languages across large populations ^{[2] [3]}. India appears on many lists because of officially recognized languages and strong regional multilingual habits ^{[2] [4]}. South Africa is highlighted for having 11 official languages and widespread multilingual practices ^{[3] [7]}.

3. Small states where individuals often speak multiple languages

Some sources emphasize per-person multilingualism in small European states. Luxembourg is presented as an exception in Europe where “most locals speak all three [official] languages from a young age,” making it a candidate for high per-capita polyglotism ^[4]. Belgium and Switzerland have multiple official languages but often contain more monolingual regional populations, according to language-coverage discussions ^[6]. These distinctions illustrate why institutional multilingualism (many official tongues) doesn’t automatically equal high rates of individual polyglots ^[6].

4. Evidence gaps and what the sources don’t provide

None of the provided sources offer a single, comparable statistic for “percentage of polyglots” by country (surveys measuring share of people fluent in 2+ languages). The lists rely on counts of languages, official-language tallies, or qualitative descriptions of multilingual environments rather than consistent survey data on individual multilingualism ^{[8] [9] [10]}. Therefore, claims about which countries have the highest percentage of polyglots lack direct, standardized citation in the current reporting (not found in current reporting).

5. How to interpret different claims and hidden agendas

Commercial language blogs and education companies (e.g., Rosetta Stone, Babbel, Preply) produce shareable lists that highlight countries aligning with their audience interests; these lists often emphasize language counts or colorful examples rather than rigorous cross-country prevalence data ^{[2] [6] [10]}. Media roundups and travel or expat outlets focus on striking facts (Papua New Guinea’s 840 languages) to attract readers ^{[1] [9]}. Academic or census-based claims about percentages would be more authoritative but are not present in the provided set (available sources do not mention standardized census-comparison percentages).

6. Practical takeaway and next steps for better answers

If you want to rank countries by the share of people who are multilingual, look for national census data or academic surveys that ask respondents about languages spoken fluently (the current sources summarize linguistic diversity but do not provide consistent percentages) (not found in current reporting). If you want simpler shortcuts: use Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Nigeria, India, and South Africa for sheer language diversity; use Luxembourg as an example of high per-capita multilingual upbringing; and treat “number of official languages” (e.g., South Africa’s 11) as a separate axis of comparison ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}.

If you’d like, I can assemble a follow-up plan: list specific census sources to check (e.g., national statistical offices for Papua New Guinea, India, South Africa) or seek academic multilingualism surveys to create a percentage-based ranking.