Languages spoken in Pakistan: map, families and speakers

Languages of Pakistan at a glance

82living languages
4language families
252.4 millionpeople (CLDR estimate)
21with a CLDR share

Tap the map to list every language whose area covers a spot in Pakistan. Areas are generalisations from published atlases and overlap, and a language that is mapped here is not necessarily spoken everywhere inside its area.

The 40 most widely spoken languages in Pakistan

Languages with a Unicode CLDR share come first, biggest first by estimated speakers; the rest follow A to Z. Estimated speakers are the share applied to CLDR’s own population figure for the country.

Language	Family	Share of population	Estimated speakers	Status
Urdu	Indo-European	95%	239,745,800	Not endangered
Eastern Panjabi	Indo-European	70%	176,654,800	Not endangered
English	Indo-European	50%	126,182,000	Not endangered
Western Panjabi	Indo-European	40%	100,945,600	Not endangered
Southern Pashto	Indo-European	16%	40,378,240	Not endangered
Sindhi	Indo-European	15%	37,854,600	Not endangered
Saraiki	Indo-European	12%	30,283,680	Not endangered
Southern Balochi	Indo-European	2.6%	6,561,464	Not endangered
Northern Hindko	Indo-European	1.7%	4,290,188	Not endangered
Brahui	Dravidian	1.3%	3,280,732	Threatened
Western Farsi	Indo-European	0.7%	1,665,602	Not endangered
Western Balochi	Indo-European	0.6%	1,438,475	Not endangered
Southern Hindko	Indo-European	0.4%	1,034,692	Not endangered
Tajik	Indo-European	0.3%	832,801	Not endangered
Gujari	Indo-European	0.2%	504,728	Not endangered
Balti	Sino-Tibetan	0.2%	454,255	Not endangered
Parkari Koli	Indo-European	0.2%	403,782	Not endangered
Khowar	Indo-European	0.2%	378,546	Not endangered
Indus Kohistani	Indo-European	0.1%	353,310	Threatened
Kachi Koli	Indo-European	0.1%	277,600	Not endangered
Wadiyara Koli	Indo-European	0.1%	277,600	Not endangered
Aer	Indo-European			Shifting
Bagri	Indo-European			Not endangered
Bateri	Indo-European			Threatened
Bhadrawahi	Indo-European			Threatened
Bhaya	Indo-European			Shifting
Burushaski	Isolate			Shifting
Central Pashto	Indo-European			Not endangered
Chilisso	Indo-European			Shifting
Chitral Kalasha	Indo-European			Shifting
Dameli	Indo-European			Threatened
Dari	Indo-European			Not endangered
Dehwari	Indo-European			Not endangered
Dhatki	Indo-European			Not endangered
Dogri	Indo-European			Not endangered
Domaaki	Indo-European			Moribund
Eastern Balochi	Indo-European			Not endangered
Gawar-Bati	Indo-European			Threatened
Gawri	Indo-European			Shifting
Ghera	Indo-European			Not endangered

Language families in Pakistan

Indo-European (72 languages)
Sino-Tibetan (5 languages)
Turkic (3 languages)
Dravidian (1 language)
Isolate (1 language)

All 82 languages in Pakistan, A to Z

About these numbers

The list of languages in Pakistan comes from the overlap of Glottography and Glottolog language areas and positions with the country outline, together with the languages Glottolog assigns to the country. The shares come from Unicode CLDR release 48 and are estimates. See every source and licence.

Questions about languages in Pakistan

How many languages are spoken in Pakistan?

82 living languages are mapped in Pakistan, from 4 families, plus 1 language isolate. The number depends on how a catalogue decides where one language ends and another begins, so other sources give other totals.

What is the most spoken language in Pakistan?

By Unicode CLDR's estimate, Urdu is spoken by 95% of the population, about 239,745,800 people, followed by Eastern Panjabi (70%). Shares are approximate, can add up to more than 100% because many people speak several languages, and only cover languages CLDR has a figure for.

Which language families are found in Pakistan?

Indo-European (72 languages), Sino-Tibetan (5 languages), Turkic (3 languages) and Dravidian (1 language).