Urdu is the 11th most spoken language in the world: Ethnologue

Hyderabad: Urdu the language considered to be one of the sweetest languages has become the 11th most spoken language in the world.

As reported by Deccan Chronicle, the 2018 edition of Ethnologue, a language reference published by SIL International, ranks Urdu as the 11th most spoken language in the world. The language has approximately 16.32 crore speakers.

Urdu is widely known for its beauty and grace, elegance and gentility. A major language of South Asia Urdu has been gaining popularity in UK, USA, France and Germany apart from the Gulf region. It is also spoken in Guyana, Mauritius, Nepal and South Africa. More than one billion people speak Urdu all over the world. It is the national language of Pakistan and the regional language of Nepal.

According to the 2011 census, Urdu is the seventh most spoken language in India. It is spoken by over eight crore people in India alone. It is one of the 22 official languages recognised in the Constitution of India. It has official status in Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Bengal and Delhi, while it has the status of official language of Jammu and Kashmir.