From its humble beginnings in the desert to its empire-sized nature of today, the Arabic language is a language of art and culture that has embellished our minds and eyes with it magnificent script. It is widely spoken today as native language to countless of nations, and as a consequence has acquired many dialectical forms. Divided into two distinct classes, the literary Arabic and spoken Arabic, this language is regarded as a daily essential to the countries listed below:
| Country | Languages (%) |
|---|---|
| Algeria | Arabic (official), French, Berber dialects |
| Australia | English 78.5%, Chinese 2.5%, Italian 1.6%, Greek 1.3%, Arabic 1.2%, Vietnamese 1%, other 8.2%, unspecified 5.7% (2006 Census) |
| Bahrain | Arabic, English, Farsi, Urdu |
| Chad | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara (in south), more than 120 different languages and dialects |
| Comoros | Arabic (official), French (official), Shikomoro (a blend of Swahili and Arabic) |
| Djibouti | French (official), Arabic (official), Somali, Afar |
| Egypt | Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes |
| Eritrea | Afar, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
| Gaza Strip | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
| Iran | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% |
| Iraq | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian |
| Israel | Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language |
| Jordan | Arabic (official), English widely understood among upper and middle classes |
| Kuwait | Arabic (official), English widely spoken |
| Lebanon | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
| Libya | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
| Maldives | Maldivian Dhivehi (dialect of Sinhala, script derived from Arabic), English spoken by most government officials |
| Mauritania | Arabic (official and national), Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof (all national languages), French, Hassaniya |
| Morocco | Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy |
| Oman | Arabic (official), English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects |
| Qatar | Arabic (official), English commonly used as a second language |
| Saudi Arabia | Arabic |
| Somalia | Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English |
| Sudan | Arabic (official), English (official), Nubian, Ta Bedawie, diverse dialects of Nilotic, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanic languages
note: program of "Arabization" in process |
| Syria | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood |
| Tanzania | Kiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages
note: Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages |
| Tunisia | Arabic (official and one of the languages of commerce), French (commerce) |
| Uganda | English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic |
| United Arab Emirates | Arabic (official), Persian, English, Hindi, Urdu |
| West Bank | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
| Western Sahara | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic |
| World | Mandarin Chinese 13.22%, Spanish 4.88%, English 4.68%, Arabic 3.12%, Hindi 2.74%, Portuguese 2.69%, Bengali 2.59%, Russian 2.2%, Japanese 1.85%, Standard German 1.44%, French 1.2% (2005 est.)
note: percents are for "first language" speakers only |
| Yemen | Arabic |
Source: CIA - The World Factbook