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As of 2024, there are 57 sovereign states and 28 non-sovereign entities where English is an official language. Many administrative divisions have declared English an official language at the local or regional level. Most states where English is an official language are former territories of the British Empire.
English is spoken by communities on every continent and on islands in all the major oceans. [71] The countries where English is spoken can be grouped into different categories according to how English is used in each country.
English retains a role comparable to that of an official language. [38] [39] [40] In 1999, the High Court of Justice ruled that English, Arabic and Hebrew were inherited as official languages by Israel, but that English had been removed by the Law and Administration Ordinance of 1948. [41] The Ordinance said:
The city of Atlanta was the subject of a massive cyberattack which began in March 2018. [79] In December 2019, Atlanta hosted the Miss Universe 2019 pageant competition. [80] [81] [82] On June 16, 2022, Atlanta was selected as a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. [83]
The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, [1] [2] making it the largest language by number of speakers, the third largest language by number of native speakers and the most widespread language geographically.
The Turkish language has become more open to English influences due to Turkey's Westernisation in the early 20th century and adoption of the Latin alphabet. [39] Because English is among the most common languages in Israel, it has also influenced Modern Hebrew, [40] though it has less presence in the Arab areas. [41]
In 1972, 54% of Lebanese people said they speak French or English, including 75% of Beirut residents. Of Beirut's bilingual population, 48.5% spoke French and 26% spoke English. [4] Many of the Palestinians in Lebanon were also fluent in English. [4] [needs context] In 2011, 40% of Lebanon's population said that they spoke English non-natively. [1]
Of Lebanon's 34 radio stations, 11 have either French or English names. [33] Using photographs from 2015, a 2018 study of the linguistic landscape of Lebanon's capital, Beirut , found that the Arabic script is only used in 20% of storefront's primary text (store's name) and 9% of secondary text (other information, such as opening hours).