8 countries where Hindi is commonly spoken

If you think Mandarin and English are the only languages that are widely spoken, the data on Hindi will surprise you. Were you aware that more than 425 million people speak Hindi as their first language, and about 120 million use it as a second language? Hindi is not just limited to India, but has also spilled over the borders and it is spoken locally in several countries. Below is a list of countries other than India where Hindi is spoken more frequently, and perhaps in some places you wouldn’t expect.

Nepal is home to the world’s second-largest population of Hindi speakers after India. Around 8 million people in the country are able to speak Hindi, even though fewer than 80,000 identify it as their first language. Despite its widespread usage, Hindi does not hold official language status in Nepal. In 2016, lawmakers in Nepal discussed the possibility of granting Hindi official recognition after research suggested that nearly 80 per cent of the population could speak or understand the language. Hindi’s strong presence in Nepal is rooted in long-standing cultural ties with India, the open border that facilitates regular cross-border movement, and the immense popularity of Indian television programmes, films and music.

The US has the third-largest Hindi-speaking population in the world, after India and Nepal. Some 649,000 people in the US speak Hindi, which is now, reportedly, the 11th most spoken foreign language in America.
Hindi is the language spoken in most homes and the communities, with English used for official/public life. Most Hindi speakers in the US are immigrants from India and many second generation Indians prefer English for education and everyday discussion.

Mauritius has a deep cultural affiliation with Hindi, which is spoken by around 450,000 people there, as per the date. Although no constitution of Mauritius designates any language as the official one, English and French are official ones used.

About 380,000 people in Fiji speak a variety of Hindi called Fiji Hindi. It originated during the colonial period, when Indian workers were brought to the islands. Today Hindi is an important part of Indo-Fijian identity and is spoken at home, in the media and during religious and cultural activities.

Reports suggest that the number of Hindi speakers in South Africa is estimated to be around 250,000 people, the majority of whom are found in the Indian community. Indian South Africans have been present in the country since the 19th century, and Hindi is one of languages spoken by them.

Hindi is spoken by some 150,000 Surinamese, particularly the Indo-Surinamese (people of Indian descent). The regional variety of the language known as Sarnami Hindi. The Indo-Surinamese community has been an advocate for the maintenance and sustainment of the cultural identity with use in Suriname beginning in 1873 during Dutch colonisation. Hindi is important to preserving heritage among South Asian Surinamese.

In Uganda, an estimated 100,000 people speak Hindi. The language is spoken primarily in the Indian-origin community, which has been in East Africa for generations. Hindi is the language spoken in homes, religious and community places.

Looking into the United Kingdom, it has around 45,800 Hindi speakers. Though fewer in number than those of other countries in this list, there are still a large number of people who speak Hindi in the United Kingdom due to the British Indian community.