Official status records whether a government or body has formally recognized a language. Wikipedia notes that Spanish "is the official language of 21 countries, as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations," a formal standing well beyond how widely it is merely spoken. This dimension separates languages with formal recognition from those spoken without any official status.
Facts
Comparison
Estimated Speakers (Millions) Official Status
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Germanic Languages
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, first paragraphQuote, Lead section, first paragraph
The Germanic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively by a population of about 515 million people mainly in Europe, Northern America, Oceania, and Southern Africa.
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