MIDDLE EAST

Outline map of the Middle East as a banner for our Middle Eastern Languages master page

Estimates suggest that there are more than 60 languages spoken in the Middle East.

The Middle East is a region with great linguistic diversity.  The most widely spoken languages in the Middle East include Arabic, Persian (Farsi), Turkish, Hebrew, Kurdish, Armenian, and Azeri. Arabic is the official language in most countries of the Middle East and is spoken by around 420 million people worldwide. Persian is spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan, while Turkish is spoken in Turkey and some parts of Iraq and Iran.

Hebrew is the official language of Israel and is spoken by most Israelis. Kurdish is spoken in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey, while Armenian is spoken in Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Azeri is spoken in Azerbaijan and parts of Iran.

Other languages spoken in the region include Assyrian, Syriac, Aramaic, Georgian, and various dialects of Arabic.

GEOGRAPHIC REGION/COUNTRY

South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe

Ethiopia

Algeria, Chad, Djibouti, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia

Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, UAE,

Iraq, Diaspora communities in the U.S. and Europe

Morocco

Iraq, Syria, Iran (Northwestern), Turkey (Southeastern)

Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Bahrain

Israel, United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia

Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia

Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia

Lebanon, Syria, Israel, United States, Canada

United States, Israel, Canada, Argentina, United Kingdom

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