A knowledge of a foreign language opens up great opportunities: free communication with foreign partners, the opportunity to study at a prestigious educational institution, career development, new acquaintances and hobbies. Not everyone can learn a foreign language easily, as it requires quite a lot of intellectual effort and dedication.

Professionals advise you to learn what you like and what may come in handy. An important ingredient to any language learning is motivation, which will push you towards your goal and make you work on your level every day.

If you can’t decide which language is best for you, try our list of the most popular languages in the world in terms of popularity, importance in economics and politics, and ease of learning.

English

This language is beyond compare. English is the most widely spoken language in the world. It is spoken by people from all over the world, even if it is not their native tongue or national language.

English is understood by almost a third of the world’s population, and is the language of government, diplomacy, science, art, economics, technology, and industry.

In Europe, English is needed for highly qualified jobs.

The good thing about English is that you can learn it quickly.

Spanish

Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States. This is because of the large number of immigrants from Mexico and Latin America.

Spanish will make communication much easier if you’re travelling in North or South America, Spanish territory. It is also a working language of the United Nations.

Spoken by more than 700 million people, Spanish, like English, is easy to learn.

Chinese

China leads the way in economics and diplomacy. More than 1.3 billion people speak the language. Chinese is a working language of the United Nations.

To master Chinese, you’ll need to understand the pitches on which your understanding of words depends. The language has simple grammar, but the writing is frightening even to the Chinese themselves.

Russian

Over 250 million people speak Russian. Russian is the language of great literature, science, art and technical and historical materials.

Russian is one of the working languages of the United Nations.

Russian is a difficult language to learn because of its grammar.

Arabic

Over 400 million people speak this language. Arabic is the language of diplomacy, energy and security. People who speak it can get prestigious jobs. They are always in demand on the job market.

Arabic is a working language of the UN.

It ranks third in complexity of grammar and writing after Chinese and Japanese. Another drawback is the large number of Arabic dialects which can vary greatly.

French

French is the second most spoken language after English. This language is spoken in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Africa, Maghreb countries and in the province of Quebec (Canada).

French is the language of science and diplomacy. It is rather easy to learn.

Portuguese

Portuguese is spoken in Portugal, Brazil. It is considered a native or state language by 200 million people.

Portuguese is more difficult than Spanish, but learning Portuguese allows you to understand your Spanish-speaking opponent.

Japanese

Japanese is a difficult language to learn; its grammar and abundance of grammatical forms can be rather confusing to a European. But it’s a language of economics, spoken by 130 million people.

Turkish

Among the languages of the Orient, Turkish is considered to be the easiest to learn. It is spoken by more than 100 million people. Today Turkish is the language of business.

German

German is more complex grammatically than English, but it is easy to learn. German is the language of business and economics. But every year it is losing its position. Most Germans are fluent in English and leave the country.

Other languages that are in high demand are Korean:

Korean is an important language in the economy. Like all Asian languages, it is difficult to learn.
Italian and Polish are in demand for seasonal work, marketing and sales, or visiting relatives and friends.
Hindi is the language of international politics and business. Most Hindus prefer to speak local dialects or English.
Farsi — learning this language will be essential for professionals who work with Middle Eastern or Middle Eastern partners.