There are many benefits to learning languages when it comes to business, both in terms of individual employees and whole corporations.

For example, not only does knowing languages open the door for more job opportunities, but it allows you to reach clients and customers further afield.

There are roughly 6,500 languages spoken around the world today, but just a few of them bring big benefits for businesses. Here are 12 of the most important languages for businesses in 2022:

Hindi

India is the world's second-largest country, after China, with 1.38 billion people. Hindi, on the other hand, counts for barely half of this because India has a lot of language diversity and other popular languages include Bengali and Urdu. When it comes to the globe's most spoken languages, though, 600 million people are fantastic; Hindi competes for third and fourth place with Spanish.

German

Germany has a population of around 84 million people, which makes up the vast majority of German speakers (about 130 million individuals speak German as a native or secondary language). Although these figures appear small when compared to those who speak languages such as English, Spanish, or Mandarin, the German language is still a popular and desirable language to learn for business and politics due to Germany's status on a global economic, political, and military stage.

Italian

Italian is the most widely spoken native language in Italy, home to 60 million people. Most Italians are bilingual and can converse in both Italian and another European language. It has been estimated that around 85 million people speak Italian worldwide, including many Europeans who primarily communicate in Italian as a second language.

Arabic

Over 400 million people speak Arabic, making it the fifth most spoken language in the world. It is also one of the six official languages of the United Nations. It is an official language in 23 countries, including Morocco, Egypt, and Syria.

Dutch

The Netherlands has a population of 17 million people, making it home to approximately one-quarter of the world's 28 million Dutch-speakers (although Dutch is also spoken in parts of Belgium and Suriname - it is an official language in both countries).

Portuguese

Portuguese is spoken all around the world, including Portugal itself where over 10 million people speak the language. Around the planet, Portuguese is spoken by 234 million individuals, from Europe and South America to Africa and Asia.

Japanese

Japanese is spoken by a population of 126 million people, or almost all Japanese speakers. It's tempting to write off Japanese because it's only really spoken in Japan, but Japan is a manufacturing power when compared to its modest size and, like Germany, it provides numerous business possibilities if you work in specific sectors (such as manufacturing, technology and automobile industries). Japan's importance on the global business stage should never be overlooked.

Russian

The population of Russia (or the Russian Federation) is 146 million people — a number that appears tiny when compared to the country's vastness (Russia is by far the world's largest nation). Almost 260 million individuals alive around the globe speak Russian as their native language.

French

French is spoken throughout the world, with a population of 65 million people in France itself, comparable to that of the United Kingdom. French is spoken by at least 250 million people worldwide, including inhabitants in all six inhabited continents and at least 50 nations.

Spanish

Spanish is spoken by almost 660 million people all around the world, from Spain to Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It's truly transatlantic!

English

English is the world's lingua franca, owing to its status as the global language. With such worldwide accessibility, it's only natural for any firm to prioritize developing the English language abilities of their employees across the globe.

Mandarin Chinese

With China's population at 1.4 billion, Mandarin Chinese is the world's second most spoken language after English. In fact, 1 in 6 people in the world can speak it, and many businesses are investing in this increasingly important language more and more every day.

To conclude, learning languages for business purposes is almost essential in 2022. Not only does it give you a competitive edge against your competitors, but it opens up more markets and opportunities for you to grow as a business. These top 12 languages will help you on your journey to success.

GUEST BLOGGER AUTHOR:

SIMON & SIMON