Bengali Language
বাংলা
Global Presence Bengali, also known as Bangla, is spoken by approximately 242 million native speakers and an additional 43 million as a second language as of 2025, making it the fifth most spoken native language globally.
Official Status It is the official and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh, with 98% of Bangladeshis using Bengali as their first language.
Regional Significance In India, Bengali is the second-most spoken language and holds official status in the states of West Bengal, Tripura, and the Barak Valley region of Assam.
Writing System Bengali is written using the Bengali–Assamese script, an abugida that evolved from the Brahmi script.