How many speakers of the seven most widely spoken languages are there (spoken as either first or second language)?
- AOption (a)
5.223 billion
- BOption (b)
5.116 billion
- COption (c)
5.156 billion
- DOption (d)
5.215 billion
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Correct answer
5.156 billion
Why this answer is correct
Calculation:
According to the question, 3/7 of the world's population speaks the seven most widely spoken languages as their first language. Given that the world's population is not provided, we cannot calculate the exact number of first-language speakers.
Additionally, the question states that a further 1.7 billion people speak one of the seven languages as a second language. Therefore, we can add this number to the total number of first-language speakers to get an estimate of the total number of speakers.
Total number of First-Language Speakers:
1386 + 1000 + 280 + 270 + 220 + 160 + 140 = 3456 million (3.456 billion)
Total number of Speakers (First or Second Language):
3456 million (3.456 billion) + 1700 million (1.7 billion) = 5156 million (5.156 billion)
Hence, there are an estimated 5.156 billion speakers of the seven most widely spoken languages (spoken as either first or second language).