Linguistic diversity index

Linguistic diversity index (LDI) may refer to either Greenberg's (language) Diversity Index or the related Index of Linguistic Diversity (ILD) from Terralingua, which measures changes in the underlying LDI over time.

World map of linguistic diversity index (linearly proportional to the shading intensity). Data is from the 18th edition of Ethnologue: Languages of the World.

Greenberg's Diversity Index (LDI) is the probability that two people selected from the population at random will have different mother tongues; it therefore ranges from 0 (everyone has the same mother tongue) to 1 (no two people have the same mother tongue). The ILD measures how the LDI has changed over time; a global ILD of 0.8 indicates a 20% loss of diversity since 1970, but ratios above 1 are possible, and have appeared in regional indexes.

The computation of the diversity index is based on the population of each language as a proportion of the total population. The index cannot fully account for the vitality of languages. Also, the distinction between a language and a dialect is fluid and often political. A great number of languages are considered to be dialects of another language by some experts and separate languages by others. The index does not consider how different the languages are from each other, nor does it account for second language usage; it considers only the total number of distinct languages, and their relative frequency as mother tongues.

A few examples may be helpful in understanding these caveats.

Are Cantonese and Mandarin Chinese considered the same language for this survey? A footnote in the UNESCO report says only "Country for which a comparison between Ethnologue’s official language designation and IBE’s coded timetable information was possible, the result of which highlighted certain inconsistencies."

Haiti is listed with an index of 0.000, despite having both French and Haitian Creole as official languages.

The United States is listed with an index of 1/3, which mechanically implies that if you pick two people at random, at least 1/3 of the time one of them won't have English as their Mother tongue -- but that is very different from saying that they are not fluent in English.

Rankings by country

The UNESCO report cites an earlier (2005) edition of the Ethnologue as its own source for this particular data. The UNESCO report remains a useful independent source and benchmark year because of its wider availability. Footnotes do warn that the precise numbers should be used with some skepticism.

SIL International (2017)

UNESCO (2009)

Rank Country / region LDI 1 Papua New Guinea 0.988 2 Cameroon 0.974 3 Vanuatu 0.973 4 Solomon Islands 0.968 5 Central African Republic 0.959 6 Democratic Republic of the Congo 0.948 7 Benin 0.933 8 Chad 0.933 9 South Sudan 0.929 10 Uganda 0.929 11 Kenya 0.927 12 Mozambique 0.926 13 Liberia 0.917 14 India 0.914 15 Togo 0.905 16 Ivory Coast 0.900 17 Nigeria 0.890 18 Mali 0.873 19 South Africa 0.871 20 Tanzania 0.871 21 Ethiopia 0.862 22 Guinea-Bissau 0.859 23 Ghana 0.858 24 Gabon 0.846 25 Philippines 0.842 26 Sierra Leone 0.841 27 Zambia 0.830 28 Bhutan 0.827 29 Qatar 0.825 30 Republic of the Congo 0.821 31 East Timor 0.819 32 Indonesia 0.816 33 Sint Maarten 0.816 34 Afghanistan 0.790 35 Madagascar 0.789 36 Namibia 0.779 37 Senegal 0.778 38 The Gambia 0.776 39 Iraq 0.761 40 Singapore 0.761 41 Nepal 0.755 42 Pakistan 0.752 43 Thailand 0.752 44 Micronesia 0.751 45 New Caledonia 0.750 46 Angola 0.748 47 Guinea 0.748 48 Guam 0.736 49 Malaysia 0.735 50 Belize 0.721 51 Burkina Faso 0.721 52 Israel 0.719 53 Northern Mariana Islands 0.719 54 Suriname 0.709 55 Caribbean Netherlands 0.707 56 United Arab Emirates 0.707 57 Belgium 0.700 58 Oman 0.698 59 Laos 0.697 60 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.694 61 Malawi 0.692 62 Saint Martin 0.689 63 Switzerland 0.683 64 Tokelau 0.679 65 Eritrea 0.672 66 Andorra 0.671 67 Bahrain 0.658 68 Monaco 0.652 69 Iran 0.638 70 Fiji 0.632 71 São Tomé and Príncipe 0.630 72 Luxembourg 0.622 73 Kuwait 0.605 74 Canada 0.603 75 Trinidad and Tobago 0.599 76 Zimbabwe 0.597 77 Yemen 0.581 78 Niger 0.571 79 Brunei 0.570 80 Bolivia 0.565 81 Comoros 0.551 82 Georgia 0.550 83 United States Virgin Islands 0.550 84 French Guiana 0.549 85 Wallis and Futuna 0.548 86 Libya 0.538 87 Latvia 0.526 88 Myanmar 0.522 89 China 0.521 90 Guatemala 0.518 91 Antigua and Barbuda 0.515 92 Guyana 0.514 93 Kazakhstan 0.514 94 Egypt 0.512 95 Gibraltar 0.511 96 The Bahamas 0.509 97 Djibouti 0.504 98 Albania 0.503 99 Barbados 0.500 100 British Virgin Islands 0.500 101 Jordan 0.498 102 North Macedonia 0.495 103 Taiwan 0.489 104 Ukraine 0.489 105 Nauru 0.487 106 Cayman Islands 0.475 107 Estonia 0.473 108 Palau 0.470 109 Uzbekistan 0.466 110 French Polynesia 0.463 111 Morocco 0.461 112 Italy 0.460 113 Kyrgyzstan 0.459 114 Marshall Islands 0.457 115 Turkmenistan 0.457 116 Réunion 0.452 117 Sri Lanka 0.446 118 Cyprus 0.444 119 Mayotte 0.438 120 Aruba 0.429 121 Saudi Arabia 0.427 122 Belarus 0.411 123 Netherlands 0.405 124 Lithuania 0.404 125 Botswana 0.397 126 Moldova 0.389 127 Syria 0.363 128 Algeria 0.360 129 Somalia 0.350 130 Turkey 0.345 131 Peru 0.339 132 Germany 0.336 133 United States 0.333 134 Norfolk Island 0.325 135 Bangladesh 0.318 136 Dominica 0.313 137 Sudan 0.307 138 Palestine 0.303 139 New Zealand 0.291 140 Panama 0.287 141 Curaçao 0.285 142 Equatorial Guinea 0.284 143 Russia 0.283 144 Spain 0.276 145 Tajikistan 0.276 146 Australia 0.274 147 Vietnam 0.267 148 Malta 0.255 149 Macau 0.253 150 France 0.252 151 Slovakia 0.247 152 Montenegro 0.244 153 Saint Barthélemy 0.244 154 Austria 0.234 155 Cook Islands 0.232 156 Mauritania 0.228 157 Bulgaria 0.226 158 Sweden 0.226 159 Serbia 0.224 160 Mauritius 0.216 161 Paraguay 0.215 162 American Samoa 0.210 163 Swaziland 0.209 164 Hong Kong 0.205 165 Azerbaijan 0.202 166 Lebanon 0.198 167 Greenland 0.196 168 Niue 0.192 169 Ecuador 0.182 170 Mongolia 0.179 171 Samoa 0.174 172 Finland 0.172 173 Slovenia 0.167 174 Argentina 0.165 175 United Kingdom 0.154 176 Romania 0.153 177 Turks and Caicos Islands 0.146 178 Anguilla 0.141 179 Jersey 0.136 180 Greece 0.123 181 Tunisia 0.122 182 Ireland 0.118 183 Seychelles 0.116 184 Uruguay 0.111 185 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 0.110 186 Mexico 0.106 187 Croatia 0.102 188 Cambodia 0.101 189 Brazil 0.099 190 Liechtenstein 0.092 191 Lesotho 0.091 192 Denmark 0.089 193 Rwanda 0.089 194 Guadeloupe 0.083 195 Bermuda 0.076 196 Czech Republic 0.072 197 Norway 0.067 198 Portugal 0.066 199 Grenada 0.064 200 Puerto Rico 0.060 201 Armenia 0.053 202 Nicaragua 0.052 203 Montserrat 0.050 204 Poland 0.050 205 Martinique 0.043 206 Dominican Republic 0.040 207 Venezuela 0.040 208 Honduras 0.039 209 Chile 0.036 210 Costa Rica 0.036 211 Japan 0.035 212 Hungary 0.033 213 Tonga 0.029 214 Saint Lucia 0.020 215 Tuvalu 0.020 216 Colombia 0.019 217 Kiribati 0.019 218 Jamaica 0.017 219 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0.012 220 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.010 221 South Korea 0.010 222 Burundi 0.007 223 Guernsey 0.007 224 Iceland 0.007 225 El Salvador 0.003 226 Cuba 0.001 227 Haiti 0.000 228 Isle of Man 0.000 229 San Marino 0.000 230 Vatican City 0.000 231 British Indian Ocean Territory 0.000 232 North Korea 0.000

Rank Country / region LDI 1 Papua New Guinea .990 2 Vanuatu .972 3 Solomon Islands .965 4 Tanzania .965 5 Central African Republic .960 6 Chad .950 7 Democratic Republic of the Congo .948 8 Cameroon .942 9 India .930 10 Mozambique .929 11 Uganda .928 12 Gabon .919 13 Côte d'Ivoire .917 14 Liberia .912 15 Angola .901 16 Kenya .901 17 Togo .897 18 Timor-Leste .897 19 Mali .876 20 Nigeria .870 21 South Africa .869 22 Zambia .855 23 Guinea-Bissau .853 24 Philippines .849 25 Bhutan .846 26 Indonesia .846 27 Ethiopia .843 28 Republic of the Congo .820 29 Sierra Leone .817 30 Namibia .808 31 Ghana .805 32 Iran .797 33 Micronesia .792 34 Suriname .788 35 Benin .785 36 United Arab Emirates .777 37 Burkina Faso .773 38 Senegal .772 39 Pakistan .762 40 Malaysia .758 41 Thailand .753 42 Eritrea .749 43 Gambia .748 44 Guinea .748 45 Singapore .748 46 Nepal .742 47 Belgium .734 48 Afghanistan .732 49 Kazakhstan .701 50 Trinidad and Tobago .696 51 Belize .693 52 Oman .693 53 Guatemala .691 54 Bolivia .680 55 Laos .678 56 Kyrgyzstan .670 57 Jordan .666 58 Israel .665 59 Bahrain .663 60 Norway .657 61 Madagascar .656 62 Niger .646 63 Mauritius .641 64 Saudi Arabia .609 65 Qatar .608 66 Fiji .607 67 Nauru .596 68 Latvia .595 69 Italy .593 70 Djibouti .592 71 Moldova .589 72 Sudan .587 73 Yemen .579 74 Georgia .576 75 Andorra .574 76 North Macedonia .566 77 Kuwait .556 78 Comoros .551 79 Canada .549 80 Switzerland .547 81 Cayman Islands .547 82 Austria .540 83 Zimbabwe .526 84 Monaco .521 85 Myanmar .521 86 Malawi .519 87 Egypt .509 88 Syria .503 89 Luxembourg .498 90 Gibraltar .498 91 San Marino .494 92 Ukraine .492 93 China .491 94 Iraq .484 95 Tajikistan .482 96 Estonia .476 97 Morocco .466 98 Brunei .456 99 Equatorial Guinea .453 100 Botswana .444 101 Spain .438 102 Uzbekistan .428 103 Bosnia and Herzegovina .416 104 Belarus .397 105 Netherlands .389 106 Sao Tome and Principe .389 107 Aruba .387 108 Bahamas .386 109 Turkmenistan .386 110 Cook Islands .379 111 Peru .376 112 Azerbaijan .373 113 Cyprus .366 114 Libya .362 115 Serbia .359 116 United States .353 117 Paraguay .347 118 Lithuania .339 119 Bangladesh .332 120 Mongolia .331 121 Panama .324 122 Dominica .313 123 Algeria .313 124 Sri Lanka .313 125 Slovakia .307 126 Turkey .289 127 Russia .283 128 France .272 129 Netherlands Antilles .266 130 Ecuador .264 131 Lesotho .260 132 Albania .257 133 Vietnam .234 134 Swaziland .228 135 Bulgaria .224 136 Ireland .223 137 Argentina .213 138 Palestine .208 139 Germany .189 140 Somalia .179 141 Greece .175 142 Slovenia .174 143 Armenia .174 144 Mauritania .172 145 Romania .168 146 Sweden .167 147 British Virgin Islands .167 148 Lebanon .161 149 Hungary .158 150 Cambodia .157 151 Turks and Caicos Islands .145 152 Anguilla .140 153 Finland .140 154 Tuvalu .139 155 United Kingdom .139 156 Mexico .135 157 Liechtenstein .128 158 Australia .126 159 New Zealand .102 160 Uruguay .092 161 Barbados .091 162 Croatia .087 163 Nicaragua .081 164 Guyana .078 165 Palau .077 166 Niue .071 167 Cape Verde .070 168 Czech Republic .069 169 Seychelles .067 170 Grenada .064 171 Poland .060 172 Antigua and Barbuda .057 173 Honduras .056 174 Tokelau .054 175 Dominican Republic .053 176 Denmark .051 177 Costa Rica .050 178 Chile .034 179 Kiribati .033 180 Brazil .032 181 Colombia .030 182 Japan .028 183 Marshall Islands .027 184 Montserrat .026 185 Venezuela .026 186 Portugal .022 187 Saint Lucia .020 188 Iceland .019 189 Malta .016 190 Tonga .014 191 Tunisia .012 192 Jamaica .011 193 Saint Kitts and Nevis .010 194 Maldives .010 195 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines .009 196 El Salvador .004 197 Burundi .004 198 Rwanda .004 199 South Korea .003 200 Samoa .002 201 Cuba .001 202 Haiti .000 203 Saint Helena None 204 Vatican City None 205 Montenegro None 206 Bermuda None 207 Hong Kong None 208 Macau None 209 North Korea None

See also

• Ethnologue
• Linguistic rights
• List of official languages by country and territory
• Number of languages by country
• Cultural diversity

Notes and references

External links

• Terralingua's Index of Language Diversity is a dead link, but similar information is available from the same site at
• https://web.archive.org/web/20120822015417/http://www.terralingua.org/linguisticdiversity/ and it appears to be based on the following paper:
• http://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstream/handle/10125/4474/harmonloh.pdf