The English language around the world

340 million people speak English worldwide. (1st Chinese → 1.2 billion, 2nd Spanish → 360 million, 9th German → 98 million)

It's not clear how many people around the world use English as a second language. Numbers vary from 350 million to one billion.

English is spoken in the following countries:

Australia
Botswana
Brunei
Cameroon
Canada
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Fiji
The Gambia
Gyuana
India
Ireland
Israel
Lesotho
Liberia
Malaysia
Micronesia
Namibia
Nauru
New Zealand
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
Suriname
Swaziland
Tonga
UK
USA
Vanuati
Zimbabwe
many Carribean states.

The following words are used in American English and were taken from German:

Doppelgänger
Kindergarten
Poltergeist
Rucksack
Wanderjahr
Weltanschauung
Weltschmerz
Zeitgeist

Another German word commonly used in American English is ›Gesundheit‹. No one in the USA really knows what it means, but you say it after someone sneezes, just like in German speaking countries.

Thanks to Mark.