Countries other than India where people speak Hindi
What's the story
Hindi is widely spoken in India but it isn't just limited to our country. Yes, there are many other destinations around the world, 20 to be precise, where Hindi has gained an official language status and several locals prefer conversing in it. Today, let's explore the top five such countries where there is a staggering number of Hindi-speaking population.
Authority language
Fiji
The number of people speaking Hindi in Fiji is quite high and it has been assigned an authority language here. About 38% of Fiji's population consists of Indian-origin people. Apart from Hindi, the other two official languages in the country are iTaukei and English. Fiji Hindi came into existence after Indians arrived in the country as indentured laborers during the British Indentured labor system.
Indian origin
Mauritius
Located in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius is a beautiful island country known for its stunning beaches, reefs, and lagoons. Around two-thirds of the population in the country is of Indian origin and 6,85,000 people speak Hindi here. Indian festivals are also celebrated in Mauritius. The Indian settlement can be traced back to their Dutch rule when slaves were brought from South India and Bengal.
Hindi-speaking people
Singapore
Considered a part of Greater India around 500 years ago, Singapore comprises a lot of Hindi-speaking people. Most Indians migrated to Singapore during British rule in the early 19th century which led to the emergence of the Hindi-speaking community here. However, the Tamil language has an official language status in this country. Other Indian languages spoken here include Telegu, Malayalam, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Bengali.
Neighboring country
Nepal
One of the neighboring countries of India, Nepal is home to almost eight million people who can speak Hindi. Though not an officially recognized language, a large population in Nepal speaks Hindi. Most people even prefer watching Indian TV channels and Bollywood films. Nepal MPs in 2016 raised a demand to include Hindi as a national language.
11th most popular language
United States of America
Hindi-speaking population in the US? Surprising, right? Well, the United States of America is home to the third-largest group of Hindi-speaking people. According to reports, over six lakh people speak Hindi in the US and most of them are immigrants from India. It is the 11th most popular language in the country. Several universities in America also offer courses and programs in Hindi.