which countries speak english?
Canada Australia South Africa Zambia United Kingdom Zimbabwe Uganda New Zealand Turks and Caicos Islands Tanzania
entailment
 Decades , and in some cases centuries , of British rule and emigration have left their mark on the independent nations that arose from the British Empire . The empire established the use of English in regions around the world . Today it is the primary language of up to 400 million people and is spoken by about one and a half billion as a first , second or foreign language . 

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 Many regional international organisations such as the European Free Trade Association , Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) , and Asia @-@ Pacific Economic Cooperation ( APEC ) set English as their organisation 's sole working language even though most members are not countries with a majority of native English speakers . While the European Union ( EU ) allows member states to designate any of the national languages as an official language of the Union , in practice English is the main working language of EU organisations . 

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 English language learning and teaching is an important economic activity , and includes language schooling , tourism spending , and publishing . There is no legislation mandating an official language for England , but English is the only language used for official business . Despite the country 's relatively small size , there are many distinct regional accents , and individuals with particularly strong accents may not be easily understood everywhere in the country . 

neutral
 Common British versions include : 

entailment
 English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingua franca . English is either the official language or an official language in almost 60 sovereign states . It is the most commonly spoken language in the United Kingdom , the United States , Canada , Australia , Ireland , and New Zealand , and is widely spoken in some areas of the Caribbean , Africa , and South Asia . It is the third most common native language in the world , after Mandarin and Spanish . It is the most widely learned second language and an official language of the United Nations , of the European Union , and of many other world and regional international organisations . 
