List of sign languages by number of native signers

The following are sign languages reported to be used by at least 10,000 people. Additional languages, such as Chinese Sign Language, are likely to have more speakers, but no data is available. Estimates for sign language use are very crude, and definitions of what counts as proficiency varied. For most sign languages, there are no concrete estimate. For instance, it has been reported there are a million signers in Ethiopia, but there are only a fifth that number of deaf people, less than half of whom are fluent in sign, and in addition it is unknown how many different sign languages they use.

Language Family or origin Legal recognition and where spoken natively by significant population Ethnologue estimate
Indo-Pakistani Sign LanguageRelated to Nepalese Sign Language and possibly other sign languages of the regionNo legal recognition. Native to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.6,300,000 (2019)
Indonesian Sign LanguageFrench Sign Language familyNative to Indonesia900,000 (2016)[1]
Russian Sign LanguageFrench Sign Language familyNative to Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Bulgaria; partly in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania.715,000 (2014)[2]
Brazilian Sign LanguageLanguage isolateLegally recognized by law 10.436, April 24, 2002[3] - Native to Brazil.600,000 (2019)
Egyptian Sign LanguageArab sign-language familyNative to Egypt474,000 (2014)[4]
American Sign LanguageOld French Sign Language and Martha's Vineyard Sign Language459,850[5]
Persian Sign LanguageLanguage isolateNative to Iran325,000 (2019)[6]
Turkish Sign Languagefrom Ottoman Sign LanguageNative to Turkey300,000 (2019)[7]
Japanese Sign LanguageJSL FamilyNative to Japan.126,000 (2019)
Mexican Sign LanguageFrench Sign Language familyNative to Urban Mexico.130,000 (2010 projection)
French Sign LanguageFrench Sign Language family. Descended from Old French Sign LanguageNative to France. Spoken in Switzerland, Mali, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Togo, Vietnam100,000 (2019)
British Sign LanguageBANZSLNative to United Kingdom.80,000 (2014)
German Sign LanguageGerman Sign Language familyNative to Germany.80,000 (2014)
Malaysian Sign LanguageFrench: ASL60,000 (2013)
Spanish Sign LanguageUnknown origin.Officially recognized by Spanish Government. Native to Spain except Catalonia and Valencia.45,000 (1994)
Polish Sign LanguageGerman Sign Language familyNative to Poland.38,000 to 50,000 signers (2014)
Italian Sign LanguageAmericanRecognized language in Sicily.40,000 (2014)
Yugoslav Sign LanguageFrench: Austro-HungarianSlovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia22,000 (2010-2014)
Hong Kong Sign LanguageChinese20,000 (2007)
Dutch Sign LanguageFrench15,000 (2019)
AuslanBANZSLNative to Australia.10,000 (2016 census)

See also

References
  1. "Indonesian Sign Language". Ethnologue. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. "Russian Sign Language". Ethnologue. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  3. Lei 10.436 de 24 de abril de 2002 Archived 2010-09-10 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese)
  4. "Egyptian Sign Language". Ethnologue. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  5. "American Sign Language". Ethnologue. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  6. "Iranian Sign Language". Ethnologue. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  7. "Turkish Sign Language". Ethnologue. Retrieved 4 February 2021.


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