How many languages have gone extinct in the last century?

History hard Data from 2023

Guess before you scroll — the answer is below

Answer in languages. Shorthand like 9m or 1.2bn works.

The answer

400 languages

Roughly 400.

UNESCO counts about 400 languages that have died out in the last hundred years — roughly one every three months. Around 3,000 more are considered endangered, meaning half of all human languages could be gone within a century.

Where this number comes from

Source UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger
Figure refers to 2023
Last checked
Unit languages

Numbers move. If this one has drifted from its source, let us know.

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