Which Languages Are Best for Multilingual Projects
Categories:
Below are 15 countries/regions—selected based on population size, economic output, and international influence—together with their language codes (shortcodes) and brief rationales, intended as a reference for multilingual translation:
| Country / Region | Shortcode | Brief Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| United States | en-US | English is the global lingua franca; the U.S. has the world’s largest GDP (population: 333 million) and is a core market for international business and technology. |
| China | zh-CN | Most populous country (1.41 billion); 2nd-largest GDP; Chinese is a UN official language; Chinese market consumption potential is enormous. |
| Japan | ja-JP | Japanese is the official language of the world’s 5th-largest economy; leading in technology and manufacturing; population: 125 million with strong purchasing power. |
| Germany | de-DE | Core of the Eurozone economy; largest GDP in Europe; German wields significant influence within the EU; population: 83.2 million with a robust industrial base. |
| France | fr-FR | French is a UN official language; France has the 7th-largest GDP globally; population: 67.81 million; widely used in Africa and international organizations. |
| India | hi-IN | Hindi is one of India’s official languages; India’s population (1.4 billion) is the world’s 2nd-largest; 6th-largest GDP and among the fastest-growing major economies. |
| Spain | es-ES | Spanish has the 2nd-largest number of native speakers worldwide (548 million); Spain’s GDP is 4th in Europe, and Spanish is common throughout Latin America. |
| Brazil | pt-BR | Portuguese is the native language of Brazil (population: 214 million); Brazil is South America’s largest economy with the 9th-largest GDP globally. |
| South Korea | ko-KR | Korean corresponds to South Korea (population: 51.74 million); 10th-largest GDP globally; powerful in technology and cultural industries such as K-pop. |
| Russia | ru-RU | Russian is a UN official language; population: 146 million; GDP ranks 11th globally; widely spoken in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. |
| Italy | it-IT | Italy’s GDP is 3rd in Europe; population: 59.06 million; strong in tourism and luxury goods; Italian is an important EU language. |
| Indonesia | id-ID | Indonesian is the official language of the world’s largest archipelagic nation (population: 276 million) and the largest GDP in Southeast Asia, presenting a high market potential. |
| Turkey | tr-TR | Turkish is spoken by 85 million people; Turkey’s strategic position bridging Europe and Asia; GDP ranks 19th globally and exerts cultural influence in the Middle East and Central Asia. |
| Netherlands | nl-NL | Dutch is spoken in the Netherlands (population: 17.5 million); GDP ranks 17th globally; leading in trade and shipping; although English penetration is high, the local market still requires the native language. |
| United Arab Emirates | ar-AE | Arabic is central to the Middle East; the UAE is a Gulf economic hub (population: 9.5 million, 88 % expatriates) with well-developed oil and finance sectors, radiating influence across the Arab world. |
Notes:
Language codes follow the ISO 639-1 (language) + ISO 3166-1 (country) standards, facilitating adaptation to localization tools.
Priority has been given to countries with populations over 100 million, GDPs in the world’s top 20, and those with notable regional influence, balancing international applicability and market value.
For particular domains (e.g., the Latin American market can add es-MX (Mexico), Southeast Asia can add vi-VN (Vietnam)), the list can be further refined as needed.