Bengali Language

Indo-Aryan language with over 242 million native speakers; India's second-most spoken tongue and a classical language since October 2024.

Specifications & Metrics

Bengali has over 242 million native speakers and another 43 million second-language speakers as of 2025.
On 3 October 2024 the Government of India accorded Bengali the status of a classical language.
In 1999 UNESCO recognised 21 February as International Mother Language Day in recognition of the Bengali language movement.