How many languages are spoken in Indonesia?

Short answer

Indonesia has over 700 indigenous languages, making it the second most linguistically diverse country in the world after Papua New Guinea. The official national language, Bahasa Indonesia, is spoken by 270+ million people, but most Indonesians grow up bilingual — speaking their regional mother tongue (Javanese, Sundanese, Balinese, Minangkabau, etc.) at home and Bahasa Indonesia in schools, media, and government.

Why this matters

IndoLingua publishes structured Q&A pages for the questions Indonesian learners and travellers ask most often. Each page is reviewed by native Indonesian teachers and updated annually.

About IndoLingua

IndoLingua is a CEFR-aligned Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) learning platform with 180 lessons from A1 to C2, an AI conversation teacher, 4000+ flashcards, and a 9-language interface. Free discovery plan, no credit card required.