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The official language of a state is the language in which government business is conducted, as well as the language used in the legal system.

The official language of a state is the [[language]] in which government business is conducted, as well as the language used in the legal system.

Often, smaller countries such as [[Estonia]], which have a small number of native speakers relative to the number of [[migrant worker]]s, institute an official language policy to protect their culture.  

Often, smaller countries such as [[Estonia]], which have a small number of native speakers relative to the number of [[migrant worker]]s, institute an official language policy to protect their culture. Others, such as [[Belgium]] or [[Switzerland]] may have two or more official languages to reflect the multi-ethnic composition of their population. Sometimes, as in both Belgium and Switzerland, different parts of the country will have different official languages.

 

In places where the population is mixed or there are historical reasons for the use of one of the official languages, all the official languages will have equal status throughout that country or region's whole territory. Examples of this are [[Singapore]], [[Hong Kong]] and [[South Africa]]. A further variant of the use of official languages may be found in the [[United Kingdom]], where [[English]] is the official language on a national basis, but [[Welsh]] and [[Scottish Gaelic]] are official in [[Wales]] and parts of [[Scotland]] respectively. Similar situations can be found in [[Spain]] and some other countries.

The United States has no official language, however [[English]] is spoken by 82.1% of Americans.

The United States has no official language, however [[English]] is spoken by 82.1% of Americans.