Top Languages Translation: A Guide to the Most In-Demand Languages in 2025
According to the 2024 State of Translation Report by Smartling, there was a 30% year-over-year increase in translation volume in 2023-2024. In 2025, this demand is still growing, especially among the most in-demand translation languages. The largest majority of this demand is coming from organizations, the government, businesses, and multinationals.
Understanding the current demand for translation services helps you keep up with industry trends. Let’s explore the top languages businesses need translated this year.
Factors Contributing to the Growing Need for Multilingual Translation Services
Between 2024 and 2025, nearly three-quarters of Fortune 500 firms added new markets to their portfolios. This increased demand for multilingual translation services seeks to engage these diverse audiences.
Research by the Common Sense Advisory (CSA) shows that businesses investing in translation and interpretation services are 2.6 times more likely to increase profits and revenue. However, the success of language translation depends on how accurate and culturally relevant it is. Besides revenue, accurate and linguistically flawless translation guarantees effective communication among cultures.
Immigration has forced governments and local organizations to seek translators and interpreters. These immigrants have shifted the demographic makeup of several countries, leading to multicultural domestic markets. Therefore, they must translate their assets into multiple languages to cater to the diversification.
To contextualize, the U.S Census Bureau believes that the minority in the US, including Asian, Hispanic, and Black, could become the majority by 2045. Similarly, most countries in Europe are experiencing a huge influx of immigrants. By 2024, the European Union was already made up of over 14.1% foreign-born individuals.
The need to localize digital content also contributes to the demand for multilingual translation. In 2025, the amount of content produced and consumed on the internet is overwhelming. This content is shared across social media and other web channels where your ideal client base spends most of their time. As such, translation services are in huge demand to increase the local reach of this content.
The Top 5 Most In-Demand Languages for Translation in 2025
Looking at the language trends in the translation industry this year, we see patterns where many languages have more demand than others. Specifically, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, and ASL take the top five positions.
Spanish
Over 7.5% of the global population currently speaks Spanish as a first or second language. With such a huge number, it is not surprising that Spanish is among the most in-demand languages for translation in 2025.
The best part is that Spanish is among the top go-to languages in which translators specialize. This is because it is regarded as one of the easiest languages to learn for native English speakers. It shares many aspects with English, including the latin alphabet, word order, and regular pronunciation.
Several factors can be attributed to the growing demand for Spanish translation services. For instance, less than 1% of U.S websites have Spanish translation. Smart businesses have identified this gap, leading to huge investments in Spanish translations to close the gap.
French
International organizations like the EU and the United Nations use French as their official language. Given the global influence of these organizations, the demand for French translation keeps rising. In 2025, professionals working global trade and diplomacy tied to these organizations need expert translators to communicate and understand other languages.
Companies are also increasing the demand for French translation. Large multinationals like L’Oréal require French translators to cater to their markets in regions without French speakers.
French remains among the trickiest languages to translate. With several unique cultural markers, it limits non-native French speakers in terms of fluency and accuracy. The ripple effect of this is increased demand for expert French translators in high-stakes sectors.
Portuguese
Portuguese is the sixth most spoken language globally, with at least 250 million speakers spread out across Portugal, Brazil, and Africa. With countries like Brazil having a huge influence on e-commerce, it makes sense for Portuguese translation to be in high demand in 2025.
In some Portuguese-speaking countries like Angola and Brazil, there are strict regulations for legal, financial, and medical documents. For instance, in Brazil, you have to be a “sworn translator” to translate official foreign documents. These regulations contribute to the demand for certified Portuguese translators.
Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese)
Several organizations need Mandarin and Cantonese translation for official transactions. This is because China has a huge influence in manufacturing, technology, and trade. Having expert Chinese translators is essential to transact with companies from the region.
As of 2025, Mandarin is highly underrepresented, especially online. For instance, tools like Google Translate did not support Mandarin until recently, which made it challenging to find a reliable translation for this language. Resultantly, there is a growing need for experienced Chinese translators to fill in the gap.
American Sign Language (ASL)
Accessibility laws in the U.S have led to the growing demand for ASL translation and interpretation in 2025. In sectors such as education, healthcare, and legal, ASL translators are used to make video content more accessible to individuals living with hearing impairment.
ASL is widespread across the U.S, Canada, and certain parts of Asia and Africa. This contributes to its need among the most in-demand languages for translation in 2025. Also, with the support from the government through the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), ASL attracts expert translators.
Top Industry-Specific Translation Needs
The legal, healthcare, and business sectors will lead the demand for the top five translation languages in 2025. Organizations in these high-stakes sectors impact the majority of the global population, which explains the demand.
Legal
Legal translators are always in demand by legal institutions to help individuals understand contracts, paperwork, and other documents. Documents such as immigration paperwork contain complex clauses that could result in legal recourse if misunderstood. Given the specificity and complexity of legal frameworks, legal translators must have experience and knowledge of law in both the source and target languages.
Healthcare
Precision and accuracy in medical translation are paramount to success. Without these, compliance issues arise, leading to malpractice and negligence.
To avoid penalties, healthcare translators must adhere to the highest standards when translating Medical documents and health records. Standards include complying with HIPAA to ensure data security and privacy for medical records.
Business
Transactions in business require stringent measures for insurance and legal protection. Here, speed matters as much as accuracy does. Businesses are always looking for translators who can quickly translate product manuals, websites, and other essential materials before any transactions.
Get Expert Support for Your Translation Needs
The Language Doctors has one of the largest network of ISO-certified language experts with vast experience in Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese, and ASL translation, among other languages. For the past two decades, we have supported businesses, governments, and private sector institutions with expert translation services.
Whether you are looking for experts in legal, academic, medical, or financial translation, we are here to help. Our services are accurate, fast, and affordable, ensuring we support your translation goals from end to end. Get in touch now and we will connect you with our experienced, professional, and compliant linguists.