According to the latest edition of UNESCO's Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing, there has been an increase in the number of speakers of several indigenous languages. And although the phenomenon of disappearing languages appears in every region and in very variable economic conditions, the situation presented in the Atlas is not universally alarming.

The Atlas shows that due to economic factors, different linguistic policies and sociological phenomena, a given language may have varying degrees of vitality in different countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, where approximately 2,000 languages are spoken (nearly one third of the world total), it is very probable that at least 10 % of them will disappear in the next hundred years. Countries that have great linguistic diversity, such as India, the United States, Brazil, Indonesia and Mexico, are also those which have the greatest number of endangered languages. At the same time, Papua New Guinea, the country which has the greatest linguistic diversity on the planet (more than 800 languages are believed to be spoken there), has relatively few endangered languages. Certain languages that are shown as extinct in the Atlas are being actively revitalized, like Cornish (Cornwall) and Sîshëë (New Caledonia), and it is possible that they will become living languages again. Furthermore, thanks to favourable linguistic policies, numbers of speakers of several indigenous languages have increased for Central Aymara and Quechua in Peru, Maori in New Zealand, Guarani in Paraguay and several languages in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The launch of the third edition of UNESCO’s Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger of Disappearing was a part of the celebrations for International Mother Language Day (21 February), to celebrate language diversity and multilingualism. The online edition of this Atlas provides updated data of about approximately 2,500 endangered languages around the world.

Half of the 6,700 languages spoken today are in danger of disappearing before the century ends, a process that can be slowed only if urgent action is taken by governments and speaker communities. UNESCO’s Endangered Languages Programme mobilizes international cooperation to focus attention on this grave situation and to promote innovative solutions from communities, experts and authorities. UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger is intended to raise awareness about language endangerment and the need to safeguard the world’s linguistic diversity among policy-makers, speaker communities and the general public, and to be a tool to monitor the status of endangered languages and the trends in linguistic diversity at the global level.

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. All moves to promote the dissemination of mother tongues will serve not only to encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue. UNESCO invites all its partners to increase their own activities to promote and protect all languages, particularly endangered languages, in all individual and collective contexts.