In one place on Earth, 10 million people speak 840 languages. Which country is being referred to?

Our planet is home to billions of people who communicate in thousands of different languages. However, there is only one country in the world where people speak 840 languages—this makes it the most linguistically diverse nation globally, according to IFLScience.

This country is Papua New Guinea—today, approximately 840 languages are still spoken here, which accounts for over 10% of all languages existing worldwide. Interestingly, despite this linguistic wealth, the population of the country is only about 10 million people.

There are officially three national languages in Papua New Guinea:

• Hiri Motu;
• Tok Pisin;
• English.

Researchers point out that English became a national language due to the country's colonial history. Papua New Guinea was annexed as a protectorate of the British Empire in the 19th century and later had Australian administration until gaining independence in 1975.

Tok Pisin (translated as "bird language") is a creole language based on English that developed during the time of the British Empire. Studies have shown that it was created by various groups of workers from Melanesia, Malaysia, and China who came here in the 19th century, primarily to work on sugarcane plantations. Despite the strong influence of English, Tok Pisin incorporates vocabulary and structures from a mix of indigenous and foreign languages.

Hiri Motu is a pidgin variant of Motu, an Austronesian language originally spoken in the area surrounding the capital, Port Moresby. It is somewhat related to Tok Pisin but is less influenced by English.

Scientists have also discovered that, in addition to the three official languages, there are hundreds of other local languages in Papua New Guinea—this diversity is due to the vast ethnic and cultural variety.

Papua New Guinea consists of hundreds of islands located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, north of Australia. Its mountainous terrain and dense jungles have historically limited local migration and cultural mixing, fostering the development of isolated indigenous groups. In simple terms, these groups remained distinct even with the advent of agriculture around 10,000 years ago.

Researchers note that the unique history of the country is clearly reflected in the deep genetic diversity of its population. For example, in 2017, researcher Anders Bergstrom and colleagues found that genetic differences among groups of people in Papua New Guinea are generally greater than those between major populations across Europe or East Asia.