IELTS Examiner / Practice Prompt Bank — GT & Academic / Academic Task 1
IELTS Academic Task 1: Pie Chart — Language & population
Original practice prompt written in exam style — not a real exam question, and not a prediction.
The chart below shows the share of the world's population that speaks each language as a first language. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. The data is as follows (percentage of the world population). Mandarin Chinese is the largest first language at 12%, followed by Spanish at 6% and English at 5%. Hindi and Arabic each account for 4%. All other languages combined make up the remaining 69%. The figures total 100%. Despite its global role as a shared second language, English ranks only third as a first language, spoken natively by about one person in twenty.
Examiner focus: The contrast between the five named languages (31% combined) and the unnamed 69% is the main feature — do not bury it.
Grade my first essay free
Write your answer to this prompt, then see exactly where it sits — four criterion bands, the #1 issue capping your score, and a model rewrite. Your first grading is free.