What are the official languages of the United Nations?

There are six official languages of the UN. These are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. read more

The UN provides simultaneous interpretation from the official language into the other five official languages, via the United Nations Interpretation Service. The six official languages are also used for the dissemination of official documents. Generally, the texts in each of the six languages are equally authoritative. read more

The speech is interpreted simultaneously into the other official languages of the UN. At times, a delegate may choose to make a statement using a non-official language. In such cases, the delegation must provide either an interpretation or a written text of the statement in one of the official languages. read more

Historical Development of United Nations Languages On 1 February 1946, General Assembly resolution 2 (I) established Chinese, French, English, Russian and Spanish as official languages, and English and French as working languages. read more