Britannica
Sources used in this answer
Which countries have Slavic languages as their main languages?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Slavic languages
Distribution of the Slavic languages in Europe.
Slavic languages are spoken as primary or official languages across a wide region of eastern and central Europe, the Balkans, and northern Asia. These languages are categorized into three main branches:1
- East Slavic: This branch includes Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian. These are the primary languages of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus, respectively.231
- West Slavic: This group includes Polish, Czech, and Slovak. These serve as the main languages of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.2145
- South Slavic: This branch includes Bulgarian, Macedonian, Slovene, and the languages sometimes grouped as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian. These are the primary languages of Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia.126
While these languages are central to the national identities of these countries, it is important to note that many of these nations also host significant linguistic minorities, and the historical influence of Russian as a second language remains prevalent in many former Soviet states.137