* No single, universally accepted definition of "Bengali speaker": Do we count those who speak it as a first language, or those who speak it fluently as a second language? Do we include regional variations like Sylheti or Chittagonian?
* Varying sources and methods: Different sources use different data and methodologies to estimate speaker numbers, leading to conflicting figures.
However, we can give you a general idea based on various sources:
* Rough estimate: It's generally agreed that Bengali is spoken by over 250 million people, making it the seventh most spoken language in the world.
* Bangladesh: With a population of about 165 million, nearly all Bangladeshis speak Bengali as their native language.
* India: Bengali is the official language of West Bengal, and is spoken by a significant portion of the population in the state. Estimates for Bengali speakers in India vary between 80-100 million.
* Other regions: Significant Bengali-speaking populations exist in other countries like Pakistan, Myanmar, and the United States.
Therefore, a rough estimate would suggest that Bengali is spoken by around 3-4% of the global population.
It's important to note that this is an approximation, and the actual number could be higher or lower depending on the criteria used for defining a "Bengali speaker".