{"id":3294,"date":"2023-11-30T04:36:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T04:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/poeditor.com\/blog\/?p=3294"},"modified":"2025-03-04T12:56:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T12:56:13","slug":"translation-statistics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/poeditor.com\/blog\/translation-statistics\/","title":{"rendered":"Translation statistics: Insights from the industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"translation<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Dating back to ancient civilizations, the practice of translation has played a pivotal role in bridging linguistic gaps, fostering cross-cultural understanding, and facilitating the dissemination of ideas. The 20th century saw a proliferation of translation as a professional practice. Moving forward, international organizations, diplomacy, and globalization further increased the demand for translation services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, with close to 7,000 languages spoken globally, translation is not only a linguistic endeavor but also a cultural and technological one. Join us as we share some fascinating translation statistics that explore the intricacies of the language industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General translation statistics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to W3Techs<\/a>, the most common language on the Internet is English<\/strong>, which is used by 52.6% of all the websites<\/strong>. Spanish (5.4%), German (4.7%), Russian (4.6%), French (4.3%), Japanese (4.2%), and Portuguese (3%) are the next most used languages on the Internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A survey conducted by CSA Research<\/a> across 29 countries in Europe, Asia, North America, and South America, found that 76% of global consumers, comprising 8,709 participants, express a preference for purchasing products that provide information in their native language<\/strong>. Furthermore, a significant 40% of respondents indicated that they would refrain from making purchases on websites that are not in their preferred language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data from a survey conducted by Paypal<\/a> shows that 57% of online shoppers reported engaging in international shopping<\/strong>. Remarkably, within the last three months, two out of every five global shoppers have completed a cross-border purchase. Also worth mentioning is that another study from CSA Research<\/a> found that a substantial 87% of B2C consumers expressed their reluctance to make purchases from websites that offer content exclusively in English<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curious to find the best markets to sell online? According to Translated’s Research Center<\/a>, expanding the translation of your website to include content for the United States, China, Japan, and German<\/strong>y is projected to unlock access to approximately 50% of the global sales potential<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a survey by InboxTranslation<\/a>, 63% of those surveyed reported working exclusively as freelance translators<\/strong>, 19% engage in both translation and interpretation, while the remaining 18% integrate translation with other freelance language-related services such as editing or copywriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same survey found that 88% of the respondents, work from or into English<\/strong>, while the remaining 168 translate between languages other than English. For language combinations with English, the top three are Spanish, French, and German.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The European Language Industry Survey 2023<\/a> found that 64% percent of the survey participants were guided into the language industry through education related to translation or language studies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Tomedes poll <\/a>addressing the subject of translation speed showed that 36% of translators are able to translate between 1,500 and 3,000 words<\/strong> on their most productive days. However, 25% of translators believe they can exceed this threshold when they are at their best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on data from a ProZ survey<\/a>, 88% of the surveyed translators utilize at least one Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tool<\/strong> for certain translation tasks. Among CAT tool users, 83% employ the tool for the majority or entirety of their translation assignments. Additionally, within this group, 76% leverage more than one CAT tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the same survey, among the translators using CAT tools in their work, the main areas of expertise were Tech\/Engineering (34%), Business\/Financial (15%)<\/strong>, Marketing (12%), Medical (12%), and Law\/Patents (11%.) The majority of the surveyees believe that using a translation software can boost their productivity by at least 30%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n

Improve your localization process<\/h3>Discover an easy to use and affordable localization app.<\/span><\/div>Get started<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n

Suggested read<\/strong>: <\/p>\n\n\n\n