Worldwide Bible Translation

  • World population: 6.5 billion
  • Languages spoken in the world: 6,912
  • Languages with probable need of Bible translation: 2,251 representing 193 million people
  • Languages with some or all of the Bible: 2,454. Of these, 429 have an adequate Bible; 1,144 have an adequate New Testament; 853 have Scripture portions
  • Language programs in progress worldwide: 1,953 (Wycliffe is involved in 1,415, representing 73% of all projects, reaching an estimated population of over 568 million people)
  • Countries in which Wycliffe personnel are working: 93
  • Translation: 721 New Testaments and Bibles representing over 80 million people
  • Wycliffe supported personnel: 6,453 workers. Plus thousands of additional partners at the local, national, regional and international levels
  • Personnel needed: Over 3,000 needs for linguist/translators, literacy specialists, trainers, project managers, computer specialists, administrators and other roles
  • Organizations that are a part of Wycliffe International: 48 member organizations, 29 recognized partner organizations.
  • Languages needing Bible translation work to begin - 2,251

“We continue to see ample evidence that God is blessing Vision 2025. It began nine years ago as an impossible vision—to see a translation program begun in every language that needs it by the year 2025. The pace of progress is increasing. In the 1990s there was an average of 25 translation programs started per year. This has now increased to average of 74 per year. The number of language groups requiring Bible translation has dropped from an estimated 3000 to just over 2000.

The numbers are encouraging but they don’t tell the whole story—what’s most important are the lives and communities being transformed by God’s power and Word. This is what should motivate us most. The numbers only serve to remind us of the people, including the people groups that still have no access to God’s Word in a language that communicates well to them. Let us ask God to guide us and all of His people of all nations as to how we can more fully participate in reaching the world with the Word.”

--  Kirk Franklin, Executive Director,Wycliffe International