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The most widely spoken language in Southeast Asia by number of native speakers is Indonesian/Malay, if you consider the closely related varieties spoken across multiple countries.
More specifically:
| Language | Approximate speakers | Main countries |
|---|---|---|
| Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) / Malay | Over 250 million speakers combined | Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore |
| Vietnamese | About 85–90 million native speakers | Vietnam |
| Thai | About 60–70 million speakers | Thailand |
| Burmese | About 40 million speakers | Myanmar |
| Filipino (Tagalog-based) | About 30 million native speakers, many more second-language speakers | Philippines |
If you include second-language speakers, Indonesian stands out even more because it is used as a national lingua franca across a country of more than 280 million people.
However, for regional communication across different Southeast Asian countries, English is often the most useful language. It is widely used in business, tourism, higher education, and organizations such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
So:
- Most widely spoken native/regional language: Indonesian/Malay.
- Most useful cross-border language: English.
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