UN Arabic Language Day Date in the current year: December 18, 2024

The United Nations has six official working languages: English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, and Arabic. Arabic was the last language to be made an official and working language of the UN. On December 18, 1973, the General Assembly made Arabic both an official language and working language of the GA and its main committees. That is why December 18 was chosen as the date of the UN Arabic Language Day.

Arabic is a Semitic language spoken in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa (the Somali Peninsula). The only official form of the language is Modern Standard Arabic, also known as Literary Arabic. It is one of the most-spoken languages in the world with 290 million of native speakers and 420 million of speakers in general. Arabic also is a liturgical language of 1.6 billion Muslims.

The Arabic language has had a great influence on other languages, especially those spoken in the countries dominated by Islam or Islamic power. In the Middle Ages, European languages adopted some Arabic scientific, medical, and philosophical terms.