Localization Statistics 2023

Localizely conducted research focused on the state of software localization in 2023. The objective of this research was to identify current trends and practices in the software localization field and to recognize areas that need improvement. All the gathered data has been processed and is presented in this Localization Statistics 2023 report.

Survey respondents

The Localizely survey gathered responses from 2,516 participants from different occupational fields and hailing from various regions around the world.

Departments

In the survey, most of the participants were from the Marketing, Product, and Localization departments. Such a composition is not surprising and it closely reflects the usual involvement of these departments in the software localization process.

• Marketing
• Product
• Localization
• Engineering
• Management
• Other

Continents

In terms of regional representation, the majority of the survey's participants hailed from Europe, Asia, and North America.

Europe	47%
Asia	26%
North America	15%
South America	6%
Australia / Oceania	3%
Africa	3%

Survey results

Here are the results of the 2023 survey on localization.

Number of target languages

Over half of the survey participants (54%) indicated that their projects typically encompass 2 to 10 target languages.

The number of languages used in a project can be influenced by various criteria, including the targeted audiences, the project's nature, the available resources, and other factors. These survey findings are not unexpected, as they appear to be some kind of collective mean of these diverse determinants.

2 - 10 languages	54%
11 - 20 languages	25%
21 - 49 languages	16%
50+ languages	5%

Popular target languages

Below is a compiled list of the 10 most popular target languages, organized in a descending sequence of popularity. At the forefront is German, closely followed by Spanish and French.

• German (most popular)
• Spanish
• French
• Italian
• Arabic
• Portuguese
• Russian
• Dutch
• Chinese
• Japanese

Translating for regional languages

A majority of the respondents (62%) stated they mostly translate into standard language versions (e.g., English, Spanish) rather than regional language variations (such as English as spoken in the U.S. or Spanish as spoken in Mexico).

Yes	38%
No	62%

Translation tools

When asked about their preferred tools for translation, the vast majority (76%) reveal they utilize some kind of TMS.

TMS	76%
Excel sheet or similar	24%

Work with a language service provider

Working with language service providers is common among the participants, with 61% acknowledging this practice.

Yes	61%
No	39%

Machine Translation usage

Opinions on machine translation vary. Approximately 41% of surveyed participants do not utilize machine translation tools. On the other hand, the rest, who do use these tools, generally perform proofreading after the translation process.

Yes, without proofreading	22%
Yes, but always with proofreading	37%
No	41%

Localization priority

Regarding the prioritization of localization in their companies, a significant portion of the participants (66%) expressed the belief that it is adequately prioritized.

Yes	66%
No	34%

Localization improvement

When it comes to the aim of improving localization in 2024, respondents mostly expressed a preference for enhancing the simplicity of workflows through some form of automation, and for improving quality, level of scalability, and speed.

• Simplicity of workflows
• Quality (level, consistency, ...)
• Level of scalability
• Speed
• Efficiency
• Cost

Conclusion

The Localization Statistics 2023 report provides a comprehensive overview of the latest trends in software localization, including popular languages, tools, and practices. Moreover, it identifies key areas that need improvement. As we look ahead to 2024, we hope that the integration of AI in software localization will introduce new advancements and further enhance the localization process.