English is often considered to be the lingua franca of the world today due to the diversity of countries and communities that have adopted English as a national, commercial, or social form of communication.[13] Globalization, colonialism, and the capitalist system have all helped promote English as the world's dominant language, supplemented by years of British and American hegemony on the world stage. Today, nearly 1.39 billion people speak English according to the World Economic Forum, with its prominence over other languages highlighted through the geographic diversity of where it is spoken.