English has official or special status in at least seventy five countries with a total population of over two billion
			English is spoken as a first language by around 375 million and as a second language by around 375 million speakers in the world*
			speakers of English as a second language probably outnumber those who speak it as a first language
			around 750 million people are believed to speak English as a foreign language
			one out of four of the world's population speak English to some level of competence; demand from the other three-quarters is increasing.

Sources:

David Crystal-The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language
Cambridge University Press, 1995

David Crystal- English as a global language
Cambridge University Press, 1997

David Graddol- The Future of English?
London, British Council, 1997

			British English language products are worth over 800 million pounds a year to the UK
			the total expenditure of the 700,000 visitors to the UK annually to learn English is over 700 million pounds - possibly over one billion pounds*
			the English language makes it possible for British companies to develop markets, sell into them and form commercial alliances; it brings direct benefits through the supply of English teaching goods and services.

*Source: The Value of Education and Training Exports to the UK Economy -Department of Education and Employment, 1998

			there are no firm statistics for this for the world in general for several reasons: what do you mean by 'speak English'? how much English? to what level - is the taxi driver at the airport who says '20 dollars to hotel' an English speaker?
			there is no reliable method of gathering the statistics
			there are statistics for a restricted list of countries in which 'English has held, or continues to hold a special place' and these are available in David Crystal's 'Encyclopedia of the English Language'(p109)
			nearly one in two European Union citizens claim to be able to converse in English* according to a survey carried out in 1998, and 69 per cent of survey respondents who did not speak English as their first language felt that it was the most important language for them to learn or use.

Source: Eurobarometer 50 *This includes the 16 per cent of EU citizens who speak English as their first language.