Punjabi and Tagalog surprisingly lead long steal language translation growth
We live in a hyper-connected world, and at Automagical Apps, we have a front-row seat to the linguistic shifts shaping global communication. After analyzing our usage data from 2024 and 2025, the results are in.
This report is based off of:
- ~3 million translations were completed across
- 203,237 users and
- 10,257 unique organizations globally
…using our Slides Translator product.
But the raw numbers only tell half the story. While English and Spanish remain dominant, the real story lies in the explosive growth of specific regional and niche languages. From a surge in Italian to the rapid digitization of Tagalog and Punjabi, the data reveals a changing landscape in how schools, businesses, and nonprofits communicate.
Here is our State of the Industry report, blending our proprietary data with global trends to show you what’s happening, why it matters, and what’s next.
📊 1. The “Hidden” Giants: Punjabi & Tagalog Take Center Stage
While Spanish and English often grab the headlines, our data uncovered a massive spike in demand for languages often overlooked by traditional enterprise tools.
- Punjabi (pa): +252.86% Growth 🚀
- Tagalog (tl): +225.76% Growth 📈
The Trend
This isn’t just a statistical anomaly; it mirrors significant shifts in the workforce in North America and the UK. Punjabi has become a dominant language in the logistics and transportation sectors, particularly in Canada and the U.S., where Punjabi speakers comprise a large percentage of truck drivers and logistics operators. Similarly, Tagalog (Filipino) is one of the fastest-growing languages in the U.S., driven largely by the healthcare sector where Filipino professionals play a critical role.
Why It Matters
For businesses in logistics, healthcare, and service industries, localization is no longer optional. Translating training materials, safety manuals, and compliance decks into Punjabi or Tagalog is essential for safety and inclusion. The triple-digit growth we’re seeing suggests that organizations are finally using tools like Slides Translator to bridge the gap for their essential frontline workers.
🇮🇹 2. The European Surprise: An Italian Renaissance
One of the most surprising data points was the skyrocketing demand for Italian translation.
- Italian (it): +147.92% Growth 🇮🇹
The Trend
While Italian has always been a key European language, a 147% jump suggests a renewed focus. Industry reports indicate that Italy is experiencing a “digital renaissance,” with increased investment in e-commerce and digital manufacturing. Furthermore, as global companies expand into the EU, Italian remains a strategic gateway for the luxury, automotive, and design sectors.
Why It Matters
If you do business in Europe, English is often not enough. “Psychological localization”—speaking to partners in their native tongue—is becoming a competitive advantage. The growth here likely reflects increased cross-border collaboration and educational exchange programs ramping back up post-pandemic.
🌏 3. The Asian Century is Digital
Our data shows a robust and accelerating demand for Asian languages, reflecting the region’s economic dominance and the digitization of its educational content.
- Thai (th): +76.97% Growth 🇹🇭
- Japanese (ja): +74.1% Growth 🇯🇵
- Chinese (zh): +61.84% Growth 🇨🇳
The Trend
The “Asian Century” is in full swing. The explosive growth in Thai and Japanese translations points to diverse drivers: from the boom in Southeast Asian tech hubs to the enduring global popularity of Japanese cultural exports (anime, gaming) which drives language learning interest. Chinese (Simplified) continues to grow as a backbone of global trade, with Chinese (CN) specifically seeing a massive (albeit smaller volume) spike of over 1,600% in our specific dataset.
Why It Matters
For educators and multinational corporations, the ability to instantly translate decks into Thai or Japanese means faster market entry and more inclusive classrooms. It signals that content is moving from the West to the East at an unprecedented rate.
📉 4. The Decline of the “Middle”?
Interestingly, not every language saw growth. Some major languages saw a contraction in our specific dataset.
- Hindi (hi): -35.86% 📉
- German (de): -15.43% 📉
The Insight
Does this mean these languages are less important? Unlikely. Instead, it may reflect increased English proficiency in professional circles within these regions, or a shift toward native content creation rather than translation. For example, in India, while Hindi is massive, the professional class often operates natively in English, potentially reducing the need for slide-based translation tools in B2B contexts.
🔮 What’s Next? The Outlook for 2025 and Beyond
Based on our 3 million data points and broader industry trends, here is what we see coming down the pipeline:
- Hyper-Localization for the Workforce: We expect the trend of translating for “non-desk” workers (logistics, healthcare, construction) to continue. Companies will move beyond translating just for executives and start translating for everyone.
- AI as the Standard: With the rise of LLMs, users now expect translations to be nuanced and context-aware, not just word-for-word. The tolerance for bad translation is hitting zero.
- Multimedia Translation: It’s not just text anymore. We are seeing demand for translating text inside images and even dubbing video content.
🛠️ How Automagical Apps Helps You Stay Ahead
Whether you are translating a safety deck into Punjabi or a sales pitch into Italian, our suite of tools is designed to handle the heavy lifting of the “Hyper-Connected” era.
- Slides Translator: The tool behind the stats. Translate entire PowerPoint or Google Slides presentations in one click without losing your formatting. Perfect for those rising Asian and European language needs.
- Automagical Translate: Need to translate a 50-page PDF or a Google Doc? This tool handles bulk translation in Google Drive, making it easy to localize huge archives of content.
- Automagical Nudge: Working across time zones? Ensure your follow-ups land at the right time. Nudge helps you manage communication with global teams effectively.
- Automagical Forms: If you have intake forms or quizzes in PDF format, use AI to convert them into digital Google Forms instantly—ready to be translated for your diverse audience.
- Super OCR: Have scanned documents in foreign languages? Extract the text with industrial-grade accuracy so you can translate and digitize them.
The world is speaking more languages than ever before. Is your content ready to listen? 🦄
