“Colonization” or “Colonisation”

Language

Colonization and colonisation are both English terms.

Usage

Colonization is predominantly used in 🇺🇸 American (US) English (en-US) while colonisation is predominantly used in 🇬🇧 British English (used in UK/AU/NZ) (en-GB).

In terms of actual appearance and usage, here's a breakdown by country, with usage level out of 100 (if available) 👇:

Term	US	UK	India	Philippines	Canada	Australia	Liberia	Ireland	New Zealand	Jamaica	Trinidad & Tobago	Guyana
colonization	98	37	56	99	79	18	100	49	24	83	100	100
colonisation	2	63	44	1	21	82	0	51	76	17	0	0

• In the United States, there is a preference for "colonization" over "colonisation" (98 to 2).
• In the United Kingdom, there is a 63 to 37 preference for "colonisation" over "colonization".
• In India, there is a preference for "colonization" over "colonisation" (56 to 44).
• In the Philippines, there is a preference for "colonization" over "colonisation" (99 to 1).
• In Canada, there is a preference for "colonization" over "colonisation" (79 to 21).
• In Australia, there is a 82 to 18 preference for "colonisation" over "colonization".
• In Liberia, there is a preference for "colonization" over "colonisation" (100 to 0).
• In Ireland, there is a 51 to 49 preference for "colonisation" over "colonization".
• In New Zealand, there is a 76 to 24 preference for "colonisation" over "colonization".
• In Jamaica, there is a preference for "colonization" over "colonisation" (83 to 17).
• In Trinidad & Tobago, there is a preference for "colonization" over "colonisation" (100 to 0).
• In Guyana, there is a preference for "colonization" over "colonisation" (100 to 0).

Examples

Below, we provide some examples of when to use colonization or colonisation with sample sentences.

Trends

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