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language knowledge /eu publishes the latest language knowledge statistics for English in United-kingdom using European Commission data published in 2024. Compare native with foreign speakers, and compare age groups to understand whether English is gaining or losing popularity.
According to the European Commission Eurobarometer survey (2012), 97.3% of the population in United Kingdom speaks English. This breaks down into 87.6% native (mother tongue) speakers and 9.8% foreign speakers who report good or very good proficiency.
In United Kingdom, English is predominantly spoken as a mother tongue (87.6% native speakers vs 9.8% speaking it as a foreign language).
In United Kingdom, 96.2% of young people aged 15–34 speak English, compared to 98.6% of residents aged 55 and over. This represents a 2.4 percentage point decrease among younger cohorts.