language knowledge /eu publishes the latest language knowledge statistics for german in the European Union using European Commission data published in 2024. Explore which countries german is most spoken in, compare native with foreign speakers, and compare age groups to see where german is gaining or losing popularity.
According to European Commission Eurobarometer survey data (2024), the European countries with the highest proportion of German speakers are Germany (97.6%), Austria (90.9%), and Luxembourg (56.7%).
25.0% of the European Union population speaks German (18.8% as a native language and 6.2% as a foreign language).
In the European Union, 24.8% of 15–34 year olds speak German, compared to 26.7% of people aged 55 and over.