Menu
Home Explore People Places Arts History Plants & Animals Science Life & Culture Technology
On this page
Geographical distribution of German speakers
Ethnic group

German is spoken by approximately 175–220 million people worldwide, including 90–95 million native speakers, 10–25 million second-language speakers, and 75–100 million who use it as a foreign language. The language’s distribution extends beyond the Germanosphere in Europe, with German-speaking minorities present across all six inhabited continents. This count varies depending on whether certain dialects, such as Low German, are counted as separate languages. The widespread use of German reflects its linguistic and cultural influence globally, encompassing diverse regions and populations.

Related Image Collections Add Image
Profiles
1 Image
We don't have any YouTube videos related to Geographical distribution of German speakers yet.
We don't have any PDF documents related to Geographical distribution of German speakers yet.
We don't have any Books related to Geographical distribution of German speakers yet.
We don't have any archived web articles related to Geographical distribution of German speakers yet.

Europe

German-speaking Europe

The German language is spoken in a number of countries and territories in Europe, where it is used both as an official language and as a minority language in various countries. To cover this language area, they are often referred to as the German-speaking countries, the German-speaking area (Deutscher Sprachraum), or equivalently German-speaking Europe (non-European German-speaking communities are not commonly included in the concept).

German is the main language of approximately 95 to 100 million people in Europe, or 13.3% of all Europeans. This makes it the second most spoken native language in Europe, behind only Russian (with 144 million speakers), and ahead of French (with 66.5 million) and English (with 64.2 million).

The European countries with German-speaking majorities are Germany (95%, 78.3 million), Austria (89%, 8.9 million), and Switzerland (65%, 4.6 million), also known as the "D-A-CH" countries, an acronym for Deutschland (Germany), Austria, and Confoederatio Helvetica (the Swiss Confederation).

Since 2004, there has been an annual informal meeting of the heads of state of German-speaking countries including the Presidents of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and the Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein.10 Since 2014, the King of Belgium and the Grand Duke of Luxembourg have taken part.11

D-A-CH or DACH is an acronym used to represent the dominant states of the German language Sprachraum. It is based on the international vehicle registration codes for:

"Dach" is also the German word for "roof", and is used in linguistics in the term Dachsprache, which standard German arguably is in relation to some outlying dialects of German, especially in Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, and Austria.

The term is sometimes extended to D-A-CH-Li, DACHL (both of which can mean small roof in different dialects), or DACH+ to include Liechtenstein. Another version is DACHS (with Dachs meaning "Badger" in German) with the inclusion of the German-speaking region of South Tyrol in Italy.12

DACH is also the name of an Interreg IIIA project, which focuses on crossborder cooperation in planning.13

Rest of Europe

In the early modern period, German varieties were a lingua franca of Central, Eastern, and Northern Europe (Hanseatic League).14

German is a recognised minority language in Czechia, Hungary, Italy (Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol),15 Poland, Romania, Russia, and Slovakia.

Today German, together with French, is a common second foreign language in the western world, with English well established as a first foreign language.1617 German ranks second (after English) among the best known foreign languages in the EU (on par with French)18 as well as in Russia.19 In terms of student numbers across all levels of education, German ranks third in the EU (after English and French)20 as well as in the United States (after Spanish and French).2122 In 2015, approximately 15.4 million people were in the process of learning German across all levels of education worldwide.23 This number has remained relatively stable since 2005 (± 1 million) and roughly 75–100 million people able to communicate in German as a foreign language can be inferred, assuming an average course duration of three years and other estimated parameters.24 According to a 2012 survey, ca. 47 million people within the EU (i.e., up to two thirds of the 75–100 million worldwide) claimed to have sufficient German skills to have a conversation. Within the EU, and not counting countries where it is a (co-)official language, German as a foreign language is most widely taught in Central and Northern Europe, namely Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden.2526

German as a foreign language is promoted by the Goethe Institute, which works to promote German language and culture worldwide.27 In association with the Goethe Institute, the German foreign broadcasting service, Deutsche Welle, offers a range of online German courses28 and worldwide television as well as radio broadcasts produced with non-native German speakers in mind.29

Africa

Namibia

Main article: Namibian German

Namibia was a colony of the German Empire from 1884 to 1915. Mostly originating from Germans who settled there during this time, 25,000 to 30,000 people still speak German as a native tongue today.30 German, along with English and Afrikaans used to be a co-official language of Namibia from 1984 until its independence from South Africa in 1990. At this point, the Namibian government perceived Afrikaans and German as symbols for Apartheid and colonialism, and decided for English to be the sole official language, claiming that it was a "neutral" language as virtually no English native speakers existed in Namibia at that time.31 German, Afrikaans and several indigenous languages became "national languages" by law, identifying them as cultural heritages of the nation and ensuring the state to acknowledge and support their presence in the country.32 Today, German is used in myriad spheres, especially business and tourism, as well as churches (most notably the German-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia (GELK)), schools (e.g., the Deutsche Höhere Privatschule Windhoek), literature (German-Namibian authors include Giselher W. Hoffmann [de]), radio (the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation produces radio programs in German), and music (e.g., artist EES). The Allgemeine Zeitung is also one of the three biggest newspapers in Namibia and the only German-language daily in Africa.33

South Africa

Mostly originating from different waves of immigration during the 19th and 20th centuries, an estimated 12,000 people speak German or a German variety as a first language in South Africa.34 Germans settled quite extensively in South Africa, with many Calvinists immigrating from Northern Europe. Later on, more Germans settled in the KwaZulu-Natal region and elsewhere. Here, one of the largest communities are the speakers of "Nataler Deutsch", a variety of Low German, who are concentrated in and around Wartburg and to a lesser extent around Winterton. German is slowly disappearing elsewhere, but a number of communities still have a large number of speakers and some even have German language schools, such as the Hermannsburg German School. Furthermore, German was often a language taught as a foreign language in White South African schools during the Apartheid years (1948–1994). Today, the South African constitution identifies German as a "commonly used" language and the Pan South African Language Board is obligated to promote and ensure respect for it.35

Americas

Latin America

Nowadays, at least one million German speakers live in Latin America. There are German-speaking minorities in almost every Latin American country, including Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Initially, in the eighteenth century, only isolated or small groups of German emigrants left for Latin America; however, at the start of the nineteenth, this pattern was reversed as a tidal wave of German emigration totaling some 200,000 people began. These included groups such as land-hungry peasants, political refugees known as Forty-Eighters, and religious minorities such as Russian Mennonites fleeing religious persecution at home. During the 1880s, during the wave of mass emigration, this figure was reached annually.

The Handbuch des Deutschtums im Ausland (The Germans Abroad Handbook) from 1906 puts a figure of 11 million people in North and South America with a knowledge of the German language, of which 9 million were in the US. Although the US was the focal point for emigration in the 19th century, emigration to Latin America was also significant for differing economic and political reasons.

The majority of German emigrants to Latin America went especially to Brazil, but also to Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Chile, Paraguay, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. The three countries with the biggest ethnic German populations in Latin America to this day are Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico.36

Starting in 1818, when King D. João VI brought the first German and Swiss immigrants to Brazil, German immigration continued a constant flow with an average of 25 to 30 thousand immigrants per decade entering the country since 1818. It peaked in the years following World War I, to around 90 thousand, and again in the 1940s to around 50,000. In the 1880s and 1890s, German emigration to Latin America grew and in some years was the destination of up to 30% of German emigrants.

During the Nazi period which lasted from 1933 to 1945, some 100,000 Jews from Central Europe, the vast majority of which were German-speaking, moved to South America, with 90% of these moving to the Cono Sur or Southern Cone. This ended when the ban on emigration came into effect in 1941, which was roughly also the beginning of the holocaust. From the start of the 20th century until 1946, 80% of Jews lived in Europe; but by the end of World War II this was reduced to 25%. However, after the war over 50% of Jews lived in the Americas. This change was aided by Jewish emigration groups such as the Hilfsverein deutschsprechender Juden (later to become Asociación Filantrópica Israelita) which was based in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The majority of German minorities in Latin America – as well as elsewhere around the world – experienced a decline in the use of the German language, with the exception of Brazil, where the dialect Riograndenser Hunsrückisch is being taught in schools and in some media, totaling over 200 thousand speakers spread over the Brazilian southern states. The main cause of this decrease is the integration of communities, often originally sheltered, into the dominant society, and as well as the invariable pull of societal assimilation which confronts all immigrant groups.

German migration to colonial Mexico is less accounted for due to the geopolitical isolation following independence from Spain, as well as the deterrents of Mexico's ensuing civil wars. Despite these obstacles and lack of documentation, however, over 200,000 Prussian/German nationals have been registered entering the country between 1860 and 1960.

The first wave of Germans immigrated from northern Prussia under the reign of Princess Carlota during the 2nd French Mexican empire. Of special interest is the settlement Villa Carlota: that was the name under which two German farming settlements, in the villages of Santa Elena and Pustunich in Yucatán, were founded during the Second Mexican Empire (1864–1867).37 Villa Carlota attracted a total of 443 German-speaking immigrant families, most of them were farmers and artisans who emigrated with their families: the majority came from Prussia and many among them were Protestants.38

The second wave was during Porfirio Díaz's open settlement policy in the Yucatán Peninsula that favored and attracted many Europeans. Most German-speaking or self identifying German-Mexicans today are descended from these two events as well as around 20,000 ethnic Germans from Russia and around 100,000 Mennonites from Canada.

Specific reasons for language change from German to the national language usually derive from the desire of many Germans to belong to their new communities after the end of World War II. This is a common feature among the German minorities in Latin America and those in Central and Eastern Europe: the majority of countries where German minorities lived had fought against the Germans during the war. With this change in situation, the members of the German minorities, previously communities of status and prestige, were turned into undesirable minorities (though there were widespread elements of sympathy for Germany in many South American countries as well).

For many German minorities, World War II thus represented the breaking point in the development of their language. In some South American countries the war period and immediately afterwards was a time of massive assimilation to the local culture (for example during the Getúlio Vargas period in Brazil).

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Paraguay show some clear demographic differences that affect the minority situation of the German language: Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina are massive countries and offer large amounts of land for immigrants to settle. The population density of the Southern Cone countries is relatively low (Brazil has 17 inhabitants/km2, Chile has 15/km2, Argentina and Paraguay both have 10/km2, data from 1993), but there are major differences in the areas settled by Germans: Buenos Aires Province, which was settled by Germans, has a far higher population density than that of the Chaco in northern Paraguay (with 1 inhabitant/km2).

While Argentina and Chile have a far greater proportion of city dwellers (86% and 84% respectively); in contrast, Brazil and Paraguay are 82% and 47% urbanized, respectively. Most of the German immigrants that arrived in Brazil and Mexico went on to live in small inland communities. The original 58 German communities of the early 19th century Brazil, grew today to over 250 towns where Germans are a majority, and German-speaking is encouraged.

Argentina

Further information: Argentinien-schwyzertütsch dialect, German Argentine, and Mennonites in Argentina

There are about 500,000 German speakers and around 320,000 Volga-Germans alone, of which 200,000 hold German citizenship. This makes Argentina one of the countries with the largest number of German speakers and is second only in Latin America to Brazil. In the 1930s there were about 700,000 people of German descent.39 Regional concentrations can be found in the provinces of Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires (with around 500,000 to 600,000) as well as Misiones and in the general area of the Chaco and the Pampas.

However, most German-descended Argentinians do not speak German with native fluency (that role has been taken by Spanish). The 300,000 German speakers are estimated to be immigrants and not actually born in Argentina, and because of this they still speak their home language while their descendants who were born in Argentina speak primarily Spanish.

Brazil

Main article: Brazilian German

According to Deutsche Welle, there are some twelve million people of German ancestry in Brazil. Nevertheless, the number of people speaking any sort of German (Standard German, Hunsrückisch or East Pomeranian) is on the decrease, with 3 million speaking German as a first language today.

The main variety of German in Brazil is Riograndenser Hunsrückisch which is found in the southern states. This version of German there has changed over 180 years of contact with Portuguese as well as the languages of other immigrant communities. Such contact has led to a new dialect of German concentrated in the German colonies in the southern province of Rio Grande do Sul. Although Riograndenser Hunsrückisch has long been the most widely spoken German dialect in southern Brazil, like all other minority languages in the region, it is experiencing very strong decline – especially in the last three or four decades.

The vast majority of German-descended Brazilians speak Portuguese as their mother tongue today. German is known only as a second or third language, if at all, to the point of initiatives to preserve the language being started recently in areas with strong German-descended presence, with government-sponsored Gemeindeschulen. This is especially true for younger German-Brazilians. Another place where the German language continues alive is in some of the more of 4,000 Brazilian Lutheran churches, in which some of the services continue to be in German.404142

The German language is co-official in the municipality of Pomerode,43 besides being cultural patrimony of the State of Espírito Santo.44 In Rio Grande do Sul, the Riograndenser Hunsrückisch German is an integral part of the State's historical and cultural heritage.45

Chile

Main articles: German Chilean and German colonization of Valdivia, Osorno and Llanquihue

Chile (with a population of 19 million) has an estimated 40,000 German-speakers.46 About 30,000 ethnic Germans arrived in Chile.47 During the first flux of German immigration (between 1846 and 1875), German colonies were primarily set up in the "Frontera" region. The second wave of immigration occurred between 1882 and 1914 and consisted mainly of industrial and agricultural workers, mainly from eastern Germany; the third wave (after 1918) settled mainly in the cities. As in Argentina and Brazil, these populations are today overwhelmingly Spanish speaking, and German as a home language is in heavy decline (The German language is far from disappearing in Chile because there are more than 100 German-language schools throughout the country). German is taught from preschool to middle school; where if German-Chileans can still speak German, most of them speak German only as a second or third language.

Colombia

Main articles: German Colombian and Mennonites in Colombia

Colombia has a population of about 51 million people. Of them, only 5,000 people of German descent speak the language. Many of these people settled in Antioquia and el Eje Cafetero. Most of the immigration occurred during World War I until the end of the Cold War. Many of these ethnic Germans now speak primarily Spanish at home.

Germans came to South America in World War I and II, settling first in Colombia because of its wealth in natural resources as well as weather conditions conducive to agriculture. German immigrants built the Bavaria, Pilsen, and Club Soda Klausen factories in Cali, Barranquilla, Pereira, Medellin, and other cities. Nowadays, Germans born in Colombia celebrate Oktoberfest in Cali, along with other traditions. There are currently German schools in various major cities around the country.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica has a population of 4.9 million, and a German-speaking population of 8,000 people. Many of these people are immigrants or native German speakers from Germany or Switzerland and descendants of 18th, 19th and 20th-century mass immigration. But also in the northern area of the country, there are 2,200 German Mennonites in communities in Sarapiquí and San Carlos that spoke Plautdietsch and other Low German dialects.

This German-Costa Rican community is one of the most important and biggest collectivities of German speakers in Central America and the Caribbean, and has a lot of cultural and social institutions, churches, farms, business companies and schools.

Mexico

Main articles: German Mexicans and Mennonites in Mexico

Mexico (with a population of over 120 million) has an estimated 200,000 speakers of standard German either as a first or second language, not counting foreign learned German speakers or the Low-German dialects. Documented immigration of Germans to Mexico began in 1856, though historical research suggest as many as 1.2 million German speaking immigrants arrived in Mexico during the colonial period likely as agricultural laborers.

Due to pro-nationalistic propagation by the federal government which encouraged mixed-race identification, many Mexicans do not know their ancestral origins and demographic numbers of German Mexicans are sourced on recent and limited data. Regardless, Mexico stands as the 3rd country with the largest German community in Latin America, behind Brazil and Argentina.48 Included in the ethnic German immigration to Mexico is the immigration from Austria, Switzerland, and the French region of Alsace which was part of France since the end of WWI, as well as that from Bavaria and High German regions of Germany.

As of 2012, about 20,000 Germans nationals resided in Mexico. The number has risen to almost 40,000 in 2020.49 Despite groggy heritage claims to the language, German is slightly ahead of French as the second most studied foreign language in Mexico, behind only English. Mexico is home to over 3,000 German language schools, second only to Brazil. The Colegio Humboldt campuses in Mexico are the biggest German language K-12 schools in the Americas, with each of the 3 branches graduating over 2,000 students per year.

Northern America

Canada

In Canada, there are 622,650 speakers of German according to the most recent census in 2006,50 with people of German ancestry (German Canadians) found throughout the country. German-speaking communities are particularly found in British Columbia (118,035) and Ontario (230,330).51 There is a large and vibrant community in the city of Kitchener, Ontario, which was at one point named Berlin. German immigrants were instrumental in the country's three largest urban areas: Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Post-Second World War immigrants managed to preserve a fluency in the German language in their respective neighborhoods and sections. In the first half of the 20th century, over a million German-Canadians made the language Canada's third most spoken after French and English.

United States

Main articles: German language in the United States, Pennsylvania Dutch language, Plautdietsch, and Hutterite German

In the United States, the states of North Dakota and South Dakota are the only states where German is the most common language spoken at home after English.52 German geographical names can be found throughout the Midwest region of the country, such as New Ulm and many other towns in Minnesota; Bismarck (North Dakota's state capital), Munich, Karlsruhe, and Strasburg (named after a town near Odesa in Ukraine)53 in North Dakota; New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, Weimar, and Muenster in Texas; Corn (formerly Korn), Kiefer and Berlin in Oklahoma; and Kiel, Schleswig, Berlin, and Germantown in Wisconsin.

Between 1843 and 1910, more than 5 million Germans emigrated overseas,54 mostly to the United States.55 German remained an important language in churches, schools, newspapers, and even the administration of the United States Brewers' Association56 through the early 20th century, but was severely repressed during World War I. Over the course of the 20th century, many of the descendants of 18th century and 19th century immigrants ceased speaking German at home, but small populations of speakers are still found in Pennsylvania (approximately 115,000 speakers; Amish, Hutterites, Dunkards and some Mennonites historically spoke Hutterite German and a West Central German variety of German known as Pennsylvania German or Pennsylvania Dutch), Kansas (Mennonites and Volga Germans), North Dakota (Hutterite Germans, Mennonites, Russian Germans, Volga Germans, and Baltic Germans), South Dakota, Montana, Texas (Texas German), Wisconsin, Indiana, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Ohio (72,570).57 A significant group of German Pietists in Iowa formed the Amana Colonies and continue to practice speaking their heritage language. Early twentieth century immigration was often to St. Louis, Chicago, New York City, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati.

The dialects of German which are or were primarily spoken in colonies or communities founded by German-speaking people resemble the dialects of the regions the founders came from. For example, Hutterite German resembles dialects of Carinthia. Texas German is a dialect spoken in the areas of Texas settled by the Adelsverein, such as New Braunfels and Fredericksburg. In the Amana Colonies in the state of Iowa, Amana German is spoken. Plautdietsch is a large minority language spoken in Northern Mexico by the Mennonite communities, and is spoken by more than 200,000 people in Mexico. Pennsylvania German is a West Central German dialect spoken by most of the Amish population of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, and resembles Palatinate German dialects.

Hutterite German is an Upper German dialect of the Austro-Bavarian variety of the German language, which is spoken by Hutterite communities in Canada and the United States. Hutterite is spoken in the U.S. states of Washington, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota; and in the Canadian provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Its speakers belong to some Schmiedleit, Lehrerleit, and Dariusleit Hutterite groups, but there are also speakers among the older generations of Prairieleit (the descendants of those Hutterites who chose not to settle in colonies). Hutterite children who grow up in the colonies learn to speak Hutterite German before learning English, the standard language of the surrounding areas, in school. Many of these children, though, continue with German Grammar School, in addition to public school, throughout a student's elementary education.

Australia

Main article: German Australians

Australia has an estimated population of around 75,600 German speakers. Australians of German ancestry constitute the fourth largest ethnic group in Australia, numbering around 1,026,138. German immigrants played a significant role in settling the states of Queensland and South Australia. Barossa German, a dialect of German, was once common in and around the German-settled Barossa Valley in South Australia. However, the German language was actively suppressed by Australian governments during World War I and World War II, resulting in a sharp decline in the use of German in Australia. German Australians are today overwhelmingly English speaking, with the German language as a home language in heavy decline.

Rest of the world

Minorities exist in the countries of Latin America and the former Soviet Union, as well as Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czechia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Namibia, Poland, Romania, South Africa, and the United States. These German minorities, through their ethno-cultural vitality, exhibit an exceptional level of heterogeneity: variations concerning their demographics, their status within the majority community, the support they receive from institutions helping them to support their identity as a minority.

Among them are small groups, such as those in Namibia, and many very large groups, such as the almost 1 million non-evacuated Germans in Russia and Kazakhstan or the near 500,000 Germans in Brazil (see: Riograndenser Hunsrückisch German), groups that have been greatly "folklorised" and almost completely linguistically assimilated, such as most people of German descent in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, the United States, and others, such as the true linguistic minorities (like the still German-speaking minorities in Argentina, Brazil, and the United States, in Western Siberia or Hungary and Romania); other groups, which are classified as religio-cultural groups rather than ethnic minorities, such as the Eastern-Low German-speaking Mennonites in Belize, Mexico, Paraguay or in the Altay region of Siberia, and the groups who maintain their status thanks to strong identification with their ethnicity and their religious sentiment, such as the groups in Southern Jutland, Denmark or Upper Silesia, Poland.

Statistics

Native speakers

Below are two lists, one of countries and one of notable subnational territories, with German language-speaking populations.

The following table provides data on the number of native German speakers by country, according to the most recent publicly available sources. The number of speakers is presented as an absolute value for the total population, obtained by projecting the valid answers to the total population (thus not taking into account unanswered questionnaires, missing data or excluded age ranges).

CountrySpeakersPercentageSourceDefinitionNotes
Australia70,2470.4%2021 census58Language spoken at home
Austria7,115,78088.6%2001 census59Colloquial languageA new survey by Statistics Austria found that the percentage of people between 25 and 64 years of age with German as first language was 81.0% in 2023. 60
Belize11,2942.84%2022 census61Language spoken
Belgium76,9200.7%201762Mother tongue63
Bolivia62,7410.65%2012 census64
Brazil3,340,0001.62%202265
Canada303,6550.8%2021 census66Mother tongue
Cayman Islands730.11%2021 census67Main language spoken at home
Croatia3,3580.09%2021 census68Mother tongue
Cyprus2,2810.25%2021 census69Mother tongue
Czech Republic34,2260.33%2021 census70Mother tongue
Denmark20,0000.4%201271
England

( United Kingdom)

46,6990.08%2021 census72Main languagePopulation 3 years and older
Estonia1,8340.14%2021 census73Mother tongue
Finland7,2580.13%2021 census74Mother tongue
France1,200,0001.77%20117576
Germany67,330,00081.34%2024 official survey77Language spoken at homePeople who speak "Only German" and "Mostly German"
Hungary28,4730.33%2022 census78Mother tonguePercentage excludes 1,175,656 people who didn't specify their mother tongue
Italy304,9680.51%2024 census79Language of identificationLanguage data only for South Tyrol province
Ireland27,9260.55%2022 census80Language spoken at home
Kazakhstan77,2520.45%2021 census81Native language
Kyrgyzstan7,0630.1%1999 census82
Latvia2030.01%2000 census83Mother tongue
Liechtenstein36,08892.6%2020 census84Main language
Lithuania2890.01%2021 census85Mother tongue
Luxembourg16,4122.9%2021 census86Main languageNot including 275,361 (48.9%) speakers of Luxembourgish
Malta10,4272.1%2021 census87Mother tongue
Montenegro2920.05%2023 census88Mother tongue
Namibia11,1540.5%2011 census89
North Macedonia1400.01%2021 census90Mother Tongue
New Zealand42,3020.9%2018 census91Language spoken
Northern Ireland

( United Kingdom)

6530.03%2021 census92Population 3 years and older
Paraguay48,8120.7%2012 census93Mother tongue
Poland216,3420.6%2021 census94Language used at home
Romania15,9430.08%2021 census95Mother tongue
Russia25,5140.02%2021 census96Mother tongue
Scotland

( United Kingdom)

6,0590.12%2022 census97Main LanguagePopulation 3 years and older
Serbia1,3890.02%2022 census98Mother tongue
Slovakia3,9590.07%2021 census99Mother tongue
Slovenia1,6280.08%2002 census100Mother tongue
South Africa30,0340.07%1996 census101
Spain205,2890.44%2021 official survey102Mother tonguePopulation 2 years and older
Sweden72,0000.73%2016103
 Switzerland5,375,56061.4%2023 official survey104Main language
United States860,9920.3%2023 official survey105Language spoken at homePopulation 5 years and older. Not including 221,585 (0.1%) speakers of Pennsylvania German.
Ukraine4,2060.01%2001 census106Mother tongue
Wales

( United Kingdom)

1,2490.04%2021 census107Main languagePopulation 3 years and older
Total87,058,984

Subnational territories

TerritoryCountryL1 speakersPercentageYearReference
Ostbelgien Belgium72,100 (based on a population of 77,527 as of 01/01/19)93%2018108
Northern Schleswig Denmark10,0004%2020109
Uusimaa Finland3,7260.22%2021110
South Tyrol Italy304,96868.95%2024111
Klaipėda County Lithuania80.002%2021112
Opole Voivodeship Poland34,4893.61%2021113
Lower Silesia Voivodeship Poland23,5360.81%2021114
Ermland-Masuren Voidodeship Poland8,7050.63%2021115
Königsberg Oblast Russia2940.03%2021116
Pennsylvania United States101,262 (of which 266 spoke Swiss German and 63,598 spoke Pennsylvania Dutch, excluding 1,323 Yiddish speakers)0.82%2023117
North Dakota United States5,617 (of which 246 spoke Pennsylvania Dutch)0.77%2023118
Wisconsin United States39,806 (of which 315 spoke Swiss German and 10,693 spoke Pennsylvania Dutch, excluding 279 Yiddish speakers)0.71%2023119
Montana United States6,925 (of which 52 spoke Swiss German and 605 spoke Pennsylvania Dutch)0.66%2023120
South Dakota United States5,359 (of which 196 spoke Pennsylvania Dutch)0.64%2023121

Native and non-native speakers

CountrySpeakersPercentageYearReference
Russia2,069,9491.4%2010122
Kazakhstan106,1010.6%2021123

Ethnologue estimates

Approximate distribution of native speakers of German or a German variety outside Europe(according to Ethnologue 2016124 unless referenced otherwise)Numbers of speakers should not be summed up per country, as they most likely overlap considerably.Table includes varieties with disputed statuses as separate language.
Standard GermanHunsrik/HunsrückischLow German & PlautdietschPennsylvania DutchHutterite
Argentina400,000—4,000——
Australia79,000————
Belize——9,360——
Bolivia160,000—60,000——
Brazil1,500,0003,000,0008,000——
Canada430,000—80,00015,00023,200
Chile35,000————
Costa Rica——2,000——
Israel200,000————
Kazakhstan30,400—100,000——
Mexico——40,000——
Namibia22,500————
New Zealand36,000————
Paraguay166,000—40,000——
Russia—————
South Africa12,000————
Uruguay28,000—2,000——
United States1,104,354125—12,000118,00010,800
Sum4,597,3923,000,000357,360133,00034,000

See also

  • Languages portal

Notes

References

  1. Jan Goossens: Niederdeutsche Sprache: Versuch einer Definition. In: Jan Goossens (Hrsg.): Niederdeutsch: Sprache und Literatur. Karl Wachholtz, 2. Auflage, Neumünster 1983, S. 27; Willy Sanders: Sachsensprache, Hansesprache, Plattdeutsch: sprachgeschichtliche Grundzüge des Niederdeutschen. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1982, ISBN 3-525-01213-6, S. 32 f.; Dieter Stellmacher: Niederdeutsche Sprache. 2. Auflage, Weidler, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-89693-326-4, p. 92. /wiki/Jan_Goossens_(linguist) ↩

  2. Ammon, Ulrich – Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt Archived 2015-11-09 at the Wayback Machine (de Gruyter Mouton; ISBN 978-3-11-019298-8) http://www.ulrichammon.de/resources/Stellung_der_deutschen_Sprache.pdf ↩

  3. Sum of Standard German, Swiss German, and all German dialects not listed under "Standard German" at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) /wiki/Ethnologue ↩

  4. Marten, Thomas; Sauer, Fritz Joachim, eds. (2005). Länderkunde – Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz und Liechtenstein im Querschnitt [Regional Geography – An Overview of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein] (in German). Berlin: Inform-Verlag. p. 7. ISBN 3-9805843-1-3. 3-9805843-1-3 ↩

  5. Ammon, Ulrich – Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt Archived 2015-11-09 at the Wayback Machine (de Gruyter Mouton; ISBN 978-3-11-019298-8) http://www.ulrichammon.de/resources/Stellung_der_deutschen_Sprache.pdf ↩

  6. Sum of Standard German, Swiss German, and all German dialects not listed under "Standard German" at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) /wiki/Ethnologue ↩

  7. Ammon, Ulrich – Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt Archived 2015-11-09 at the Wayback Machine (de Gruyter Mouton; ISBN 978-3-11-019298-8) http://www.ulrichammon.de/resources/Stellung_der_deutschen_Sprache.pdf ↩

  8. "Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and their languages" (PDF) (report). European Commission. June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-07-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf ↩

  9. "The most spoken languages worldwide (speakers and native speaker in millions)". New York: Statista, The Statistics Portal. Archived from the original on 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2015-07-11. Native speakers=105, total speakers=185 https://www.statista.com/statistics/266808/the-most-spoken-languages-worldwide/ ↩

  10. "www.bundespraesident.de: Der Bundespräsident / Articles / Meeting of German-speaking heads of state". www.bundespraesident.de. Archived from the original on September 5, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170905143417/http://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Berichte/EN/Joachim-Gauck/2012/06/120611-Switzerland.html ↩

  11. "www.bundespraesident.de: Der Bundespräsident / Reisen und Termine / Treffen deutschsprachiger Staatsoberhäupter". www.bundespraesident.de. Archived from the original on January 1, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180101030015/http://www.bundespraesident.de/SharedDocs/Berichte/DE/Joachim-Gauck/2015/09/150916-Liechtenstein-Staatsoberhaeupter.html ↩

  12. Example: DACHS-Projekt "Ergotherapie 2010 Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine http://www.claudiana.bz.it/de/projekte/esf_projekt_ergotherapie_2010_dachs_projekt_.html ↩

  13. "DACH+ Raumentwicklung im Grenzraum von Deutschland, Österreich, Schweiz und Liechtenstein" (in German). DACH. Archived from the original on 2008-03-21. Retrieved 2008-03-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20080321024810/http://www.d-a-ch.org/ ↩

  14. von Polenz, Peter (1999). "6.5. Inter- und übernationale Beziehungen". Deutsche Sprachgeschichte vom Spätmittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. de Gruyter Studienbuch (in German). Vol. Band III: 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Berlin; New York: de Gruyter. pp. 192–194, 196. ISBN 3-11-016426-4. Retrieved 21 August 2014. 3-11-016426-4 ↩

  15. Georg Grote, Hannes Obermair (2017). A Land on the Threshold. South Tyrolean Transformations, 1915–2015. Oxford, Bern, New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 978-3-0343-2240-9. 978-3-0343-2240-9 ↩

  16. "Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and their languages" (PDF) (report). European Commission. June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-07-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf ↩

  17. "Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit. Datenerhebung 2015 – Worldwide survey of people learning German; conducted by the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Goethe Institute" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017. https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf37/Bro_Deutschlernerhebung_final3.pdf ↩

  18. "Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and their languages" (PDF) (report). European Commission. June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-07-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf ↩

  19. Знание иностранных языков в России [Knowledge of foreign languages in Russia] (in Russian). Levada Center. 16 September 2008. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 10 May 2015. Знание иностранных языков в России ↩

  20. "Foreign language learning statistics – Statistics Explained". ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Foreign_language_learning_statistics ↩

  21. "Foreign Language Enrollments in K–12 Public Schools" (PDF). American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). February 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2015. http://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/ReportSummary2011.pdf ↩

  22. Modern Language Association, February 2015, Enrollments in Languages Other Than English in United States Institutions of Higher Education, Fall 2013 Archived 2015-04-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2015-07-07. /wiki/Modern_Language_Association ↩

  23. "Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit. Datenerhebung 2015 – Worldwide survey of people learning German; conducted by the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Goethe Institute" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017. https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf37/Bro_Deutschlernerhebung_final3.pdf ↩

  24. Ammon, Ulrich – Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt Archived 2015-11-09 at the Wayback Machine (de Gruyter Mouton; ISBN 978-3-11-019298-8) http://www.ulrichammon.de/resources/Stellung_der_deutschen_Sprache.pdf ↩

  25. "Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans and their languages" (PDF) (report). European Commission. June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2015-07-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf ↩

  26. "Foreign language learning statistics – Statistics Explained". ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Foreign_language_learning_statistics ↩

  27. "Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit. Datenerhebung 2015 – Worldwide survey of people learning German; conducted by the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Goethe Institute" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 May 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017. https://www.goethe.de/resources/files/pdf37/Bro_Deutschlernerhebung_final3.pdf ↩

  28. "German Courses – DW". DW.COM. Archived from the original on 17 January 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2017. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,2142,2547,00.html ↩

  29. "TOP STORIES – DW". DW.COM. Retrieved 4 July 2017. http://www.dw.com/ ↩

  30. "Deutsch in Namibia" (PDF) (in German). Supplement of the Allgemeine Zeitung. 18 August 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080624233949/http://www.az.com.na/fileadmin/pdf/2007/deutsch_in_namibia_2007_07_18.pdf ↩

  31. "Deutsch in Namibia" (PDF) (in German). Supplement of the Allgemeine Zeitung. 18 August 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080624233949/http://www.az.com.na/fileadmin/pdf/2007/deutsch_in_namibia_2007_07_18.pdf ↩

  32. Ammon, Ulrich – Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt Archived 2015-11-09 at the Wayback Machine (de Gruyter Mouton; ISBN 978-3-11-019298-8) http://www.ulrichammon.de/resources/Stellung_der_deutschen_Sprache.pdf ↩

  33. "Deutsch in Namibia" (PDF) (in German). Supplement of the Allgemeine Zeitung. 18 August 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 June 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080624233949/http://www.az.com.na/fileadmin/pdf/2007/deutsch_in_namibia_2007_07_18.pdf ↩

  34. German L1 speakers outside Europe /wiki/Template:German_L1_speakers_outside_Europe ↩

  35. "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 – Chapter 1: Founding Provisions – South African Government". www.gov.za. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2017. http://www.gov.za/documents/constitution/chapter-1-founding-provisions#5 ↩

  36. Hitler's Man in Havana: Heinz Luning and Nazi Espionage in Latin America. United States of America: The University Press of Kentucky. 2008. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-8131-2501-5. Retrieved 27 May 2014. 978-0-8131-2501-5 ↩

  37. Alma Durán-Merk (2007). Identifying Villa Carlota: German Settlements in Yucatán, México, During the Second Empire. Augsburg: Universität Augsburg. ↩

  38. Alma Durán-Merk (2008a). Nur deutsche Elite für Yukatan? Neue Ergebnisse zur Migrationsforschung während des Zweiten mexikanischen Kaiserreiches. Only "Selected" German Immigrants in Yucatán? Recent Findings about the Colonization Policy of the Second Mexican Empire. In: OPUS Augsburg, http://opus.bibliothek.uni-augsburg.de/volltexte/2008/1320/pdf/Duran_Merk_Selected_German_Migration.pdf ↩

  39. "Estudios Interdisciplinarios de América Latina y el Caribe". www.tau.ac.il. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2017. http://www.tau.ac.il/eial/VI_2/gaudig_veit.htm ↩

  40. "O alemão lusitano do Sul do Brasil – Cultura – DW – 20.04.2004". DW.COM. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2017. http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1174391,00.html ↩

  41. "Hunsrückish". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 7 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015. http://www.ethnologue.com/language/hrx ↩

  42. "Standard German". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 8 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015. http://www.ethnologue.com/country/BR ↩

  43. Lei Nº 2251, De 1º de setembro de 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20120530095532/http://www.leismunicipais.com.br/twitter/222/legislacao/lei-2251-2010-pomerode-sc.html# ↩

  44. Plenário aprova em segundo turno a PEC do patrimônio https://web.archive.org/web/20121120131500/http://www.ipol.org.br/ler.php?cod=690 ↩

  45. "Texto da Norma". March 30, 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20190330024221/http://www.al.rs.gov.br/legis/M010/M0100099.ASP?Hid_Tipo=TEXTO&Hid_TodasNormas=58094&hTexto=&Hid_IDNorma=58094 ↩

  46. Handwörterbuch des politischen Systems der Bundesrepublik Archived March 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine (in German). http://www.bpb.de/wissen/08937231579775312662617270950640,1,0,Auslandsdeutsche.html#art1 ↩

  47. "Estudios Interdisciplinarios de América Latina y el Caribe". www.tau.ac.il. Archived from the original on 13 June 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2017. http://www.tau.ac.il/eial/VI_2/gaudig_veit.htm ↩

  48. Canal Once (12 April 2012). "Los que llegaron - Alemanes (11/04/2012)" – via YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OoZ0O-rgUU ↩

  49. OECD. "International Migration Database". stats.oecd.org. http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=MIG ↩

  50. "Statistics Canada 2006". 2.statcan.ca. 6 January 2010. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2010. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?ALEVEL=3&APATH=3&CATNO=&DETAIL=0&DIM=&DS=99&FL=0&FREE=0&GAL=0&GC=99&GK=NA&GRP=1&IPS=&METH=0&ORDER=1&PID=89189&PTYPE=88971&RL=0&S=1&ShowAll=No&StartRow=1&SUB=705&Temporal=2006&Theme=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&GID=837928 ↩

  51. "Statistics Canada 2006". 2.statcan.ca. 6 January 2010. Archived from the original on 18 August 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2010. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?ALEVEL=3&APATH=3&CATNO=&DETAIL=0&DIM=&DS=99&FL=0&FREE=0&GAL=0&GC=99&GK=NA&GRP=1&IPS=&METH=0&ORDER=1&PID=89189&PTYPE=88971&RL=0&S=1&ShowAll=No&StartRow=1&SUB=705&Temporal=2006&Theme=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&GID=837928 ↩

  52. "Table 5. Detailed List of Languages Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over by State: 2000" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 15 March 2010. https://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t20/tab05.pdf ↩

  53. "Germans from Russia Heritage Collection". Library.ndsu.edu. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016. https://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/order/nd_sd/strasburg.html ↩

  54. Henry Steele Commager (1961). Immigration and American history: essays in honor of Theodore C. Blegen. University of Minnesota Press. p.102. ISBN 0-8166-5735-1 https://books.google.com/books?id=Czlg39-Z75kC&pg=PA102 ↩

  55. 49.2 million German Americans as of 2005 according to the United States Census Bureau. "US demographic census". Archived from the original on 3 April 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2007.; the 1990 census gives 57.9 million, or 23.3% of the U.S. population. /wiki/German_Americans ↩

  56. Documentary History of the United States Brewers' Association. 1896. https://books.google.com/books?id=HhQZAAAAYAAJ&q=german&pg=PA118 ↩

  57. "Data Center Results". Archived from the original on 15 August 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130815140430/http://www.mla.org/cgi-shl/docstudio/docs.pl?map_data_results ↩

  58. "Census 2021, G13 Language used at home by proficiency in spoken English by sex, Main Statistical Areas Level 2 and up (SA2+)". Australia Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 2025-05-08. https://dataexplorer.abs.gov.au/vis?fs%5b0%5d=Census%202021%2C0%7CStatistical%20Areas%20%28ASGS%202021%29%23C21_ASGS%23&pg=10&fc=Census%202021&bp=true&snb=97&df%5bds%5d=C21_ASGS&df%5bid%5d=C21_G13_SA2&df%5bag%5d=ABS&df%5bvs%5d=1.0.0&dq=3.1%2B8%2B52%2B65%2B71%2B1403%2B1504%2B2305%2B2306%2B3103%2B3106%2B3204%2B3205%2B3206%2B3213%2B3307%2B3308%2B4106%2B4202%2B4301%2B5102%2B5103%2B5107%2B5201%2B5202%2B5203%2B5206%2B5207%2B5211%2B5212%2B6301%2B6402%2B6504%2B6511%2B6512%2B6902%2B7101%2B7104%2B7201%2B71_O%2B52_O%2B65_O%2B_O%2BO_T%2B2302%2B_N%2B_T._T.AUS..&pd=2021%2C&to%5bTIME_PERIOD%5d=false&ly%5brw%5d=LANP ↩

  59. "Bevölkerung nach Umgangssprache und Staatsangehörigkeit" (PDF). Statistik Oesterreich. May 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-05-12. Retrieved 2018-06-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20050512113957/http://www.statistik.at/gz/umgangssprache1.pdf ↩

  60. "Teilnahme an Aus- und Weiterbildung hängt mit Sprachniveau zusammen" [Participation in training and further education is linked to language level] (PDF). Statistics Austria (in German). October 2024. https://www.statistik.at/fileadmin/announcement/2024/10/20241002AES22_23.pdf ↩

  61. "General Characteristics Tables". Statistical Institute of Belize. https://sib.org.bz/wp-content/uploads/Census2022_GeneralCharacteristics.xlsx ↩

  62. "Special Eurobarometer 386: Europeans And Their Languages" (PDF). European Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20160106183351/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_386_en.pdf ↩

  63. Population data by Eurostat, using the source year. "The number of persons having their usual residence in a country on 1 January of the respective year". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2018-11-08. http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-054722_QID_-3EA25038_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=TIME,C,X,0;GEO,L,Y,0;INDIC_DE,L,Z,0;INDICATORS,C,Z,1;&zSelection=DS-054722INDICATORS,OBS_FLAG;DS-054722INDIC_DE,JAN;&rankName1=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=INDIC-DE_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=TIME_1_0_0_0&rankName4=GEO_1_2_0_1&sortC=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=FIXED&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23 ↩

  64. Alemán, ¿lengua extranjera dominante en Bolivia? https://www.niemandsland.net.bo/es/category/leer/ ↩

  65. "Brazil | Ethnologue Free". https://www.ethnologue.com/country/BR/ ↩

  66. "Mother tongue by geography, 2021 Census". Statistics Canada. 2022-08-17. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/dv-vd/language-langue/index-en.html ↩

  67. "Cayman Islands' 2021 Census Report" (PDF). The Economics and Statistics Office. https://www.eso.ky/user_images/census_2021/Section_4.pdf ↩

  68. Population by Mother Tongue - Detailed Classification - 2021 Census (Report). Croatian Bureau of Statistics. 2021. https://podaci.dzs.hr/media/3hue4q5v/popis_2021-stanovnistvo_rh.xlsx ↩

  69. "Population Enumerated by Language, Sex, District and Urban/Rural Area, 1.10.2021". PX-Web. Archived from the original on 2025-05-13. Retrieved 2025-05-13. https://cystatdb20.cystat.gov.cy/el/cystatdb/predefined/38 ↩

  70. "Statistics VDB". vdb.czso.cz. Retrieved 2025-04-01. https://vdb.czso.cz/vdbvo2/faces/en/index.jsf?page=statistiky#katalog=33524 ↩

  71. "Tysk | lex.dk". 3 May 2023. https://denstoredanske.lex.dk/tysk ↩

  72. "Main language (detailed) - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-31. https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS024/editions/2021/versions/1 ↩

  73. "Statistical Database - Population and Housing Census". stat.ee. https://andmed.stat.ee/en/stat/rahvaloendus ↩

  74. "Population 31.12. by Area, Sex, Language, Information and Year". pxdata.stat.fi. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2025-06-10. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://pxdata.stat.fi/PxWeb/sq/ece51fd1-5cf2-4b5a-ab3a-fcbbd66837a0 ↩

  75. "Wird In Frankreich Deutsch Gesprochen?". YTranslations (in German). May 2011. Retrieved 2023-02-16. https://www.ytranslations.com/de/wird-in-frankreich-deutsch-gesprochen/#:~:text=In%20der%20Schule%20und%20auf,%C3%96sterreich%2C%20der%20Schweiz%20und%20Brasilien. ↩

  76. Population data by Eurostat, using the source year. "The number of persons having their usual residence in a country on 1 January of the respective year". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 2018-11-08. http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?query=BOOKMARK_DS-054722_QID_-3EA25038_UID_-3F171EB0&layout=TIME,C,X,0;GEO,L,Y,0;INDIC_DE,L,Z,0;INDICATORS,C,Z,1;&zSelection=DS-054722INDICATORS,OBS_FLAG;DS-054722INDIC_DE,JAN;&rankName1=INDICATORS_1_2_-1_2&rankName2=INDIC-DE_1_2_-1_2&rankName3=TIME_1_0_0_0&rankName4=GEO_1_2_0_1&sortC=ASC_-1_FIRST&rStp=&cStp=&rDCh=&cDCh=&rDM=true&cDM=true&footnes=false&empty=false&wai=false&time_mode=FIXED&time_most_recent=false&lang=EN&cfo=%23%23%23%2C%23%23%23.%23%23%23 ↩

  77. "Statistischer Bericht - Mikrozensus - Bevölkerung nach Migrationshintergrund - Erstergebnisse 2024" [Statistical report - Microcensus - Population by migration background - First results 2024]. Statistisches Bundesamt. Archived from the original on 20 May 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20250520165518/https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bevoelkerung/Migration-Integration/Publikationen/Downloads-Migration/statistischer-bericht-migrationshintergrund-erst-2010220247005.xlsx?__blob=publicationFile&v=4 ↩

  78. "1.1.6. Ethnicity, mother tongue". Hungary Central Statistical Office. Archived from the original on 2024-09-05. Retrieved 2025-06-09. https://nepszamlalas2022.ksh.hu/en/results/final-data/tables/nsz2022-1.1.6-eng.xlsx ↩

  79. "Risultati Censimento linguistico - 2024" [2024 Linguistics Census Results] (PDF). Istituto provinciale di statistica (in German and Italian). Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com/b5376750-8076-01cf-17d2-d343e29778a7/775f53cb-b8b9-4c2b-b3f8-cd625a72b610/pressnote_1160211_mit56_2024.pdf ↩

  80. "Migration and Diversity Census of Population 2022 - Summary Results". Central Statistics Office. https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpsr/censusofpopulation2022-summaryresults/migrationanddiversity/ ↩

  81. "National compositon, religion and language proficiency in the Republic of Kazakhstan" (PDF). stat.gov.kz. https://stat.gov.kz/upload/medialibrary/cee/3rsfg8ps3xo19orb284esg4rx27ihqf7/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2.pdf ↩

  82. "Population by language, sex and urban/rural residence". UNdata. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015. http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a27%3bareaCode%3a0%3bsexCode%3a0&c=2,3,5,7,9,11,13,14,15&s=_vcvv2:asc,_countryEnglishNameOrderBy:asc,refYear:desc&v=1 ↩

  83. "Population by language, sex and urban/rural residence". UNdata. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015. http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a27%3bareaCode%3a0%3bsexCode%3a0&c=2,3,5,7,9,11,13,14,15&s=_vcvv2:asc,_countryEnglishNameOrderBy:asc,refYear:desc&v=1 ↩

  84. "Bevölkerungsstruktur - Liechtensteinische Landesverwaltung Statistikportal". www.statistikportal.li. Retrieved 2025-05-12. https://www.statistikportal.li/de/themen/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsstruktur ↩

  85. "Population by Mother Tongue in Municipality". Statistics Lithuania. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://osp.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/9601028/Population_by_mother_tongue_in_municipality.xlsx ↩

  86. "La diversité linguistique". statistiques.public.lu (in French). 2023-12-08. Retrieved 2025-05-07. https://statistiques.public.lu/fr/recensement/diversite-linguistique.html#video ↩

  87. "Census of Population and Housing 2021: Final Report: Health, education, employment and other characteristics". NSO Malta. Retrieved 2025-03-28. https://nso.gov.mt/themes_publications/census-of-population-and-housing-2021-final-report-health-education-employment-and-other-characteristics/ ↩

  88. "Population of Montenegro by National, i.e. Ethnical Affiliation, Religion, Mother Tongue, and Language a Person Usually Speaks" (PDF). Montenegro Statistical Office. 2024-10-05. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-11-12. Retrieved 2025-06-11. https://www.monstat.org/uploads/files/popis%202021/saopstenja/SAOPSTENJE_Popis%20stanovnistva%202023%20II_ENG.pdf ↩

  89. "Population by language, sex and urban/rural residence". UNdata. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015. http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a27%3bareaCode%3a0%3bsexCode%3a0&c=2,3,5,7,9,11,13,14,15&s=_vcvv2:asc,_countryEnglishNameOrderBy:asc,refYear:desc&v=1 ↩

  90. "Total resident population in the Republic of North Macedonia by mother tongue and sex, Census 2021". MAKSTAT Database. Retrieved 2025-06-11. https://makstat.stat.gov.mk:443/PXWeb/sq/33d388c5-78f0-46f3-994c-7b36c6f3b1a2 ↩

  91. "2018 Census totals by topic – national highlights | Stats NZ". www.stats.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 2019-09-23. Retrieved 2019-09-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20190923102431/https://www.stats.govt.nz/information-releases/2018-census-totals-by-topic-national-highlights ↩

  92. "Main language - full detail MS-B13". NISRA. https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b13.xlsx ↩

  93. "Household results of the 2012 Census of Paraguay". http://www.dgeec.gov.py/Publicaciones/Biblioteca/indicadores/Cuadros_Vivienda%20Departamental.xlsm ↩

  94. "Język używany w domu - dane NSP 2021 dla kraju i jednostek podziału terytorialnego" [Language used at Home - 2021 Census Data for the Country and by Territorial Unit]. stat.gov.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2023-12-30. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/6536/10/1/1/jezyk_uzywany_w_domu_-_dane_nsp_2021_dla_kraju_i_jednostek_podzialu_terytorialnego.xlsx ↩

  95. "Populaţia rezidentă după limba maternă (Limba maternă, Macroregiuni, Regiuni de dezvoltare, Județe, Municipii, orașe și comune)" [Resident population by mother tongue (Mother tongue, Macroregions, Development regions, Counties, Municipalities, cities and communes)] (in Romanian). National Institute of Statistics. Archived from the original on 2023-07-01. Retrieved 2025-06-11. https://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Tabel-2.03.1-si-Tabel-2.03.2.xlsx ↩

  96. "Таблица 6. Население по родному языку" [Table 6. Population by Native Language] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Archived from the original on 2023-01-21. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab6_VPN-2020.xlsx ↩

  97. "Scotland's Census 2022: Write-in ethnic group, country of birth, national identity, main language and religion data for Scotland". Scotland's Census 2022. https://www.scotlandscensus.gov.uk/media/mcoacltm/census-2022-detailed-ethnic-group-country-of-birth-national-identity-main-language-and-religion-data-for-scotland-1.xlsx ↩

  98. "Мother tongue, religion and ethnic affiliation". 2023-06-16. Archived from the original on 2023-06-16. Retrieved 2025-06-11. https://www.stat.gov.rs/en-us/vesti/20230616-st/ ↩

  99. "Number of population by mother tongue in the Slovak Republic at 1. 1. 2021". Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic. Archived from the original on 2022-01-23. Retrieved 2025-06-11. https://www.scitanie.sk/en/population/basic-results/structure-of-population-by-mother-tongue/SR/SK0/SR ↩

  100. "Population by language, sex and urban/rural residence". UNdata. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015. http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a27%3bareaCode%3a0%3bsexCode%3a0&c=2,3,5,7,9,11,13,14,15&s=_vcvv2:asc,_countryEnglishNameOrderBy:asc,refYear:desc&v=1 ↩

  101. "Population by language, sex and urban/rural residence". UNdata. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015. http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a27%3bareaCode%3a0%3bsexCode%3a0&c=2,3,5,7,9,11,13,14,15&s=_vcvv2:asc,_countryEnglishNameOrderBy:asc,refYear:desc&v=1 ↩

  102. "INEbase / Demografía y población /Cifras de población y Censos demográficos /Encuesta de Características Esenciales de la Población y las Viviendas / Microdatos". INE (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-03-12. https://www.ine.es/dyngs/INEbase/es/operacion.htm?c=Estadistica_C&cid=1254736177092&menu=resultados&idp=1254735572981# ↩

  103. "Här är 20 största språken i Sverige". Språktidningen. March 28, 2016. https://spraktidningen.se/2016/03/har-ar-20-storsta-spraken-i-sverige/ ↩

  104. "Hauptsprachen seit 1910 - 1910-2023 | Tabelle". Hauptsprachen seit 1910 - 1910-2023 | Tabelle (in German). Retrieved 2025-04-27. https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/de/home/statistiken/kataloge-datenbanken.assetdetail.34247670.html ↩

  105. "ACS 2023 5-year estimate - Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over". United States Census Bureau. https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT5Y2023.B16001 ↩

  106. "Банк даних". database.ukrcensus.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-03-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20190709003211/http://database.ukrcensus.gov.ua/Mult/Database/Census/databasetree_en.asp ↩

  107. "Main language (detailed) - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 2025-03-31. https://www.ons.gov.uk/datasets/TS024/editions/2021/versions/1 ↩

  108. "Die Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens in der Einschätzung ihrer Bürger - Ergebnisse einer Befragung für das Ministerium der Deutschsprachigen Gemeinschaft Belgiens" [The German-speaking Community of Belgium as perceived by its citizens - Results of a survey for the Ministry of the German-speaking Community of Belgium] (PDF). https://ostbelgienstatistik.be/PortalData/22/Resources/downloads/themen/demoskopische_umfrage/36584_q8351_text_Gesamtbericht.pdf ↩

  109. "Grenzland im Querschnitt - grenzüberschreitende Identität, Sprache und Mobilität" [A cross-section of borderlands - cross-border identity, language and mobility] (PDF). Region Syddanmark (in German). December 2020. https://regionsyddanmark.dk/media/z3djifw2/graenselandet-paa-tvaers-tysk-final-4.pdf ↩

  110. "Population 31.12. by Area, Sex, Language, Information and Year". pxdata.stat.fi. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2025-06-10. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://pxdata.stat.fi/PxWeb/sq/ece51fd1-5cf2-4b5a-ab3a-fcbbd66837a0 ↩

  111. "Risultati Censimento linguistico - 2024" [2024 Linguistics Census Results] (PDF). Istituto provinciale di statistica (in German and Italian). Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://assets-eu-01.kc-usercontent.com/b5376750-8076-01cf-17d2-d343e29778a7/775f53cb-b8b9-4c2b-b3f8-cd625a72b610/pressnote_1160211_mit56_2024.pdf ↩

  112. "Population by Mother Tongue in Municipality". Statistics Lithuania. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://osp.stat.gov.lt/documents/10180/9601028/Population_by_mother_tongue_in_municipality.xlsx ↩

  113. "Język używany w domu - dane NSP 2021 dla kraju i jednostek podziału terytorialnego" [Language used at Home - 2021 Census Data for the Country and by Territorial Unit]. stat.gov.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2023-12-30. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/6536/10/1/1/jezyk_uzywany_w_domu_-_dane_nsp_2021_dla_kraju_i_jednostek_podzialu_terytorialnego.xlsx ↩

  114. "Język używany w domu - dane NSP 2021 dla kraju i jednostek podziału terytorialnego" [Language used at Home - 2021 Census Data for the Country and by Territorial Unit]. stat.gov.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2023-12-30. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/6536/10/1/1/jezyk_uzywany_w_domu_-_dane_nsp_2021_dla_kraju_i_jednostek_podzialu_terytorialnego.xlsx ↩

  115. "Język używany w domu - dane NSP 2021 dla kraju i jednostek podziału terytorialnego" [Language used at Home - 2021 Census Data for the Country and by Territorial Unit]. stat.gov.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2023-12-30. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://stat.gov.pl/download/gfx/portalinformacyjny/pl/defaultaktualnosci/6536/10/1/1/jezyk_uzywany_w_domu_-_dane_nsp_2021_dla_kraju_i_jednostek_podzialu_terytorialnego.xlsx ↩

  116. "Таблица 6. Население по родному языку" [Table 6. Population by Native Language] (in Russian). Federal State Statistics Service. Archived from the original on 2023-01-21. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab6_VPN-2020.xlsx ↩

  117. "Microdata - Census Bureau Data Table". American Community Survey. https://data.census.gov/app/mdat/ACSPUMS5Y2023/table?cv=LANX&rv=ucgid,LANP&wt=PWGTP&g=AwFm-BVBlECYg ↩

  118. "Explore Census Data". American Community Survey. 2023. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://data.census.gov/app/mdat/ACSPUMS5Y2023/table?cv=LANX&rv=LANP&nv=ucgid&wt=PWGTP&g=AwFm-BVBlBmAOIA ↩

  119. "2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Public Use Microdata Sample". data.census.gov. https://data.census.gov/app/mdat/ACSPUMS5Y2023/table?cv=LANX&rv=LANP&nv=ucgid&wt=PWGTP&g=AwFm-BVBlBWWg ↩

  120. "2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Public Use Microdata Sample". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://data.census.gov/app/mdat/ACSPUMS5Y2023/table?cv=LANX&rv=LANP&nv=ucgid&wt=PWGTP&g=AwFm-BVBlBmYg ↩

  121. "2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Public Use Microdata Sample". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2025-06-10. https://data.census.gov/app/mdat/ACSPUMS5Y2023/table?cv=LANX&rv=LANP&nv=ucgid&wt=PWGTP&g=AwFm-BVBlEDYg ↩

  122. "Population by language, sex and urban/rural residence". UNdata. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2015. http://data.un.org/Data.aspx?d=POP&f=tableCode%3a27%3bareaCode%3a0%3bsexCode%3a0&c=2,3,5,7,9,11,13,14,15&s=_vcvv2:asc,_countryEnglishNameOrderBy:asc,refYear:desc&v=1 ↩

  123. "National compositon, religion and language proficiency in the Republic of Kazakhstan" (PDF). stat.gov.kz. https://stat.gov.kz/upload/medialibrary/cee/3rsfg8ps3xo19orb284esg4rx27ihqf7/%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8C%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9%20%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2.pdf ↩

  124. "Ethnologue: Languages of the World". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120216214526/http://www.ethnologue.com/ ↩

  125. "U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration – Language Use in the United States: 2007" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 14, 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130614060228/http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/language/data/acs/ACS-12.pdf ↩