When you learn a language it is certainly of interest to know where it is spoken. The chart below shows where in the world German is spoken and how many people speak it.

German is the Dominant Language in

– Germany – 82.7 million

– Austria – 8.1 million

– Switzerland – 4.6 million (The rest of Switzerland’s 7.2 million citizens speak French, Italian and Romansh)

– Liechtenstein – 32,000

German has Official Status in

– Luxembourg – 400,000

– Italy (Bolzano/Südtirol) – 200,000

– Belgium – 70,000

German is Regional/Minority Language in

– Former Soviet Union – 1.9 million

– France (Alsatian) – 1.5 million

– Poland (Silesia) – 500,000 (400,000)

– Romania – 150,000

– Hungary – 62,000

– Czech Republic – 50,000

– Denmark – 35,000

– Slovakia – 15,000

Other Areas: There are also minority groups of German dialect speakers found in certain areas of North America (Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, etc.), in Kazakhstan, Namibia (former German Southwest Africa), Argentina, Paraguay, and other non-European regions.

Note: Unless noted otherwise, the figures above are based on population estimates for the year 2000. Sources include The New York Times Almanac, The World Almanac and Book of Facts (World Almanac Books), Deutsche Welle and Ethnologue.com.