Sprechen Sie Deutsch? Do you speak German? German is spoken in nations around the world, with millions of native speakers and language learners calling countries in Europe and beyond their homes. While you may associate the German language with Germany—and rightly so—it also holds official status in multiple German-speaking countries throughout Europe and has a significant unofficial presence in many other nations.
From the heart of Europe to pockets of German-speaking cultures worldwide, German continues to thrive as a modern language thanks to history, migration, and cultural pride. Whether you’re learning how to speak German for business, travel, or personal growth, you will be far from alone in conversation within the countries we’ll examine here.
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How many people speak German?
Have you wondered how many people speak German as a first or second language? According to the University of North Carolina, you can find around 95 million native German speakers and another 85 million people who speak German as a second language worldwide to share a conversation. These native and bilingual speakers are spread from the highest concentration throughout central and northwestern Europe to localized areas in places like the United States of America, Brazil, and even South Africa.
How the German language spread around the globe
As a branch of the Indo-European language family, the Germanic languages spread around the globe through a mix of migration, trade, and colonial influence. In Europe, the redrawing of borders in regions like Alsace and Lothringen led to many nations using German as an official language since the Middle Ages.
The modern German language didn’t just stay tucked away in Europe, but rather it broke free into the Americas in the 18th and 19th centuries when millions of Germans emigrated to North and South America, bringing their language and culture with them.
However, the global reach of the German language isn’t just about migration—the culture has also been a powerhouse in science, philosophy, and industry in the modern day. Despite being ranked 12th among the most spoken languages in the world, German is among the most common languages spoken by winners of the Nobel Prize. While English has taken the academic lead due to the sheer population size of its speakers, German still holds strong in European trade, diplomacy, and science, wielding an influence that exceeds the number of speakers.
The 6 German-speaking countries that use German as an official language
German is the official language in six countries, but don’t expect it to sound the same everywhere you go! Each German-speaking country has its own unique dialects, rules, and slang that make German as unique and varied as the people who speak it. You can find out what countries speak German as an official language and the differences in use here.
Germany
Population: 84 million
Status of German: official language
Other languages spoken: English, Turkish
As the most obvious location of the German language, Germany has an impressive 95% of its population speaking German. What makes this nation not-so-standard in its usage of German is the whopping 250-300 different German dialects spoken in this nation alone. The official dialect of Germany is Standardhochdeutsch (Standard High German), which is what you’re most likely to learn as you study the German language.
Look at the chart of common Standardhochdeutsch words like how to say hello in German and compare them to the dialects found in other German-speaking countries:
| Standardhochdeutsch Examples | English Translation |
| Brötchen | bread roll |
| guten Morgen | good morning |
| hallo | hello |
| Kartoffel | potato |
| Wie geht’s? | How are you? |
Austria
Population: 9 million
Status of German: official language
Other languages spoken: Croatian, Slovenian, and Hungarian
The Austrian and German languages have gone hand-in-hand with their developments ever since the beginning of the Holy Roman Empire in 753 A.D. Österreichisches Deutsch (Austrian German) is based on Standardhochdeutsch (Standard High German), but has some influence from Alemannic and Viennese dialects.
With more than seven million German speakers within its borders, Austria shares many cultural elements with Germany such as the celebration of Oktoberfest, magical Christmas markets, and a strong emphasis on winter sports in the Alpine regions.
| Österreichisches Deutsch Examples | English Translation |
| Erdapfel | potato |
| Grüß Gott | hello |
| guten Morgen | good morning |
| Semmel | bread roll |
| Wie geht’s? | How are you? |
Switzerland
Population: 8.95 million
Status of German: official language
Other languages spoken: French, Italian, and Romansh
Switzerland is a nation of many tongues, and German is only one of four official languages. It’s very common for a Swiss citizen to speak multiple languages, but German still dominates the country with over 62% of the nation! With a policy of neutrality that dates back centuries, Switzerland looks to honor each of its people’s cultures. This is why it includes German as an official language, given the large German-speaking population, the geographic proximity, and the nation’s historical ties to Germany.
You can see the personal spin that Schweizerdeutsch (Swiss German) puts on the German language with this vocabulary chart:
| Schweizerdeutsch Examples | English Translation |
| Grüezi | hello |
| Härdöpfel | potato |
| Weggli | bread roll |
| guten Morgen | good morning |
| Wie gaht’s? | How are you? |
Liechtenstein
Population: 40,000
Status of German: official language
Other languages spoken: English, Italian, French
Though Liechtenstein is a smaller nation, it boasts one of the highest percentages of a population that speaks the German language out of all six countries that speak German at a whopping 92% as of 2020. Similar to other nations near Germany, Liechtenstein has a large population of German-speaking people due to its historical ties to Germany through the Holy Roman Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The primary dialect you’ll encounter within these borders is Alemannic Swiss German, which you will find to be extraordinarily similar to the dialect of German spoken in Eastern Switzerland.
Compare and contrast this smaller nation’s German dialect with Schweizerdeutsch (Swiss German) with the handy chart here:
| Liechtenstein German Examples | English Translation |
| guten Morgen | good morning |
| hallo | hello |
| Härdöpfel | potato |
| Weggli | bread roll |
| Wie gaht’s? | How are you? |
Luxembourg
Population: 676,000
Status of German: official language
Other languages spoken: French, Luxembourgish
Though German is an official language in Luxembourg, it is only the third most spoken language of this nation with 78% of the population speaking German. Primarily, most citizens of Luxembourg speak Luxembourgish, which is a trilingual blend of German, Dutch, and French. As such, it’s also considered to be one of the primary French-speaking countries in Europe.
This smaller nation uses German as an official language due to its historical ties with Germany from the Holy Roman Empire, but you’ll find it typically used in newspapers, academia, and formal settings where German can be used to reach a larger, international audience. You can see the Luxembourgish influence on the regional dialect of German in the changes to phrases like good morning in German and other vocabulary.
| Luxembourgish German Examples | English Translation |
| Äerdräffel | potato |
| Gudde Moien | good morning |
| Härdöpfel | bread roll |
| Moien | hello |
| Wéi geet et? | How are you? |
Belgium
Population: 11.75 million
Status of German: official language
Other languages spoken: Flemish Dutch, French
Eastern Belgium is home to a small German-speaking community of just under 80,000 as of 2024, which is the smallest percentage of its population out of all officially German-speaking countries at a tiny 0.7%. So why, you might ask, would Belgium bother to make German an official language if less than one percent of their population speaks it? The answer lies in history when the Treaty of Versailles gave the eastern German-speaking region to Belgium from Germany. In an effort to make this population more at home, Belgium adopted German as an official language.
You can see how Belgians alter their local dialect of German in the following chart:
| Belgian German Examples | English Translation |
| Aardappel | potato |
| Broodje | bread roll |
| goede Morgen | good morning |
| Hallo | hello |
| Hoe gaat het? | How are you? |
Other countries that unofficially use the German language
The heritage of German and its culture reaches far beyond the borders of European nations that have accepted German as an official language. Due to trade, science, and immigration, you can find pockets of German-speaking people worldwide, from Mennonite societies in Pennsylvania to the five million German speakers in Brazil, where immigrants settled throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Other countries that unofficially use the German language are northern Italy, Russia, France, and even South Africa, though these groups make up a small portion of their overall population. German thrives in many small communities around the globe, where you can hear it in traditional songs, festivals, and warm family gatherings between loved ones. It’s clear that the German language’s reach isn’t just geographical—it’s embedded in cultures across the globe!
Find out which nations speak German with the Rosetta Stone app
You’ll have plenty of conversation partners around the world as you learn German as a second language! Within language difficulty rankings, German is listed as a category two language, meaning it’s on the easier side for native English speakers to learn.
You can answer your burning questions like how long it takes to learn German or what countries speak German with the award-winning Rosetta Stone app. With five features to accelerate language learning, you’ll find your own learning niche in no time!
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