German is one of the world's most important languages with approximately two hundred million speakers worldwide.1, 2 Standard German is an international language for scholarship and science, and the official language in seven countries. German is an important culture and commercial language for many others. There are eighty-two million native speakers in Germany.1, 2 The national language is High German, which is called a variety of names including Deutsch, Standard German and Hochdeutsch. This is the language that children are taught in school and is seen in mass media.6 All formal and daily language spoken is some form of German though there are many different regional dialects within the country which are variations of High German.6 Each dialect is distinguishable, though people who speak the different dialects have no problem understanding one another.
Most of the German spoken around the world is in Europe and the Western Hemisphere. The German people however, are well known to be globe trotters, and some consider them the world's most prolific tourists. Because of tourism and of emigration from Germany, German is spoken throughout most of the world. Though not a majority of the people in any one country speak German outside of Germany (where it is the official language), Switzerland and Italy (where it is one of four official languages), Austria and Liechtenstein (where it is also the official language), and Belgium and Luxembourg (where it is one of three official languages), many countries have German speakers to some extent. These include:5, 7
| Argentina | France | Russia |
| Australia | Hungary | Slovakia |
| Austria | Israel | Slovenia |
| Belgium | Italy | South Africa |
| Bolivia | Kazakhstan | Switzerland |
| Bosnia-Hercegovina | Liechtenstein | Tajikistan |
| Brazil | Luxembourg | Ukraine |
| Canada | Moldova | United Arab Emirates |
| Chile | Namibia | United States |
| Czech-Republic | Paraguay | Uruguay |
| Denmark | Philippines | Uzbekistan |
| Ecuador | Poland | Zambia |
| Estonia | Puerto Rico | |
| Finland | Romania |
Countries where German is spoken are shaded in yellow.
Worldwide, one hundred million people speak German as a first language. If second language speakers are included, there are one hundred twenty-eight million worldwide.3, 4 Approximately sixteen million people around the world are learning German as a foreign language.3, 4 According to the German Embassy there are two million students in university or college studying in German courses.3, 4 Nineteen thousand universities and colleges are teaching German today.3, 4 There are seven hundred twenty thousand students in German studies and one hundred twenty thousand teaching it outside of Germany.3, 4 The promotion of the German language has been mainly focussed on Central and Eastern Europe, North America, and important emerging economies around the globe.
