Discover the German-Speaking Countries

Exploring the German-Speaking World

When most people think of the German language, Germany naturally comes to mind. But German is spoken in many other countries around Europe and the world. From Alpine villages to South American towns and Central Asian communities, let’s take a tour of the German-speaking world, or as they call it in German, the deutschsprachiger Raum.

The Core German-Speaking Countries

At the heart of the German-speaking world are six countries where German is an official or primary language:

Germany (Deutschland)

The birthplace of the German language and home to over 80 million native speakers.

Austria (Österreich)

The second most important German-speaking country. Austrian German is spoken by 9 million people and has its own particularities, especially in grammar and vocabulary. You can learn more about it here. Moreover, in Austria, people tend to use their own local dialect, which is closely related to the Bavarian one, in their everyday language and informal conversation, leaving Standard German for official settings.

Switzerland (Schweiz)

In this multilingual country, German is the most widely spoken language, alongside French, Italian, and Grisons. What is interesting is that Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch), the variety used by almost five million people in Switzerland, varies greatly from Standard German and can be quite difficult to understand. You will hear it a lot not only in the streets but also in the media.

Liechtenstein (Liechtenstein)

This small but wealthy principality nestled between Austria and Switzerland uses German as its sole official language, where it is the mother tongue of its 40,000 inhabitants.

Luxembourg (Luxemburg)

A trilingual nation where German is one of the three official languages, alongside French and Luxembourgish. It is used in education and in public administration, and it shares a lot of similarities with Luxembourgish, the most spoken language in the country.

Belgium (Belgien)

In the eastern part of the country lies the German-speaking Community of Belgium, one of the three official language communities alongside French and Flemish. This community of about 80,000 people lives in the eastern part of the Liège province next to Germany and has its own autonomy within the country.

South Tyrol (Südtirol)

Located in northern Italy, this small but beautiful province in the middle of the mountains has a significant German-speaking population due to its historical ties with Austria. It was annexed to Italy after World War I, and during the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, it underwent a migration of the Italian population. Today, about 70% of the population of about half a million people uses German as their native language, but this percentage varies a lot according to the area. In fact, while in the capital city of the region, Bozen (or Bolzano in Italian), and other big cities, Italian people are the majority, in the valleys and more isolated regions, 90% of people still speak German.

Alsace (Elsass)

Alsace is a region in eastern France along the border with Germany and Switzerland. Though French is dominant today, but the Alsace region has deep Germanic roots. Alsatian, a German dialect, is still spoken by some locals and carries cultural significance.

German Communities Around the World

German isn’t limited to Europe. Historical migrations, missionary work, and colonial ventures have led to the establishment of German-speaking communities around the world.

Namibia (Namibia)

A former German colony, Namibia still maintains a small German-speaking community of about 30,000 people. That is only 2% of the total population, but about a third of the white population. German street names, schools, and even newspapers persist, particularly in cities like Swakopmund and Windhoek.

Brazil (Blumenau and beyond)

In southern Brazil, cities like Blumenau and Pomerode were founded by German immigrants in the 19th century. Here, German festivals like Oktoberfest, cuisine, and language thrive, with some dialects like Hunsrückisch still spoken.

Paraguay, Argentina, and Guatemala

These countries are home to various German-speaking groups, including Mennonites who preserve the language and customs in close-knit communities. Today, South America hosts one of the largest German diasporas in the world. Around one million people still speak German or a German dialect, while more than 15 million people on the continent have German ancestry

Central Asia

German-speaking Mennonite missionaries established communities here during the Russian Empire. Today, the German population in Central Asia is much smaller than it used to be, because many emigrated to Germany after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s. Nevertheless, traces of the German language and culture still remain, and across Central Asia, there are around 230,000–250,000 people of German descent, most of whom live in Kazakhstan.

How Many People Speak German?

German is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with over 130 million people speaking it as a first or second language. It is the most spoken native language in the European Union, and beyond Europe, millions more speak German in diaspora communities across the world. Moreover, it is one of the most studied foreign languages due to the importance of Germany in the world economy.