Foreign language learning statistics

Data extracted in April 2026

Planned article update: April 2027

Highlights

All or nearly all (99% to 100%) primary school pupils in Cyprus, Malta, Austria, Spain and Poland learnt English as a foreign language in 2024.

In 2024, 89% of pupils in upper secondary education in the EU learnt English as a foreign language: this share was 96% in general programmes and 81% in vocational programmes.

Nearly half (49%) of all pupils in upper secondary education in the EU learnt 2 or more foreign languages in 2024.

Proportion of pupils in upper secondary education learning 2 or more foreign languages, 2024

Vocational upper secondary not applicable for Liechtenstein and not available for Ireland.
EU: excluding Czechia; vocational upper secondary, also excluding Ireland.
Belgium: the official state languages of Belgium are Dutch, French and German.
Czechia: 2023.
Germany: overcoverage in general upper secondary as some of the federal Länder data on the number of foreign languages studied may include ancient languages.
Estonia: undercoverage.
France: excludes independent private institutions.
Italy: undercoverage in vocational upper secondary as 11% of pupils with unknown foreign language study status are excluded.
Luxembourg: although the official languages of Luxembourg are French, German and Luxembourgish, for the purpose of education statistics French and German are counted as foreign languages.
Finland: depending on their mother tongue, students have to choose between Finnish and Swedish, both considered as foreign languages for the purpose of education statistics.
Liechtenstein: 2022.
Source: Eurostat (online data code: educ_uoe_lang02)

Linguistic diversity is actively encouraged within many educational establishments and workplaces. Schools and other primary and secondary educational institutions provide the main opportunity for the vast majority of people to learn languages. This article presents statistics on language learning in primary and secondary schools of European Union (EU) countries as well as EFTA and enlargement countries. It forms part of an online publication on Education and training in the EU.

Currently there are 24 official languages recognised within the EU, which has been the situation since the accession of Croatia.

There have always been fewer official languages than EU countries, as some EU countries share common languages, for example in Belgium where the official languages are Dutch, French and German, while in Cyprus the majority of the population speak Greek. There are also several indigenous, regional and minority languages found within the EU, as well as many other languages that have been brought into the EU by migrant populations, notably Arabic, Turkish and Chinese. Some regional languages, such as Basque, Catalan and Galician, have gained a status as co-official languages of the EU.

Primary education

Within primary education, 82.5% of pupils in the EU were learning English in 2024. Learning English is mandatory within primary education institutions in several EU countries, and so several have all (or nearly all) pupils learning this language, as shown in Figure 1. Note that the relative importance of English as a foreign language may be further magnified because pupils tend to receive more instruction in their first foreign language than they do for any subsequent languages they study.

All or nearly all (99% to 100%) primary school pupils in Cyprus, Malta, Austria, Spain and Poland were learning English as a foreign language. Between 90% and 97% of primary school pupils were learning English in Latvia, France, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Croatia, Italy and Romania.
In all but 2 of the EU countries, at least two fifths of primary school pupils were learning English.
- In Belgium, the percentage of primary school pupils learning English was 23.0%, reflecting a focus on learning other official state languages (Dutch, French and German, depending on the community and/or region).
- In Luxembourg, English was generally not taught in primary school, also reflecting a focus on instruction in several official languages (German, French and Luxembourgish).

Within primary education, 4.4% of pupils in the EU were learning French in 2024, while 4.0% were learning German. For both of these languages, Luxembourg reported the highest shares (79.9% and 94.7%, respectively); in Luxembourg, French and German are both official languages, but for the purpose of education statistics they are considered as foreign languages.

A relatively high proportion of primary school pupils were learning French as a foreign language in Greece and Spain (21.8% and 12.7%, respectively), while this share was around a tenth (9.1%) in Romania; elsewhere the share was 3.3% or less.
A relatively high proportion of primary school pupils were learning German as a foreign language in Denmark (25.7%), Croatia (19.0%), Hungary (15.5%), Latvia (13.4%) and Greece (12.0%); elsewhere the share was 4.9% or less.

In 2024, 6.4% of primary school pupils in the EU were learning 2 or more foreign languages – see Figure 2. Note that this indicator includes all modern foreign languages, not just the selected languages shown in Figure 1.

Luxembourg was the only EU country where a majority of primary school pupils were learning 2 or more foreign languages, with a share of 78.7%.
Relatively high shares of primary school pupils were learning 2 or more foreign languages in Latvia (41.4%), Greece (35.5%), Denmark (29.0%) and Finland (28.6%); the next highest share was recorded in Croatia (19.0%).
In 16 EU countries, 6.6% or fewer of all primary school pupils were leaning 2 or more foreign languages, with the lowest shares in Belgium and Slovenia (both 0.0%). This was also the case in Ireland, where no foreign languages were taught in primary education before September 2025; since that date, a phased introduction of modern foreign languages into the primary curriculum has started.

Between 2014 and 2024, the share of primary school pupils in the EU learning at least 2 foreign languages increased from 4.6% to 6.4%. In percentage point terms, the biggest gains were recorded in Latvia (up 26.7 percentage points), Finland, Spain, Greece, Sweden and Cyprus. The large increase in Spain, which had the third highest number of primary school pupils in the EU (around 12% of the EU total in 2024), contributed strongly to the increase observed for the EU as a whole. Elsewhere, increases were more modest, not exceeding 1.8 percentage points. In 7 EU countries, the share of primary school pupils learning at least 2 foreign languages decreased, down fewer than 1.0 percentage points in all except Luxembourg, Poland and Estonia (falls of 4.8, 5.3 and 16.3 percentage points, respectively); note that there is a break in series in Estonia.

Lower secondary education

Within lower secondary education, 97.6% of pupils in the EU were learning English in 2024 – see Table 1.

All (100.0%) lower secondary pupils in Denmark, Slovenia and Sweden were learning English as a foreign language.
In all but 3 of the EU countries, more than 90.0% of lower secondary school pupils were learning English. In Hungary, 78.6% of lower secondary school pupils were learning English, as were 69.7% in Belgium and 59.4% in Luxembourg. Note the comments in the section on primary education about the atypical nature of foreign language learning in Belgium and Luxembourg.

Within lower secondary education, 30.3% of pupils in the EU were learning French in 2024, 19.2% Spanish and 18.9% German.

Luxembourg was the only EU country where more than four fifths (82.6%) of lower secondary pupils were learning French. In Romania, Cyprus, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Greece, more than half of lower secondary pupils were learning French.
In 13 EU countries, fewer than 10.0% of lower secondary pupils were learning French.
France was the only EU country where a majority (56.6%) of lower secondary pupils were learning Spanish, while Sweden (47.0%) had the next highest share.
In 19 EU countries, fewer than 10.0% of lower secondary pupils were learning Spanish.
Denmark (74.9%) and Luxembourg (71.9%) reported that a large proportion of lower secondary pupils were learning German. There were no other EU countries with a majority of lower secondary pupils learning German, with somewhat lower shares – close to 50.0% – in the Netherlands and Czechia.
In 8 EU countries, fewer than 10.0% of lower secondary pupils were learning German.

The share of lower secondary school pupils in the EU who were learning English was already high in 2014 (97.7%) and was almost unchanged in 2024 (97.6%). An increase was observed for the share of lower secondary pupils learning Spanish (up 6.1 percentage points from 13.1% to 19.2%). Decreases were observed for the share of lower secondary pupils learning German (down 4.1 percentage points) and French (down 3.4 percentage points).

Among the EU countries, the largest changes (at least +/- 10.0 percentage points) between 2014 and 2024 in the share of lower secondary pupils learning specific languages were

an increase of 23.4 percentage points for pupils learning English in Belgium
an increase of 18.8 percentage points for pupils learning Spanish in France (note that there is a break in series)
decreases of 19.6, 17.4 and 10.1 percentage points for pupils learning French in Ireland, Luxembourg and Italy, respectively
decreases of 31.6, 29.7, 28.1 and 21.6 percentage points, respectively, for pupils learning German in Slovenia, Poland, Luxembourg and Slovakia, respectively.

In 2024, 58.8% of lower secondary pupils in the EU were learning 2 or more foreign languages – see Figure 3. Note that this indicator includes all modern foreign languages, not just the selected languages shown in Table 1.

In Finland, 97.2% of lower secondary pupils were learning 2 or more foreign languages, the highest share among the EU countries.
Relatively high shares of lower secondary pupils – in the range from 93.4% to 96.3% – were learning 2 or more foreign languages in Greece, Italy, Romania, Portugal and Malta.
In 10 EU countries, fewer than half of lower secondary pupils were leaning 2 or more foreign languages. Among these, the lowest shares were observed in Ireland (5.2%), Hungary (5.6%) and Austria (7.5%).

Between 2014 and 2024, the share of lower secondary pupils in the EU learning at least 2 foreign languages decreased from 59.7% to 58.8%.

In percentage point terms, the biggest increases among the EU countries were recorded in France (up 20.7 percentage points from 55.3% to 76.0%; note that there is a break in series) and Belgium (up 19.6 percentage points from 26.1% to 45.7%).
More modest increases, up 10.6, 9.1 and 8.7 percentage points, were recorded in Czechia (2014–23), Latvia and Portugal, respectively; increases of no more than 2.3 percentage points were recorded in Greece, Sweden and Denmark.
In 19 EU countries, the share of lower secondary pupils learning at least 2 foreign languages decreased. In 14 of these EU countries, the decreases were no more than 10.0 percentage points.
Larger decreases were observed in Luxembourg (down 18.9 percentage points from 100.0% to 81.1%), Estonia (down 23.7 percentage points from 96.3% to 72.6%; note that there is a break in series), Slovakia (down 27.1 percentage points from 80.6% to 53.5%), Slovenia (down 35.5 percentage points from 56.3% to 20.8%) and Poland (down 48.5 percentage points from 93.7% to 45.2%).

Upper secondary education

Table 2 presents information on the proportion of pupils in upper secondary education (ISCED levels 3, 34 (general) and 35 (vocational)) learning selected foreign languages.

Approximately 9 in 10 (89.4%) upper secondary students in the EU were studying English as a foreign language in 2024.

All (100.0%) upper secondary pupils in Malta and Sweden were learning English as a foreign language.
Denmark (50.8%) was the only EU country where fewer than 70.0% of upper secondary pupils were learning English.

Among upper secondary pupils across the EU following a general programme, the share learning English was 96.3% in 2024, while for those pupils following a vocational programme, the share was lower, at 81.1%. In most EU countries, the share of upper secondary pupils studying English as a foreign language was higher within general programmes than within vocational programmes.

In 2 EU countries, the share of upper secondary pupils learning English within general programmes was more than 50.0 percentage points higher than the share within vocational programmes. These differences were 71.7 percentage points in Denmark and 56.3 percentage points in Spain.
In Malta and Sweden, the share of upper secondary pupils learning English was the same for general and vocational programmes (both 100.0%).
In Portugal, the share of upper secondary pupils learning English was higher for vocational programmes than for general programmes (a difference of 7.9 percentage points); it was the only EU country to record a higher share for pupils studying within vocational programmes.

Slightly fewer than a fifth of upper secondary pupils in the EU were learning German (19.3%), Spanish (17.9%) or French (17.2%) as a foreign language in 2024. Note that the analysis for the EU countries below excludes Ireland, for which data on learning German, French and Spanish are not available; it also partially excludes the Netherlands, for which data on learning French and Spanish are not available for pupils studying within vocational programmes.

A majority of upper secondary pupils in Luxembourg (69.6%) and Poland (62.1%) were learning German as a foreign language. In 8 EU countries, fewer than 10.0% of upper secondary pupils were learning German.
A majority of upper secondary pupils in France (60.6%) were learning Spanish as a foreign language. In 18 EU countries, fewer than 10.0% of upper secondary pupils were learning Spanish.
A majority of upper secondary pupils in Romania (84.7%), Luxembourg (70.5%), Cyprus (69.2%) and Belgium (52.6%) were learning French as a foreign language. In 16 EU countries, fewer than 10.0% of upper secondary pupils were learning French.

In 2024, the share of upper secondary pupils in the EU following a general programme that were learning German was 20.2%, compared with 18.0% for those following a vocational programme. In most EU countries, the share of upper secondary students learning German as a foreign language was higher within general programmes than within vocational programmes. Poland and Italy were the only exceptions, as the share of upper secondary pupils learning German as a foreign language was higher within vocational programmes than within general programmes, quite considerably so in Poland.

The difference between general and vocational programmes was most notable for upper secondary pupils learning Spanish. Across the EU in 2024, 27.6% of pupils within general programmes were learning Spanish as a foreign language, compared with 7.0% within vocational programmes. A higher share of pupils learning Spanish within general programmes was observed in all EU countries for which data are available, with France (45.1 percentage points difference) and Sweden (42.5 percentage points) recording the largest differences. France (74.3%) and Sweden (43.7%) were the only EU countries to record shares within general programmes that were above the EU average. France (29.2%), Italy (14.7%) and Austria (7.2%) were the only EU countries to record shares within vocational programmes that were above the EU average.

Among upper secondary pupils in the EU, the share learning French was 20.1% within general programmes and 14.7% within vocational programmes in 2024. In Greece, 32.9% of upper secondary pupils in general programmes were learning French, whereas 0.7% were doing so within vocational programmes. Differences of at least 15.0 percentage points, with higher shares within general programmes, were also observed in Austria, Germany, Spain and Malta. By contrast, the share of upper secondary pupils learning French as a foreign language was higher within vocational programmes than within general programmes in Italy (14.5 percentage points difference), Belgium (9.2 percentage points), Romania (8.8 percentage points) and Portugal (1.9 percentage points).

Among the EU countries, the largest increases between 2014 and 2024 in the share of pupils in upper secondary education who were studying English were recorded in Germany (up by 11.6 percentage points) and Belgium (up by 11.5 percentage points). The next largest increase was observed in Greece, up 10.6 percentage points. Increases of at least 4.0 percentage points were also observed in Hungary (note that there was a break in series), Cyprus, the Netherlands, Czechia (2014–23), Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia.

For upper secondary education pupils studying German, the share increased between 2014 and 2024 in 7 out of the 24 EU countries for which data are available/applicable (Germany and Austria, not applicable; Ireland, not available) and fell in the remainder. The biggest increase was recorded in Greece (up 19.6 percentage points), while the largest fall was in Slovakia (down 20.3 percentage points).

The share of upper secondary education pupils learning Spanish increased between 2014 and 2024 in 18 of the 24 EU countries for which data are available (Spain, not applicable; Ireland and Greece, not available). The biggest increase was recorded in Poland, up 8.5 percentage points. There was no change in Estonia or Lithuania. The largest fall was recorded in Cyprus (down 9.6 percentage points).

The situation for French was almost the opposite of that for Spanish. Between 2014 and 2024, the share of pupils in upper secondary education learning French as a foreign language fell in all but 4 of the 25 EU countries for which data are available/applicable (France, not applicable; Ireland, not available). Relatively large increases were observed in Cyprus (up 35.9 percentage points) and Greece (up 18.5 percentage points), with gains of less than 1.0 percentage points in Latvia and Poland. The largest fall was recorded in Luxembourg (down 15.1 percentage points).

In 2024, almost half (48.9%) of all upper secondary pupils in the EU were learning 2 or more foreign languages – see Figure 5.

In Romania, nearly all (98.1%) upper secondary pupils were learning 2 or more foreign languages. The only other EU countries to record shares over 75.0% were Finland (88.7%), Luxembourg (80.5%), France (79.5%) and Poland (79.4%).
In total, there were 13 EU countries where at least half of all upper secondary pupils were learning 2 or more foreign languages.
Fewer than 1 in 5 upper secondary pupils were leaning 2 or more foreign languages in Portugal (6.5%) and Spain (13.5%).

Between 2014 and 2024, the biggest decreases (in percentage point terms) in the share of upper secondary pupils learning at least 2 foreign languages were recorded in Estonia (down 24.3 percentage points; note that there is a break in series), Slovakia (down 17.6 percentage points) and Lithuania (down 12.0 percentage points). Smaller decreases were observed in 14 other EU countries. Elsewhere, increases between 2014 and 2024 were generally less than 5.0 percentage points, with 2 exceptions: in Poland, there was an increase of 11.1 percentage points; a much greater increase was recorded in Greece (up 41.9 percentage points).

The share of upper secondary pupils studying 2 or more foreign languages confirms a more widespread learning of foreign languages within general programmes than within vocational programmes. In 2024, 59.3% of upper secondary pupils following general programmes in the EU were learning 2 or more foreign languages, compared with 35.4% for pupils following vocational programmes.

Practically all (more than 98.0%) upper secondary pupils following general programmes in France, Romania, Czechia and Slovakia were studying 2 or more foreign languages. A further 9 EU countries had shares that were at least 80.0%.
In 6 EU countries, fewer than half of all upper secondary pupils following general programmes were learning at least 2 foreign languages. Among these, 3 had shares below 20.0%: Spain (18.8%), Ireland (10.3%) and Portugal (7.2%).
The share of upper secondary pupils following vocational programmes who were learning 2 or more foreign languages peaked in Romania at 97.3%. Only 6 other EU countries – Finland, Poland, Luxembourg, Cyprus, Belgium and Latvia – reported that a majority of their upper secondary pupils following these programmes were learning at least 2 foreign languages.
In 10 EU countries, fewer than 10.0% of upper secondary pupils following vocational programmes were learning at least 2 foreign languages. Among these, the lowest shares were in Denmark (0.6%), Spain (0.2%), Greece and Malta (both 0.0%).

Between 2014 and 2024, the share of upper secondary pupils following general programmes who were learning at least 2 foreign languages increased most in Greece (up 62.3 percentage points), Hungary (up 28.2 percentage points; note there is a break in series) and Poland (up 12.8 percentage points). The largest decreases were observed for Estonia (down 16.5 percentage points; note there is a break in series) and Lithuania (down 13.7 percentage points).

Cyprus recorded the largest increase in the share of upper secondary pupils following vocational programmes who were learning 2 or more foreign languages, up 49.8 percentage points between 2014 and 2024. The largest decreases, by far, were recorded in Estonia (down 33.1 percentage points; note there is a break in series) and Slovakia (down 26.5 percentage points).

Source data for tables and graphs

Foreign language learning statistics: tables and figures

Data sources

Source

Unlike most of the statistics about education that are published by Eurostat, the information on foreign language learning does not come from a joint UNESCO/OECD/Eurostat (UOE) data collection. Rather, statistics on foreign language learning are collected separately by Eurostat. More information about the data collection is available on Eurostat’s website, see Education and training – reference metadata (with individual national reports providing more detailed information).

Classification

The international standard classification of education (ISCED) is the basis for international education statistics, describing 9 different levels of education. The statistics presented in this article refer to primary education (as covered by ISCED level 1) and secondary education (as covered by ISCED levels 2 and 3).

Key concepts

The reference period for data on foreign language learning is the school/academic year. Data labelled as 2024 refer to the academic year during the period 2023/24.

Data on the number of pupils studying foreign languages are related to the corresponding numbers of students enrolled; students enrolled in special schools are excluded.

The data refer to all pupils in primary and secondary education, even if the teaching of languages does not start in the first year of instruction for the particular ISCED level under consideration. These statistics concern all modern languages that are taught as foreign languages. Each student studying a foreign language is counted once for each language they are studying. In other words, students studying more than 1 language are counted as many times as the number of languages studied.

The educational curriculum drawn up in each country defines the languages considered as foreign languages in that country and this definition is applied during data collection. Regional languages are included if they are considered as alternatives to foreign languages by the curriculum. Only foreign languages studied as compulsory subjects or as compulsory curriculum options are included. The study of languages when the subject is offered in addition to the minimum curriculum is not included. Non-nationals studying their native language in special classes or those studying the language(s) of the host country are excluded.

Context

The European Day of Languages is an annual event that is held on 26 September; it was established in 2021. Many language and cultural institutes, associations, universities and, in particular, schools take part each year.

Learning a foreign language is considered to be an important factor for participation in society: foreign languages can unite people, make other countries and their cultures more accessible, and strengthen intercultural understanding. Poor or low levels of foreign language skills may potentially lead to businesses losing international contracts or hinder the mobility of skills and talent.

Language skills are at the heart of the ambitious vision to create a European Education Area. For several decades, it has been mandatory for most children in the EU to learn at least 1 foreign language during their compulsory education. In 2002, the Barcelona European Council recommended that at least 2 foreign languages should be taught to all pupils from a very early age.

A Council Recommendation on a comprehensive approach to the teaching and learning of languages (2019/C 189/03) was adopted in May 2019, while a European Commission staff working document (SWD(2018) 174 final) provides some scientific and background information relating to the recommendation.

The following measures were adopted.

Explore ways to help all young people to acquire competence in at least 1 other European language and to encourage the acquisition of an additional (third) language.
Apply comprehensive approaches to improve teaching and learning of languages.
Ensure that all sectors of primary and secondary education are addressed, starting as early as possible, including initial vocational education and training.
Support the development of language awareness in schools and vocational education and training institutions. Support teachers, trainers, inspectors and school leaders in the development of language awareness.
Encourage research in and the use of innovative, inclusive and multilingual pedagogies.

Explore further

Database

Education and training (educ), see:

Languages (educ_lang)

Language learning (educ_uoe_lang)

Thematic section

Education and training

Methodology

Metadata

Pupils and students – enrolments (ESMS metadata file – educ_uoe_enr_esms), see
- national quality reports for each country; each of these contain an annex about the provisions regarding language learning

Manuals and other methodological information

Legislation

Regulation (EC) No 452/2008 of 23 April 2008 concerning the production and development of statistics on education and lifelong learning
- Commission Regulation (EU) No 912/2013 of 23 September 2013 as regards statistics on education and training systems
- Summaries of EU Legislation: statistics on education and lifelong learning

External links

European Commission – European Education Area, see
- Multilingualism
- Multilingual classrooms
European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)
- Eurydice, see
  - Key Data on Teaching Languages at School in Europe – 2023 edition
  - The Teaching of Regional or Minority Languages in Schools in Europe – 2019 edition