Poland is the country where the number of people learning German has dropped particularly sharply in recent years — by as much as 15 percent since 2015. In France, by contrast, increases of 16 percent are noticeable, similarly in Russia. In Czechia, the share of students learning German also fell — from 44 percent (2004) to 24 percent (2020) — because English is considered more future-oriented. Furthermore, the cultural appeal of German-language media (films, music) has diminished compared with Anglophone content.
On the other hand, the number of people learning German in Africa has grown by nearly 50 percent since 2015 — though from an extremely low base. Countries such as Egypt and Ivory Coast stand out with strong growth in interest. Growing interest is also occurring in Asia, especially China. It is different in North America, where 15 percent fewer people study German in the US than in 2015.
Whether the number of German learners in a given country is rising or falling is mainly related to the functioning and regulations of the educational system. Worldwide, 90 percent of those learning the language are school students — that is, minors — and only 10 percent are adults. Adults are motivated by professional reasons, such as access to the German labor market, especially thanks to the Skilled Workers Immigration Act. In 2025, a stable or slightly growing number of adults acquiring German language skills is expected.
In the educational systems of our part of Europe, English dominates as the first foreign language. According to Eurostat (2022), 96 percent of students in the EU learn English, often as a compulsory subject, while only 23 percent choose German — mainly as a second or third foreign language. In countries like Poland, English is considered, according to experts, the key language for global labor markets and Western pop culture, pushing German to the margins. Added to this is the organization of foreign language instruction in schools: schools are offering fewer and fewer hours for a second or third foreign language in order to focus on English.
Demographics have also worked against German in our part of Europe for two decades. In countries like Poland and Romania, the number of students is declining due to falling birth rates, numerically limiting the pool of potential learners. At the same time, there is a shortage of qualified German teachers. In Hungary, the Ministry of Education reported a very significant shortage of German-language teachers in 2023, making the subject less accessible in many schools. The Hungarian Teachers' Union (PDSZ) explains that the teaching profession in Hungary is not financially attractive. According to PDSZ, teachers earn below the Hungarian median wage of approximately 1,200 euros. By comparison, jobs in the private sector or abroad (e.g., in Germany) offer better earning opportunities. For German teachers, who often have sufficient qualifications to work in German-speaking countries, emigration is an obvious option. This leads to fewer young people entering the profession in Hungary.
[Aleksandra Fedorska is a journalist for Tysol.pl and numerous Polish and German media outlets]
