English is far and away the most studied foreign language in the European Union, with 96% of students in upper secondary general education and 80.1% of students in upper secondary vocational education learning it as a compulsory subject.
In general education, the second-most studied language across the EU is Spanish, studied by 27.1%, followed by French (20.8%) and Italian (3.2%).
In vocational education, meanwhile, German ranks second (with 18.1%), followed by French (14.1%), Spanish (6.6%) and Russian (2.3%).
Two or more foreign languages
According to the Eurostat data, for the year 2023, three fifths (60%) of students in upper secondary general education across the EU studied two or more foreign languages as compulsory subjects or as compulsory curriculum options.
This marked a 0.8-percentage-point decline on the previous year (60.8%).
In upper secondary vocational education meanwhile, the share of students studying two or more foreign languages stood at 34.8%, a one-percentage-point increase on the previous year (34.8%).
The highest shares of students studying two or more foreign languages was seen in France (99.8%), Romania (99.1%) and Czechia (98.5%), while the lowest was recorded in Portugal (6.7%), Ireland (10.4%) and Spain (22.4%). Read more here.
Most Studied Foreign Languages by EU Students (2023)
| Language | Upper Secondary – General (%) | Upper Secondary – Vocational (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish | 27.1 | 6.6 |
| German | 21.2 | 18.1 |
| English | 96.0 | 80.1 |
| French | 20.8 | 14.1 |
| Italian | 3.2 | 0.8 |
| Swedish | 1.1 | 2.0 |
| Russian | 2.7 | 2.3 |
