In the EU28 in 2011, 83% of pupils at primary & lower secondary level and 94% of those in upper secondary level general programmes were studying English as a foreign language. The second most commonly studied foreign language at both primary & lower secondary level and upper secondary level was French (19% of pupils in primary & lower secondary level and 23% in upper secondary), followed by German (9% and 21%) and Spanish (6% and 18%).

The importance of English as a foreign language in the EU is also confirmed amongst working age adults. In the EU28, English was declared to be the best-known foreign language in 2011 amongst the population aged 25 to 64. Among those stating English to be their best-known foreign language, 20% responded that they spoke it at a proficient level, 35% at a good level and 45% at a fair level. Considering all languages, two-thirds of the total population aged 25-64 stated they knew at least one foreign language.

French studied by over half of pupils at primary & lower secondary level in Luxembourg and Romania

In 2011, at primary & lower secondary level, English was the most commonly studied foreign language, with shares above 90% of pupils in Malta and Austria (both 100%), Spain and Italy (both 99%), Greece (97%), Croatia (95%), France (93%) and Poland (91%). Among the Member States for which this data is available, French was studied by more than half of pupils at this level in Luxembourg (90%) and Romania (51%), while German was studied by more than a quarter in Luxembourg (100%), Croatia (32%), Denmark (28%), Hungary and Slovakia (both 27%).

German is the second most studied language at upper secondary level in ten Member States

In upper secondary education, English remained the most commonly studied language, at over 90% of pupils in all Member States, except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta and Portugal. The second most commonly studied language in upper secondary education was German in ten Member States, French in nine, Spanish in four, Russian in three and Swedish and Italian in one each.

In half of the Member States three quarters of the working age population state they know a foreign language

Among adults aged 25 to 64, the proportions of those stating that they knew at least one foreign language differed greatly among the Member States, with the highest shares recorded in Luxembourg (99%), Lithuania (97%), Latvia (95%), Denmark (94%), Slovenia and Sweden (both 92%), and the lowest in Hungary (37%), Bulgaria (39%) and Spain (51%).

Lowest share of adults stating they have a proficient level of English in Italy, France and Germany

Among working age adults, the perceived level of language knowledge varied significantly between Member States. In Member States where English is considered to be the best-known foreign language, the highest shares of adults aged 25 to 64 perceiving themselves as being proficient in English were observed in Malta (53%), Sweden (43%), Cyprus (41%), Denmark and the Netherlands (both 36%), and the lowest in Italy (10%), France (13%) and Germany (16%).