List of countries and territories where German is an official language
January 07, 2023
The following is a list of the countries and territories where German is an official language (also known as the Germanosphere). It includes countries that have German as (one of) their nationwide official language(s), as well as dependent territories with German as a co-official language.
Legal statuses of German in Europe:
"German Sprachraum": German is (co-)official language and first language of the majority of the population
German is a co-official language, but not the first language of the majority of the population
German (or a German dialect) is a legally recognized minority language (Squares: Geographic distribution too dispersed/small for map scale)
German (or a variety of German) is spoken by a sizable minority, but has no legal recognition
Approximate distribution of native German speakers (assuming a rounded total of 95 million) worldwide.
German is the official language of six countries, all of which lie in central and western Europe. These countries (with the addition of South Tyrol of Italy) also form the Council for German Orthography and are referred to as the German Sprachraum (German language area). Since 2004, Meetings of German-speaking countries have been held annually with six participants: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland:[1]
While not official at the national level, German is a co-official language in subdivisions of the countries listed below. In each of these regions, German is an official language on the administrative level.
Legal statuses of German in the world (see preceding image for color descriptions)
There are other political entities (countries as well as dependent entities) which acknowledge other legal statuses for the German language or one of its dialects. While these may cover minority rights, support of certain language facilities (schools, media, etc.), and the promotion of cultural protection/heritage, they do not encompass the establishment of German as an "official" language, i.e., being required in public offices or administrative texts.
These countries include:
Brazil (German is a statewide cultural language in Espírito Santo and Rio Grande do Sul; Standard German official in 2 municipalities and non-standard German dialects official in 16 others)[10][11]
^While several specific laws, e.g., §23 VwVfG or $184 GVG, specify German as the administrative language in Germany, the Grundgesetz does not specifically mention it as federal official language.
^ abcdeAmmon, Ulrich (November 2014). Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt (in German) (1st ed.). Berlin, Germany: de Gruyter. ISBN978-3-11-019298-8. Retrieved 2015-07-24.
list, countries, territories, where, german, official, language, following, list, countries, territories, where, german, official, language, also, known, germanosphere, includes, countries, that, have, german, their, nationwide, official, language, well, depen. The following is a list of the countries and territories where German is an official language also known as the Germanosphere It includes countries that have German as one of their nationwide official language s as well as dependent territories with German as a co official language Legal statuses of German in Europe German Sprachraum German is co official language and first language of the majority of the population German is a co official language but not the first language of the majority of the population German or a German dialect is a legally recognized minority language Squares Geographic distribution too dispersed small for map scale German or a variety of German is spoken by a sizable minority but has no legal recognition Approximate distribution of native German speakers assuming a rounded total of 95 million worldwide Germany 78 3 Austria 8 4 Switzerland 5 6 Brazil 3 2 Italy 0 4 Others 4 1 Contents 1 German as an official language 1 1 Subdivisions of countries 2 Other legal statuses 3 International institutions 4 Notes 5 See also 6 ReferencesGerman as an official language EditGerman is the official language of six countries all of which lie in central and western Europe These countries with the addition of South Tyrol of Italy also form the Council for German Orthography and are referred to as the German Sprachraum German language area Since 2004 Meetings of German speaking countries have been held annually with six participants Germany Austria Belgium Liechtenstein Luxembourg and Switzerland 1 Country Population 2 Speakers NotesNative 3 4 5 Second 3 5 Germany 84 900 000 75 101 421 91 8 5 600 000 6 9 De facto sole nationwide official language a Belgium 11 420 163 73 000 0 6 2 472 746 22 De jure official language in the German speaking communityAustria 8 838 171 8 040 960 93 516 000 6 De jure sole nationwide official languageSwitzerland 8 508 904 5 329 393 64 6 395 000 5 Co official language at federal level de jure sole official language in 17 co official in 4 cantons out of 26 Luxembourg 626 108 11 000 2 380 000 67 5 De jure nationwide co official languageLiechtenstein 37 370 32 075 85 8 5 200 13 9 De jure sole nationwide official languageTotal 112 238 899 87 875 432 9 368 946 Total speakers 97 244 378Subdivisions of countries Edit While not official at the national level German is a co official language in subdivisions of the countries listed below In each of these regions German is an official language on the administrative level Region Country Population2006 2011 Nativespeakers NotesAutonomous Province of South Tyrol Italy 511 750 354 643 69 3 6 Co official language on province level equal to ItalianOpole Voivodeship 28 communes Silesian Voivodeship 3 communes Poland 250 000 50 000 20 7 Auxiliary language in 31 communes 8 also national minority language 9 Other legal statuses EditSee also Geographical distribution of German speakers Legal statuses of German in the world see preceding image for color descriptions There are other political entities countries as well as dependent entities which acknowledge other legal statuses for the German language or one of its dialects While these may cover minority rights support of certain language facilities schools media etc and the promotion of cultural protection heritage they do not encompass the establishment of German as an official language i e being required in public offices or administrative texts These countries include Brazil German is a statewide cultural language in Espirito Santo and Rio Grande do Sul Standard German official in 2 municipalities and non standard German dialects official in 16 others 10 11 Czech Republic national minority language 5 9 12 Denmark minority language in Syddanmark established with the Bonn Copenhagen declarations 1955 9 13 14 Hungary national minority language 9 15 16 Namibia national language co official language 1884 1990 5 17 Poland national minority language also auxiliary language in 31 communes 9 Romania national minority language 5 9 18 Russia minority language in the Azovo German National District 19 Slovakia regional minority language 9 Although in France the High German varieties of Alsatian and Moselle Franconian are identified as regional languages according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages of 1998 the French government has not yet ratified the treaty and therefore those varieties have no official legal status 20 Due to the German diaspora other countries with sizable populations of mostly bilingual German L1 speakers include Argentina Australia Bolivia Canada Chile Paraguay as well as the United States 21 However in none of these countries does German or a German variety have any legal status International institutions EditGerman is an official language of the following international institutions Organisation Number of official languages HeadquartersEuropean Patent Organisation 3 English French Munich GermanyUnified Patent Court 3 English French Paris FranceEuropean Space Agency 3 English French Paris FranceEuropean Union 24 Brussels BelgiumEuropean Commission 3 English French Brussels BelgiumOrganization for Security and Co operation in Europe 6 English French Italian Russian Spanish Vienna AustriaInternational Union of Railways 3 English French Paris FranceEuropean Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts 3 English French Reading UKInternational Trade Union Confederation 4 English French Spanish Brussels BelgiumWorld Association of Newspapers and News Publishers 4 English French Spanish Frankfurt GermanyDanube Commission 3 French Russian Budapest HungaryEuropean Investment Bank 3 English French Kirchberg LuxembourgEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development 4 English French Russian London UKInternational sports associations European Handball Federation EHF Federation Internationale de Bobsleigh et de Tobogganing FIBT Federation Internationale de Football Association FIFA Federation Internationale de Luge de Course FIL Federation Internationale de Ski FIS International Biathlon Union IBU Union of European Football Associations UEFA Notes Edit While several specific laws e g 23 VwVfG or 184 GVG specify German as the administrative language in Germany the Grundgesetz does not specifically mention it as federal official language See also EditGerman language in the Basic LawReferences Edit d Letzebuerger Land Beim Deutschen Bund in Eupen 02 September 2016 See List of countries and dependencies by population a b Eurobarometer 2012 Annex German Standard Ethnologue a b c d e Ammon Ulrich November 2014 Die Stellung der deutschen Sprache in der Welt in German 1st ed Berlin Germany de Gruyter ISBN 978 3 11 019298 8 Retrieved 2015 07 24 Census of South Tyrol 2011 Polish census 2011 note that ethnic associations allow only for a very rough estimate of first language distribution Map on page of Polish Commission on Standardization of Geographical Names PDF Retrieved 20 June 2015 a b c d e f g Council of Europe List of ratifications of the Charter for regional minority languages IPOL realizara formacao de recenseadores para o censo linguistico do municipio de Antonio Carlos SC e ipol org Lei N º 14 061 de 23 de julho de 2012 Carolin Zwilling European Academy Bolzano Bozen 2004 Minority Protection and Language Policy in the Czech Republic European Centre for Minority Issues Bonn Copenhagen Declarations ecmi de Archived from the original on 2016 10 14 Retrieved 2015 06 23 Die deutsche Minderheit in Danemark Sprache Identitat und Schlussel German Letzter Zugriff am 3 Mai 2015 Deutsche Botschaft Budapest Die deutsche Minderheit in Ungarn Archived from the original on 5 May 2015 Retrieved 3 May 2015 Ministry of Foreign Affairs Budapest The national and ethnic minorities in Hungary Deutsch in Namibia PDF in German Supplement of the Allgemeine Zeitung 18 August 2007 Archived from the original PDF on 24 June 2008 Retrieved 23 June 2008 Ammon Ulrich 1995 Die deutsche Sprache in Deutschland Osterreich und der Schweiz google de ISBN 9783110147537 USTAV AZOVSKOGO RAJONNOGO SOVETA OT 21 05 2002 N 5 09 USTAV MUNICIPALNOGO OBRAZOVANIYa AZOVSKIJ NEMECKIJ NACIONALNYJ RAJON OMSKOJ OBLASTI PRINYaT REShENIEM AZOVSKOGO RAJONNOGO SOVETA OT 21 05 2002 N 5 09 ZAREGISTRIROVAN POSTANOVLENIEM ZS OT 25 06 2002 N 106 bestpravo com Archived from the original on 2016 08 08 Retrieved 2016 04 27 Charte europeenne des langues regionales Hollande nourrit la guerre contre le francais Le Figaro German L1 speakers outside Europe Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title List of countries and territories where German is an official language amp oldid 1121587900, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
