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Belgium has a population of over 10 million. 6 million Belgians speak Dutch and 19.8% of them (1.2 million) has a good to a very good mastery of German. 4 million Belgians speak French but only 6% (240,000) has a good to a very good mastery of German. There are only 73,000 Belgians who speak German as their native tongue. In Brussels, French is the most spoken language (88%) followed by English (30%), Dutch (23%), Arabic 18% and Spanish 9%.

About the German Language

German is the most widely spoken native language in Europe. On the one hand, this is because of Germany's size, which with around 82 million inhabitants is the most populous country in the EU . On the other hand, German is also an official language in Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein as well as in Italy's South Tyrol. In addition, German plays a role as a recognized minority language in Denmark, France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Approximately 55 million Europeans speak German as a foreign language. In Hungary, German is increasingly popular with students and is number one among foreign languages. Around the world German is the third most taught foreign language and after English the second most popular in Europe and Japan.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is committed to strengthening the German language in Europe and  wants German to be treated equally with English and French in the European Parliament, European Commission and the European Council.  English and French have been the dominant working languages of the EU in the past few decades, although French has declined since 2004 as the bloc expanded from 15 to 27 members, most from eastern Europe where English is a more common second language. There are differences depending on the institutions. German is rarely used day-to-day at the European Commission, but is heard frequently at the European Parliament, which has a German president and is made up of more Germans than members from any other state because of the country's large population.

The EU currently conducts daily activities such as the midday press briefing in English and French. German is spoken as a mother tongue by 16 per cent of the EU’s 500 million-strong population, followed by Italian and English, both spoken by 13 per cent. French is spoken as a mother tongue by 12 per cent.

A survey carried out for the European Commission last year found that the most widely spoken foreign language is English, spoken by 38 per cent of adults, followed by French and German.