Language (EU Countries) As a Mother Tongue
(% of EU Population) As a language other
than Mother Tongue
(% of EU Population) Can speak the Language
(% of EU Population)
English 13% 38% 51%
German 18% 14% 32%
French 12% 14% 26%
Italian 13% 3% 16%
Spanish 9% 6% 15%
Polish 9% 1% 10%
Dutch 5% 1% 6%
Russian n/a 1% 6% 7%
Swedish 2% 1% 3%
Greek 3% 0% 3%
Czech 2% 1% 3%
Portuguese 2% 0% 2%
Hungarian 2% 0% 2%
Slovak 1% 1% 2%
Catalan 1% 1% 2%

Here is some more statistics

Country
(EU27) English
as a language
other than
mother tongue German
as a language
other than
mother tongue French
as a language
other than
mother tongue Spanish
as a language
other than
mother tongue
Austria 58% 4% 10% 4%
Belgium 59% 27% 48% 27%
Bulgaria 23% 12% 9% 1%
Cyprus 76% 5% 12% 2%
Czech Republic 24% 28% 2% 1%
Denmark 86% 58% 12% 3%
Estonia 46% 22% 1% 1%
Finland 63% 18% 3% 2%
France 36% 8% 6% 32%
Germany 56% 9% 15% 17%
Greece 48% 9% 8% 4%
Hungary 23% 25% 2% 1%
Ireland 5% 7% 20% 6%
Italy 29% 5% 14% 23%
Latvia 32% 14% 2% 2%
Lithuania 39% 19% 1% 1%
Luxembourg 60% 88% 90% 30%
Malta 88% 3% 17% 3%
Netherlands 87% 70% 29% 17%
Poland 29% 20% 3% 7%
Portugal 32% 3% 24% 62%
Romania 29% 6% 24% 8%
Slovakia 32% 32% 2% 1%
Slovenia 57% 50% 4% 2%
Spain 27% 2% 12% 9%
Sweden 89% 30% 11% 11%
United Kingdom 7% 9% 23% 12%
Candidate countries:
Croatia 49% 34% 4% 1%
Turkey 17% 4% 1% 8%

wow, are there really that many germans?!?!?!?! kinda scary....