German is the second most widely spoken language in the European Union with over 120 million speakers worldwide. German is among the ten most commonly spoken languages in the world. It is also a lingua franca of Central and Eastern Europe.
German is the official language of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Luxembourg, and Liechtenstein.
German is the 3rd most popular language taught worldwide.
Sigmund Freud, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Karl Marx wrote in German, as did Immanuel Kant, the Brothers Grimm, Franz Kafka, and Hannah Arendt, among many others.
114 Nobel Prizes and counting! Nobel Prizes in Physics, Chemistry, and in Medicine have gone to scientists from the three major German-speaking countries, while many laureates from other countries received their training in German universities. Nobel Prizes in Literature have also been awarded to German-language writers, and 7 Germans and Austrians have received the Peace Prize.
Germany has the 3rd strongest economy in the world. The German economy ranks number one in Europe. Its economy is comparable to that of all the world’s Spanish-speaking countries combined.
Germany is the #1 exporting nation in the world.
Germany is the major force behind the European Union.
There are more than 1,100 companies in German-speaking countries that have subsidiaries in the United States. These companies account for 700,000 jobs in the USA.
German is the 2nd most commonly used scientific language.
Classical music today would not be the same if it were not for German speaking composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, and Wagner, to name a few.
German is the 2nd most commonly used language for scholarly publications in the world.
Over 2,000 scholarships and grants are awarded to US students each year to help them study abroad in Germany.
German Americans make up the single largest heritage group reported in the US (approximately 15%).
The German-speaking world has produced some of the most revered filmmakers of the 20th century – from Fritz Lang to Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Wim Wenders and a generation of transnational directors such as Tom Tykwer and Fatih Akin. German and Austrian filmmakers such as Lang, Billy Wilder and Ernst Lubitsch also shaped the history of Hollywood.
