Over the 48 countries in Europe, there are a huge range of languages spoken. The diverse continent is home to almost 750 million people over its 19.53 million square kilometres. Over 200 languages are spoken throughout the region, reflecting its rich cultural heritage.
In each country, the second most spoken language, after the official one, varies significantly. English stands out as the most common second language, being spoken by a significant portion of residents in 21 of the 48 nations. Other frequently mentioned second languages include French, Russian, and Hungarian. Across the continent, 15 distinct languages were identified as the second most popular, including official languages like Catalan, Belarusian and Gaeilge.
The second most common language after the official language in each country:
1. Albania (official language: Albanian) – English 40%
2. Andorra (official language: Catalan) – Spanish 48%
3. Armenia (official language: Armenian) – Russian 94%
4. Austria (official language: German) – English 73%
5. Azerbaijan (official language: Azerbaijani) – Russian, English
6. Belarus (official languages: Belarusian, Russian) – English
7. Bosnia and Herzegovina (official languages: Bosnian, Croatia, Serbian) – no documentation
8. Bulgaria (official language: Bulgarian) – Turkish 9%
9. Croatia (official language: Croatian) – English 49%
10. Cyprus (official languages: Greek, Turkish) – English 79%
11. Czech Republic (official language: Czech) – no documentation
12. Denmark (official language: Danish) – English 86%
13. Estonia (official language: Estonian) – Russian 56%
14. Finland (official languages: Finnish, Swedish) – English 70%
15. France (official language: French) – Arabic 49%
16. Germany (official language: German) – English 56%
17. Greece (official language: Greek) – English 51%
18. Hungary (official language: Hungarian) – English 40%
19. Iceland (official language: Icelandic) – English 98%
20. Ireland (official languages: Irish (Gaeilge), English) – French 20%
21. Italy (official language: Italian) – English 35%
22. Kazakhstan (official languages: Kazakh, Russian) – no documentation
23. Latvia (official language: Latvian) – no documentation
24. Liechtenstein (official language: German) – Italian 2%
25. Lithuania (official language: Lithuanian) – Russian 44%
26. Luxembourg (official language: Luxembourgish) – French 86%
27. Malta (official language: Maltese) – English 88%
28. Moldova (official language: Moldovan) – Romanian 75.8%
29. Monaco (official language: French) – Ligurian 17%
30. Montenegro (official language: Serbian) – Montenegrin 77%
31. Netherlands (official language: Dutch) – English 93%
32. North Macedonia (official language: Macedonian) – Albanian 24%
33. Norway (official languages: Norwegian, Sami) – English 88%
34. Poland (official language: Polish) – English 32%
35. Portugal (official language: Portuguese) – English 27%
36. Romania (official language: Romanian) – Hungarian 6%
37. Russia (official language: Russian) – English 80%
38. San Marino (official language: Italian) – Sammarinese 83%
39. Serbia (official language: Serbian) – Hungarian 4%
40. Slovakia (official language: Slovak) – Hungarian 9.4%
41. Slovenia (official language: Slovenian) – Croatian 37%
42. Spain (official language: Spanish) – Catalan 22%
43. Sweden (official language: Swedish) – English 89%
44. Switzerland (official language: German) – French 23%
45. Turkey (official language: Turkish) – English 17%
46. United Kingdom (official language: English) – French 23%
47. Ukraine (official language: Ukrainian) – Russian 34%
48. Vatican City (official language: Italian) – no documentation
Information from national censuses and surveys.