Brussels: Europe and the Arabs

Knowing more than one language is an advantage, not only for broadening one's perspective by looking at another culture, but also creating future opportunities in the workplace. For this skill, schools and educational institutions are one of the first language playgrounds.

In 2022, 6.5% of primary school pupils in the European Union were learning two or more foreign languages.
Luxembourg was the only EU country where the majority of primary school pupils (79.6%) were learning two or more foreign languages, which is significantly higher than the rest of the countries. It was followed by Latvia (37.2%), Greece (34.9%) and Estonia (33.6%).

Between 2013 and 2022, the share of primary school pupils in the EU learning at least two foreign languages ​​rose from 4.6% to 6.5%. The data shows that in 18 EU countries, the shares increased, albeit modestly. The highest increases were recorded in Latvia (+22.3 percentage points), Finland (+14.9 percentage points), Spain (+9.2 percentage points) and Greece (+9.0 percentage points), while the remaining countries did not exceed 4.7 percentage points.

Among the nine EU countries where the share decreased, Poland (-6.8 percentage points) and Luxembourg (-4.2 percentage points) recorded the largest decreases.
Three-fifths of lower secondary school pupils in the EU study two or more languages
In lower secondary school, in 2022, 60.7% of pupils were learning two or more foreign languages.
In Finland, this figure reached 98.0% of pupils, the highest share among EU countries. Italy, Greece, Malta, Estonia, Romania, Luxembourg and Portugal also recorded high shares, ranging from 96.6% to 92.9%. The lowest rates were observed in Ireland (6.1%), Hungary (6.6%) and Austria (7.7%).
Compared to 2013, the share of lower secondary school pupils in the EU learning at least two foreign languages ​​rose to 60.7% in 2022, from 58.4%.
This share increased in 11 EU countries, with the Czech Republic (+24.1 percentage points), France (+21.8 percentage points) and Belgium (+18.5 percentage points) recording the largest increases. On the other hand, in 16 EU countries, the share of lower secondary school pupils learning at least two foreign languages ​​has declined, with decreases ranging from -31.8 percentage points in Slovenia, -31.7 percentage points in Poland, -26.9 percentage points in Slovakia, -0.3 percentage points in Finland, -0.9 percentage points in Malta, and -1.1 percentage points in both Estonia and Romania.

Percentage of pupils in upper secondary education learning two or more foreign languages, %, 2013-2022. Chart. See the link to the full dataset below.
The figures were published on the occasion of the European Day of Languages, this year under the theme "Languages ​​for Peace", according to a statement by Eurostat, the European statistical office in Brussels.