This is not surprising, since Germany's 83 million inhabitants make it the most populous European nation. It is also an official language of Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein. And it is the mother tongue of a significant part of the population of northern Italy, eastern Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, eastern France, parts of Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and Romania, as well as in other parts of Europe.
While learning German can connect 120 million native speakers around the world, keep in mind that many people also learn German as a second language. It is the third most popular foreign language taught in the world and the second most popular in Europe and Japan, after English.
