Which languages do people speak at home in Germany?

Figures released by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) show the percentage of households in Germany that speak German at home, another language, or a mixture of both.

Who speaks German at home in Germany?

After spending the day uttering “Entschuldigungs”, booking Termine per Handy and racking your brain for the correct adjective ending, what language do you speak when you come through the front door? 

The latest figures from Destatis show that in 77 percent of households in Germany, German is the most common language spoken at home. If members of a household speak German and another language, German is the dominant language in 5 percent of households, and another language is dominant in 13 percent of households.

Given that 3 million people in Germany were either born in Turkey or have a recent migration connection to Turkey, unsurprisingly, other than German, Turkish is the most common language spoken at home in Germany. Of the 15,5 million people who predominantly speak another language at home in Germany, 14 percent speak Turkish, 12 percent speak Russian and 9 percent speak Arabic.

Some migrant households speak only German, others speak none

In most households with a “recent migration background”, meaning that at least one member immigrated to Germany since 1950, a mixture of German and another language is spoken.

However, in 22 percent of “recent migration background” households, members speak German exclusively. Only slightly less than in the 23 percent of “recent migration background” households where no German is spoken. In all households - those without and with a “recent migration background” - only 6 percent speak no German at home.