Germany: 15.5 Million People Do Not Speak German at Home

New data from the Federal Statistical Office has revealed that 15.5 million people in Germany do not speak German as their primary language at home. These figures, published for the International Day of the Mother Tongue, disclose the growing extent of linguistic parallel worlds.

While 77% of the total population continues to speak exclusively German at home, the statistics among migrants show a clear difference. Only 22% of people with an immigration history use German as their sole home language. More than half—55%—use German only as a supplement, while in 78% of these cases, a different language remains dominant. In total, 23% of migrants do not communicate in German at all within their own four walls.

The study highlights that Turkish is the most frequently spoken foreign language, followed by Russian and Arabic. 

Recently, German police in Nuremberg uncovered a large-scale fraud network targeting linguistic requirements. Suspects organized deputies to sit language and naturalization tests for applicants unable to pass them. These forged certificates, sold for up to €6,000, were used to secure residence permits and citizenship.