German is an official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg. German also plays an important role as a foreign language in many countries, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe. Almost 20 million students are learning German worldwide, and at least 50 million people have a good knowledge of German as a foreign language.
German is a major language of business and science. Economically, Germany is the most powerful country in Europe. At the same time, many German business companies have gone global in recent years – making German more and more an international business language.
