101 Million people speak German worldwide. In the European Community (EU) 24% of the population call German their mother tongue which is the highest number in EU land. German is the official language of Germany, Austria, and Liechtenstein. It’s also one of four official languages in Switzerland, and one of three commonly used in Luxembourg. The German language occupies the second place in the Internet in proportion of web pages available on the net and languages used in search engines.
What does that all mean to Australia and Australians? Germany is Australia’s biggest trading partner in Europe, after the UK and 10th largest worldwide. Australia exports mainly coal, ores, wool and food. Germany exports mainly motor vehicles and vehicle parts, machinery, plastic, paper and pharmaceutical products. Over 300 subdivisions of German firms, with a total of approximately 650 places of business, are operating in Australia. They include the two largest Australian construction companies. Bilfinger-Berger is involved in a number of important infrastructure projects in Australia through Baulderstone Hornibrook, as is Hochtief via its stakes in Leigthon Holdings Ltd. and Thiess Pty. Ltd
Study and research exchange between the two countries flourishes. There is intensive cooperation between Australian academics and scientists with their German counterparts. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) runs an information centre in Sydney for those interested in studying or aspiring to research in Germany. www.daad.de
Working Visa programs between Australia and Germany ensure the continuation of the long established links between the two countries on a social level. Young Australians between 18 and 30 years of age have the opportunity to get an insight into daily life and culture at the same time as earning money to do so. The Visa is valid for 12 month and can be applied for at the German Embassy in Australia:  http://www.canberra.diplo.de/
In Melbourne you can contact the German Consulate in 480 Punt Road, South Yarra, Vic. 3141, Tel: 9864 6888. http://www.melbourne.diplo.de, E mail info@melbourne.diplo.de .
There are of course many many more reasons to learn German and I'll cover these in future blogs. In the mean time should you wish to know more about Germany or would like to learn German, feel welcome to contact me.
Here some statistics:
Number of speakers and percentage of the world population
Language
number of speakers
% of world population
Chinese
1,210 m
23.6
English
573m
11.3
Hindi
418 m
8.2
Spanish
352 m
6.9
Russian
242 m
4.7
Arabic
209 m
4.1
Bengali
196 m
3.8
Portuguese
182 m
3.5
Indonesian
175 m
3.3
French
131 m
2.5
Japanese
125 m
2.4
German
101 m
2.1
from Haarmann, Harald: Kleines Lexikon der Sprachen
The eleven official languages of the EU are spoken by the following percentages of the population of the EU (as their mother tongue).
Language
% of the EU population
German
24
French
16
English
16
Italian
16
Spanish
11
Dutch
6
Greek
3
Portuguese
3
Swedish
2
Danish
1
Finnish
1
from Eurostat, Statistical Office of the European Communities in Luxembourg - 16.02.2004
Languages used in search engines (here Google)
English
57%
German
12%
Japanese
7%
Spanish
6%
French
5%
Chinese
3%
from Google Zeitgeist- search patterns, trends and surprises
