In the EU in 2012, English was still the most commonly studied foreign language at lower secondary level, with 97.1 percent of pupils learning it, far ahead of French (34.1 percent), German (22.1 percent) and Spanish (12.2 percent).
The importance of English as a foreign language in the EU is also confirmed by its leadership in nearly all 28 EU Member States, reported Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, on the occasion of the European Day of Languages, celebrated each year on 26 September There are 24 official languages recognised within the EU. In addition there are indigenous regional, minority languages and languages that have been brought into the EU by migrant populations.
The proportions of pupils at lower secondary level studying English, French, German or Spanish as a foreign language have each increased between 2005 and 2012 at the EU level, it noted.