This page lists all main European languages. For the purposes of this website, main European languages are defined as all offical languages of the European countries. Official languages typically have a nation-wide legal status. In addition to the official languages, other regional and minority languages exist.
Offical languages of Europe
Latin-based alphabet | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
az | Azerbaijani | Aserbaidschanisch | Azərbaycanca | – | 🇦🇿 | AZ |
bs | Bosnian | Bosnisch | Bosanski | – | 🇧🇦 | BA |
ca | Catalan | Katalanisch | Català | – | 🇦🇩 | AD |
cnr | Montenegrin | Montenegrinisch | Crnogorski/Црногорски | – | 🇲🇪 | ME |
cs | Czech | Tschechisch | Čeština | 🇪🇺 | 🇨🇿 | CZ |
da | Danish | Dänisch | Dansk | 🇪🇺 | 🇩🇰 | DK |
de | German | Deutsch | Deutsch | 🇪🇺 | 🇦🇹 🇧🇪 🇨🇭 🇩🇪 🇱🇮 🇱🇺 | AT, BE, CH, DE, LI, LU |
en | English | Englisch | English | 🇪🇺 | 🇬🇧 🇮🇪 🇲🇹 | GB, IE, MT |
es | Spanish | Spanisch | Español | 🇪🇺 | 🇪🇸 | ES |
et | Estonian | Estnisch | Eesti | 🇪🇺 | 🇪🇪 | EE |
fi | Finnish | Finnisch | Suomi | 🇪🇺 | 🇫🇮 | FI |
fr | French | Französisch | Français | 🇪🇺 | 🇧🇪 🇨🇭 🇲🇨 🇫🇷 🇱🇺 | BE, CH, MC, FR, LU |
ga | Irish | Irisch | Gaeilge | 🇪🇺 | 🇮🇪 | IE |
hr | Croatian | Kroatisch | Hrvatski | 🇪🇺 | 🇧🇦 🇭🇷 | BA, HR |
hu | Hungarian | Ungarisch | Magyar | 🇪🇺 | 🇭🇺 | HU |
is | Icelandic | Isländisch | Íslenska | – | 🇮🇸 | IS |
it | Italian | Italienisch | Italiano | 🇪🇺 | 🇨🇭 🇮🇹 🇸🇲 🇻🇦 | CH, IT, SM, VA |
kk | Kazakh | Kasachisch | Qazaqsha(?)/Қазақша | – | 🇰🇿 | KZ |
la | Latin | Latein | Latina | – | 🇻🇦 | VA |
lb | Luxembourgish | Luxemburgisch | Lëtzebuergesch | – | 🇱🇺 | LU |
lt | Lithuanian | Litauisch | Lietuvių | 🇪🇺 | 🇱🇹 | LZ |
lv | Latvian | Lettisch | Latviešu | 🇪🇺 | 🇱🇻 | LV |
mt | Maltese | Maltesisch | Malti | 🇪🇺 | 🇲🇹 | MZ |
nl | Dutch | Niederländisch | Nederlands | 🇪🇺 | 🇧🇪 🇳🇱 | BE, NL |
no | Norwegian | Norwegisch | Norsk | – | 🇳🇴 | NO |
pl | Polish | Polnisch | Polski | 🇪🇺 | 🇵🇱 | PL |
pt | Portuguese | Portugiesisch | Português | 🇪🇺 | 🇵🇹 | PT |
rm | Romansh | Rätoromanisch | Rumantsch | – | 🇨🇭 | CH |
ro | Romanian/Moldovan | Rumänisch/Moldauisch | Română | 🇪🇺 | 🇲🇩 🇷🇴 | MD, RO |
se | Sámi | Samisch | Davvisámegiella | – | 🇳🇴 | NO |
sk | Slovak | Slowakisch | Slovenčina | 🇪🇺 | 🇸🇰 | SK |
sl | Slovene | Slowenisch | Slovenščina | 🇪🇺 | 🇸🇮 | SI |
sq | Albanian | Albanisch | Shqip | – | 🇦🇱 🇲🇰 | AL, MK |
sv | Swedish | Schwedisch | Svenska | 🇪🇺 | 🇫🇮 🇸🇪 | FI, SE |
tr | Turkish | Türkisch | Türkçe | – | 🇨🇾 🇹🇷 | CY, TR |
Cyrillic alphabet | ||||||
be | Belarusian | Weißrussisch | Беларуская | – | 🇧🇾 | BY |
bg | Bulgarian | Bulgarisch | Български | 🇪🇺 | 🇧🇬 | BG |
mk | Macedonian | Mazedonisch | Македонски | – | 🇲🇰 | MK |
ru | Russian | Russisch | Русский | – | 🇧🇾 🇰🇿 🇷🇺 | BY, KZ, RU |
sr | Serbian | Serbisch | Српски/Srpski | – | 🇧🇦 🇷🇸 | BA, RS |
uk | Ukrainian | Ukrainisch | Українська | – | 🇺🇦 | UA |
Greek alphabet | ||||||
el | Greek | Griechisch | Ελληνικά | 🇪🇺 | 🇨🇾 🇬🇷 | CY, GR |
Armenian alphabet | ||||||
hy | Armenian | Armenisch | Հայերեն | – | 🇦🇲 | AM |
Georgian alphabet | ||||||
ka | Georgian | Georgisch | ქართული | – | 🇬🇪 | GE |
The codes used in the table are the official ISO country codes (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) and language codes (ISO 639-1). For an explanation of the country codes, please see country table below.
The table lists 44 languages, 24 of which are official European Union languages.
Comments
Three of the languages above are routinely written in more than script.
- Kazakh is written in either Latin or Cyrillic script. The country of Kazakhstan has decided to fully transition to the Latin alphabet by 2025.
- Serbian is written in either Latin or Cyrillic script.
- Montenegrin is written in either Latin or Cyrillic script.
- Montenegrin does not have an offical ISO two letter (ISO 639-1 alpha 2) language code, which is why the three letter code is shown here (ISO 639-1 alpha 3). Like Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, it belongs to the Serbo-Croatian language.
List of European alphabets
This section is work in progress
Latn Latin Lateinisch 36 Cyrl Cyrillic Kyrillisch 7 Grek Greek Griechisch 1 Armn Armenian Armenisch 1 Geor Georgian Georgisch 1 Serbian and Montenegrin are counted twice (Latin/Cyrillic), Kazakh is included in the Latin count.List of all European countries
Country code | Flag | EU member | Country | Land | Language code(-s) | Official language(-s) | Amtssprache(-n) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
AD | 🇦🇩 | – | Andorra | Andorra | ca | Catalan | Katalanisch |
AL | 🇦🇱 | – | Albania | Albanien | sq | Albanian | Albanisch |
AM | 🇦🇲 | – | Armenia | Armenien | hy | Armenian | Armenisch |
AT | 🇦🇹 | 🇪🇺 | Austria | Österreich | de | German | Deutsch |
AZ | 🇦🇿 | – | Azerbaijan | Aserbaidschan | az | Azerbaijani | Aserbaidschanisch |
BA | 🇧🇦 | – | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bosnien und Herzegowina | bs, sr, hr | Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian | Bosnisch, Serbisch, Kroatisch |
BE | 🇧🇪 | 🇪🇺 | Belgium | Belgien | nl, fr, de | Dutch, French, German | Niederländisch, Französisch, Deutsch |
BG | 🇧🇬 | 🇪🇺 | Bulgaria | Bulgarien | bg | Bulgarian | Bulgarisch |
BY | 🇧🇾 | – | Belarus | Weißrussland | be, ru | Belarusian, Russian | Weißrussisch, Russisch |
CH | 🇨🇭 | – | Switzerland | Schweiz | de, fr, it, rm | German, French, Italian, Romansh | Deutsch, Französisch, Italienisch, Rätoromanisch |
CY | 🇨🇾 | 🇪🇺 | Cyprus | Zypern | el, tr | Greek, Turkish | Griechisch, Türkisch |
CZ | 🇨🇿 | 🇪🇺 | Czechia | Tschechien | cs | Czech | Tschechisch |
DE | 🇩🇪 | 🇪🇺 | Germany | Deutschland | de | German | Deutsch |
DK | 🇩🇰 | 🇪🇺 | Denmark | Dänemark | da | Danish | Dänisch |
EE | 🇪🇪 | 🇪🇺 | Estonia | Estland | et | Estonian | Estnisch |
ES | 🇪🇸 | 🇪🇺 | Spain | Spanien | es | Spanish | Spanisch |
FI | 🇫🇮 | 🇪🇺 | Finland | Finnland | fi, sv | Finnish, Swedish | Finnisch, Schwedisch |
FR | 🇫🇷 | 🇪🇺 | France | Frankreich | fr | French | Französisch |
GB | 🇬🇧 | – | United Kingdom | Großbritannien | en | English | Englisch |
GE | 🇬🇪 | – | Georgia | Georgien | ka | Georgian | Georgisch |
GR | 🇬🇷 | 🇪🇺 | Greece | Griechenland | el | Greek | Griechisch |
HR | 🇭🇷 | 🇪🇺 | Croatia | Kroatien | hr | Croatian | Kroatisch |
HU | 🇭🇺 | 🇪🇺 | Hungary | Ungarn | hu | Hungarian | Ungarisch |
IE | 🇮🇪 | 🇪🇺 | Ireland | Irland | ga, en | Irish, English | Irisch, Englisch |
IS | 🇮🇸 | – | Iceland | Island | is | Icelandic | Isländisch |
IT | 🇮🇹 | 🇪🇺 | Italy | Italien | it | Italian | Italienisch |
KZ | 🇰🇿 | – | Kazakhstan | Kasachstan | kk, ru | Kazakh, Russian | Kasachisch, Russisch |
LI | 🇱🇮 | – | Liechtenstein | Liechtenstein | de | German | Deutsch |
LT | 🇱🇹 | 🇪🇺 | Lithuania | Litauen | lt | Lithuanian | Litauisch |
LU | 🇱🇺 | 🇪🇺 | Luxembourg | Luxemburg | lb, fr, de | Luxembourgish, French, German | Luxemburgisch, Französisch, Deutsch |
LV | 🇱🇻 | 🇪🇺 | Latvia | Lettland | lv | Latvian | Lettisch |
MC | 🇲🇨 | – | Monaco | Monaco | fr | French | Französisch |
MD | 🇲🇩 | – | Moldova | Moldawien | ro | Romanian/Moldovan | Rumänisch/Moldauisch |
ME | 🇲🇪 | – | Montenegro | Montenegro | – | Montenegrin | Montenegrinisch |
MK | 🇲🇰 | – | North Macedonia | Nordmazedonien | mk, sq | Macedonian, Albanian | Mazedonisch, Albanisch |
MT | 🇲🇹 | 🇪🇺 | Malta | Malta | mt, en | Maltese, English | Maltesisch, Englisch |
NL | 🇳🇱 | 🇪🇺 | Netherlands | Niederlande | nl | Dutch | Niederländisch |
NO | 🇳🇴 | – | Norway | Norwegen | no, se | Norwegian, Sámi | Norwegisch, Samisch |
PL | 🇵🇱 | 🇪🇺 | Poland | Polen | pl | Polish | Polnisch |
PT | 🇵🇹 | 🇪🇺 | Portugal | Portugal | pt | Portuguese | Portugiesisch |
RO | 🇷🇴 | 🇪🇺 | Romania | Rumänien | ro | Romanian | Rumänisch |
RS | 🇷🇸 | – | Serbia | Serbien | sr | Serbian | Serbisch |
RU | 🇷🇺 | – | Russia | Russland | ru | Russian | Russisch |
SE | 🇸🇪 | 🇪🇺 | Sweden | Schweden | sv | Swedish | Schwedisch |
SI | 🇸🇮 | 🇪🇺 | Slovenia | Slowenien | sl | Slovene | Slowenisch |
SK | 🇸🇰 | 🇪🇺 | Slovakia | Slowakei | sk | Slovak | Slowakisch |
SM | 🇸🇲 | – | San Marino | San Marino | it | Italian | Italienisch |
TR | 🇹🇷 | – | Turkey | Türkei | tr | Turkish | Türkisch |
UA | 🇺🇦 | – | Ukraine | Ukraine | uk | Ukrainian | Ukrainisch |
VA | 🇻🇦 | – | Vatican City | Vatikan | it, la | Italian, Latin | Italienisch, Latein |
The codes used in the table are the official ISO country codes (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) and language codes (ISO 639-1).
The table lists 50 countries, 27 of which are members of the European Union.
Comments on countries listed in the table above
The above table is pretty comprehensive; it also includes countries that have only part of their landmass in Europe or are even geographically outside of Europe, but are considered culturally associated.
Geographically, Europe is considered the westernmost part of the Eurasian continent, separated from Asia by the ridges of the Ural mountains, the Ural river, the Caspian Sea, the ridges of the Caucasus mountains, the Black Sea, the Bosporus and the Aegean See.
Countries with their main landmass stretching two continents (Europe and Asia):
- Russia: Only the area west of the Ural mountains (about 23 % the total area) is part of Europe geographically, the rest is in Asia.
- Turkey: Only the small area west of the Bosporus (about 3 % the total area) is part of Europe geographically, the rest is in Asia.
- Kazakhstan: Only the small area west of the Ural river (about 5 % the total area) is part of Europe geographically, the rest is in Asia.
- Georgia: Only the very small part of the country north of the ridge of the Caucasus mountains is part of Europe geographically, the rest is in Asia.
- Azerbaijan: Only the small part of the country north of the ridge of the Caucasus mountains is part of Europe geographically, the rest is in Asia.
Countries that are geographically close to Europe and culturally associated:
- Cyprus: Geographically in Asia, however culturally associated with Europe.
- Armenia: Geographically in Asia, however sometimes culturally associated with Europe.
Not fully formally recognised countries
In addition to the formally recognised countries in the table above, six regions in Europe have declared independence and statehood.
Country code | Flag | EU member | Country | Land | Language code(-s) | Official language(-s) | Amtssprache(-n) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | 🇽🇰 | – | Kosovo | Kosovo | sq, sr | Albanian, Serbian | Albanisch, Serbisch |
– | – | – | North Cyprus | Nordzypern | tr | Turkish | Türkisch |
– | – | – | Transnistria | Transnistrien | ru, ro, uk | Russian, Romanian/Moldovan, Ukrainian | Russisch, Rumänisch/Moldauisch, Ukrainisch |
– | – | – | Artsakh | Arzach | hy | Armenian | Armenisch |
– | – | – | South Ossetia | Südossetien | os, ru, ka | Ossetian, Russian, Georgian | Ossetisch, Russisch, Georgisch |
– | – | – | Abkhazia | Abchasien | ab, ru | Abkhaz, Russian | Abchasisch, Russisch |
The codes used in the table are the official ISO country codes (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) and language codes (ISO 639-1).
Of the six disputed regions above, only South Ossetian (Ossetian, os) and Abkhazia (Ankhaz, ab) would add new official languages to the current 44 official languages of Europe.
Countries that are geographically close to Europe and culturally associated:
- North Cyprus: Geographically in Asia, however culturally associated with Europe.
- Artsakh: Geographically in Asia, however sometimes culturally associated with Europe.
- South Ossetia: Geographically in Asia, just south of the ridge of the Caucasus mountains, however sometimes culturally associated with Europe.
- Abkhazia: Geographically in Asia, just south of the ridge of the Caucasus mountains, however sometimes culturally associated with Europe.
Side note on the not fully recognised countries:
- Kosovo is a break-away region of Serbia, culturally mostly associated with Albania.
- Transnistria is a break-away-region of Moldova, with a heterogenous culture mostly associated with Russia, Moldova and Ukraine.
- North Cyprus is a Turkish-occupied region of Cyprus, culturally mostly associated with Turkey.
- Artsak is a break-away region of Azerbaijan, culturally mostly associated with Armenia.
- South Ossetia is a break-away region of Georgia.
- Abkhazia is a break-away region of Georgia.
- Other areas in Europe currently in hot dispute are the Crimea, the Donetsk region and the Luhansk region, all three formally part of Ukraine while culturally mostly associated with Russia.
Notes on ISO codes for countries, languages and scripts
Countries
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) keeps a list of country codes. The standard, called ISO 3166, contains several parts, of which ISO 3166-1 is the main part, providing the actual country codes. The other two parts, (ISO 3166-1 and ISO 3166-3) deal with codes for country subdivisions, and formerly used names of countries.
ISO 3166-1 defines three codes for each country, a two-letter code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2), a three letter code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-3) and a numeric code (ISO 3166-1 numeric). The most widely used set of codes are the two-letter codes, as shown in the tables on this web page.
With the worldwide spread of the Internet, increased standardisation of data processing and rise of globalisation, the ISO two-letter country codes have become more and more widely used. They are the basis for many other standards, for example country code top-level Internet domains or Unicode country flag emojis.
Unfortunately, some organisations have yet not fully adapted to this worldwide and simple standard, adding to complexity and misunderstandings by using slightly or entirely different codes, be it for historical reasons, inflexibility or simply ignorance and arrogance. Examples are country codes within sports organsisations, such as the International Olympic Committee, International Federation of Association Football, Union of European Football Association, or even the United Nations with their quaint vehicle codes. Hopefully, the future will see even further standardisation here to continue making our lives easier.
Languages
Similar to the list of country codes, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) maintains codes for languages. The standard, called ISO 639, also contains several parts. Individual languages are listed in ISO 639-1, ISO 639-2 and ISO 693-3, whereas ISO 639-5 lists language families and groups. ISO 639-1, also called alpha-2 code, lists the most widely used two-letter languages codes as shown in the tables on this web page. However, two-letter codes using the 26 letter of the basic Latin alphabet are restricted to only 676 entries, and that’s why three-letter codes are also necessary.