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 alphabet (36 languages) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 | Qazaqşa/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 | Northern Sámi | Nordsamisch | Davvisámegiella | – | 🇳🇴 | NO |
sk | Slovak | Slowakisch | Slovenčina | 🇪🇺 | 🇸🇰 | SK |
sl | Slovene | Slowenisch | Slovenščina | 🇪🇺 | 🇸🇮 | SI |
sq | Albanian | Albanisch | Shqip | – | 🇦🇱 🇲🇰 | AL, MK |
sr | Serbian | Serbisch | Srpski/Српски | – | 🇧🇦 🇷🇸 | BA, RS |
sv | Swedish | Schwedisch | Svenska | 🇪🇺 | 🇫🇮 🇸🇪 | FI, SE |
tr | Turkish | Türkisch | Türkçe | – | 🇨🇾 🇹🇷 | CY, TR |
Cyrillic alphabet (5 languages) | ||||||
be | Belarusian | Weißrussisch | Беларуская | – | 🇧🇾 | BY |
bg | Bulgarian | Bulgarisch | Български | 🇪🇺 | 🇧🇬 | BG |
mk | Macedonian | Mazedonisch | Македонски | – | 🇲🇰 | MK |
ru | Russian | Russisch | Русский | – | 🇧🇾 🇰🇿 🇷🇺 | BY, KZ, RU |
uk | Ukrainian | Ukrainisch | Українська | – | 🇺🇦 | UA |
Greek alphabet (1 language) | ||||||
el | Greek | Griechisch | Ελληνικά | 🇪🇺 | 🇨🇾 🇬🇷 | CY, GR |
Armenian alphabet (1 language) | ||||||
hy | Armenian | Armenisch | Հայերեն | – | 🇦🇲 | AM |
Georgian alphabet (1 language) | ||||||
ka | Georgian | Georgisch | ქართული | – | 🇬🇪 | GE |
The table lists 44 languages, 24 of which are official European Union languages.
Three of the languages (Montenegrin, Kazakh, Serbian) in the table above are routinely written in both Latin and Cyrillic script, with Kazakhstan planning to fully transition to the Latin alphabet by 2025. For the purposes of this website, they are listed under the Latin script.
The codes used in the table are the official ISO country (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) and language codes (ISO 639-1). Montenegrin does not have an offical ISO two-letter language code, which is why the three letter code is shown here (ISO 639-2). Like Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, it belongs to the Serbo-Croatian language. For an explanation of the country codes, please see country table below.
List of European alphabets
Latn | Latin | Lateinisch | 36 languages, including Montenegrin, Kazakh and Serbian which can also be written in the Cyrillic script |
Cyrl | Cyrillic | Kyrillisch | 7 languages, including Montenegrin, Kazakh and Serbian which can also be written in the Latin script |
Grek | Greek | Griechisch | 1 language |
Armn | Armenian | Armenisch | 1 language |
Geor | Georgian | Georgisch | 1 language |
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 | cnr | 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, Northern Sámi | Norwegisch, Nordsamisch |
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 table lists 50 countries, 27 of which are members of the European Union.
The codes used in the table are the official ISO country (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) and language codes (ISO 639-1). Montenegrin does not have an offical ISO two-letter language code, which is why the three letter code is shown here (ISO 639-2). Like Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, it belongs to the Serbo-Croatian language. For an explanation of the country codes, please see country table below.
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 formally recognised countries, break-away and disputed areas
In addition to the fully recognised countries in the table above, some regions in Europe have declared independence and statehood, have broken away, are occupied or otherwise not under control of the countries they formally belong to.
Country code | Flag | EU member | Country | Land | Language code(-s) | Official language(-s) | Amtssprache(-n) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
– | – | – | Abkhazia | Abchasien | ab, ru | Abkhaz, Russian | Abchasisch, Russisch |
– | – | – | Artsakh | Arzach | hy | Armenian | Armenisch |
– | – | – | Crimea | Krim | ru | Russian | Russisch |
– | – | – | Donetsk | Donezk | ru | Russian | Russisch |
XK | 🇽🇰 | – | Kosovo | Kosovo | sq, sr | Albanian, Serbian | Albanisch, Serbisch |
– | – | – | Luhansk | Lugansk | ru | Russian | Russisch |
– | – | – | Northern Cyprus | Nordzypern | tr | Turkish | Türkisch |
– | – | – | South Ossetia | Südossetien | os, ru, ka | Ossetian, Russian, Georgian | Ossetisch, Russisch, Georgisch |
– | – | – | Transnistria | Transnistrien | ru, ro, uk | Russian, Romanian/Moldovan, Ukrainian | Russisch, Rumänisch/Moldauisch, Ukrainisch |
– | – | – | UN buffer zone in Cyprus | UN-Pufferzone auf Zypern |
The codes used in the table are the official ISO country (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2) and language codes (ISO 639-1).
Of the ten disputed regions above, only South Ossetia (Ossetian, os, written in Cyrillic script) and Abkhazia (Abkhaz, ab, also written in Cyrillic script) would add new official languages to the current 44 official languages of Europe.
Side note on the not fully recognised countries:
- Abkhazia is a break-away region of Georgia. South of the ridge of the Caucasus mountains, so geographically part of Asia.
- Artsakh is a break-away region of Azerbaijan, culturally mostly associated with Armenia. Formerly called the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. South of the Caucasus mountains, so geographically part of Asia.
- Crimea is a Russian-occupied region of Ukraine, culturally mostly associated with Russia.
- Donetsk is a break-away region of Ukraine, culturally mostly associated with Russia.
- Kosovo is a break-away region of Serbia, culturally mostly associated with Albania.
- Luhansk is a break-away region of Ukraine, culturally mostly associated with Russia.
- Northern Cyprus is a Turkish-occupied region of Cyprus, culturally mostly associated with Turkey. Geographically part of Asia.
- South Ossetia is a break-away region of Georgia. South of the ridge of the Caucasus mountains, so geographically part of Asia.
- Transnistria is a break-away-region of Moldova, with a heterogenous culture mostly associated with Russia, Moldova and Ukraine.
- The UN buffer zone is a demilitarised zone in Cyprus along the border to Northern Cyprus. Geographically part of Asia.
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 organisations, 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 (ISO 639-2 and ISO 639-3) are also necessary.