The 2024 Duolingo Language Report presents language trends and learner behaviors based on data from millions of Duolingo learners around the globe.

Duolingo is the world's most downloaded education app, and offers over 100 courses in 40+ languages. As a result, Duolingo data offers insights into what languages learners worldwide want to study and how their interests change over time and geography. You can read about past trends in their 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 reports.

2024 Highlights 

English learning expands across the globe

In 2024, English was again the most popular language studied around the world. It earned the #1 spot in more countries than ever before—135—up more than 10% compared to last year. English maintained its #1 ranking in every country where it was #1 in 2023, and it moved from second place to first in seven countries (Albania, Eritrea, Iran, Malaysia, Monaco, Mongolia, and Rwanda). It also rose at least two spots to reach first place in six others (Croatia, Ethiopia, Kiribati, Malawi, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka).

East Asian languages shuffle in a re-ranking of most popular to study

Since at least 2020, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese have been among the top 10 languages studied globally, but their rankings are still in flux. Last year, Korean ousted Italian for the #6 spot, but in 2024, Italian returned to sixth place, pushing Korean down to #7. On the other hand, Chinese moved up from 9th to 8th place this year, and Japanese has remained steady in fifth place since 2021.

Japan gets (more) serious about language learning

There's been a shake-up of the countries with the most serious learners, based on average time spent learning. In 2024, Japan overtook Belarus for the #1 spot, Belarus dropped to #4, and Hungary stayed studious in the #3 spot. Germany rose in the rankings and now occupies the fifth position. Japan, Czechia, and Hungary also top the list for countries with the most serious English learners.

Finland returns to the top of the polyglot list

Among countries with the most learners studying three or more languages on Duolingo, Finland, Germany, and the U.K. have been vying for the #1 position. This year, Finland reclaimed first place, the U.K. held steady at #2, Estonia edged up to #3, and Germany dropped to #4. Australia rounds out the list at #5.

For some, learning a language is all fun and games

While English learners tend to have serious goals, many learners around the world study language for extracurricular and entertainment value. For example, in China, the second most popular language to study is Japanese, and 32% of learners say they are studying it just for fun. Similarly, 29% of Japanese learners are studying Korean—the country's second most popular language—for fun. In Argentina, learners' instead have vacation on the brain: In 2024 and for the first time, Portuguese ousted Italian for the #2 spot, and travel (22%) is the most popular reason for studying the language of their neighbors in Brazil.

The Chartered Institute ot Linguists works with Duolingo to promote language learning and wider appreciation of the Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR).