In the US and UK, Spanish is far more searched than other languages. In the US, the top language learning searches in 2023 included Spanish, English (for learners), Japanese and then German — indicating Germans are among the common follow‑ups but not the most popular.

In the UK and Canada, French and Spanish dominated, with German further down the list. The analysis also showed that while German is not top‑rank in overall searches, there is notable content and search engagement, e.g., TikTok content for #learngerman received 52 million views — which suggests niche but meaningful interest. 

From a recent summary of the Deutsch als Fremdsprache weltweit data, the top countries by number of German learners in 2025 include:

• United Kingdom: ~1,168,380 learners
• United States: ~ 421,735 learners
   

Note: UK and USA are the two largest English-dominant countries on that list. Source: IamExpat in Germany. Combining those two gives roughly ~1.59 million German learners in the UK and USA combined.

There are also other predominantly English-speaking countries where German is taught in schools/universities (e.g., Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand). These countries aren’t always individually listed in published rankings because their numbers are smaller compared with large European or Asian countries but based on typical patterns from past editions of the survey, they likely add a few hundred thousand learners collectively.

Estimate for 2025: Approximately 1.7 – 2.0 million people are learning German in major English-speaking countries worldwide. This means in context:

• That estimate represents roughly 11–13 % of the global total of ~15.4 million German learners.
• Most of these are in formal education programs (schools and universities). 
• This doesn’t include self-taught learners using apps, online lessons, or informal study.
• It doesn’t account for bilingual communities where English isn’t the only language but is widely used (e.g., Singapore, India).
• Data availability varies by country and survey year and complete breakdowns aren’t always published.
• Source: Auswärtiges Amt (German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

These numbers also don’t account for readers who are generally interested in languages, in other cultures and/or in Germany.