Most EU students learn two foreign languages

60% of students in upper secondary education study two or more foreign languages, according to figures published last week by EU statistical office Eurostat.

6%, however, do not learn any foreign language at all, the data revealed, while a third of students only learn one.

As for the language skills of the EU population as a whole, just under a third (28%) of 25-64 year olds surveyed said they spoke two or more foreign languages, but 36% could not speak any.

Slovenia (72%), Slovakia and Finland (both 68%) and Lithuania (66%) record the highest proportion of speakers of two or more foreign languages, while the UK (65%), Cyprus (59%) and Austria (50%) lead those nations whose citizens speak one.

However, three quarters of Hungarians, half (51%) of Portuguese and 47% of Spaniards speak only their native language.