In this article, we will look at the 12 most profitable foreign languages to learn. We will also discuss the European economic outlook. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to the 5 Most Profitable Foreign Languages to Learn.
Economic Outlook of Europe
Most of our profitable foreign languages to learn belong to the European region. According to the Winter Interim Forecast Report 2024 by the European Commission, the economic activity in the euro area and the European Union expanded by only 0.5% in 2023. Moreover, the growth outlook 2024 has also been revised to 0.9% and 0.8% for the European Union and the euro area, respectively. However, the economic activity is expected to expand slightly in 2025 by 1.7% in the European Union and 1.5% in the euro area. The modest growth rate expectations for 2024 and 2025 are due to the slow economic rebound after the pandemic, a decline in household purchasing power, and the monetary tightening by the central banks. You can also look at the 30 Most Spoken Languages in the World in 2050 and 18 of the Easiest Languages for English Speakers to Learn.
Looking ahead, there's a silver lining as headline inflation is projected to decrease in both the European Union and the euro area. For the European Union, the report anticipates a decline from 6.3% in 2023 to 3% in 2024, while in the euro area, it's expected to come down from 5.4% to 2.7% for the same period. Other positive developments since the previous year include a decline in energy prices, modernization of price pressures, and a decline in retail energy. On March 7, Reuters reported that the eurozone central bank had revised down its inflation forecast for 2024, now anticipating a rate of 2.3%, compared to the 2.7% projection made three months ago. To read more about Europe, you can read 17 European Countries with the Highest Unemployment Ratesand 15 European Cities with the Best Public Transportation.
Key Players Leading the European Economy
Some of the players leading the European economy include TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE), Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN), and Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL). Let's discuss these companies in detail below.
TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets oil, gas, and energy products in Europe, North America, and internationally across 130 countries. On March 6, TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) announced an expansion in the Orange Basin with a new offshore exploration license. TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) and its partner QatarEnergies have agreed to acquire participating interests in block 3B/4B from Africa Oil, Azinam, and Ricocure. After this recent acquisition, TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) now has 33% participating interests, whereas QatarEnergies holds 24% rights in Block 3B/4B.
Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) is a leading multinational technology solutions provider based in Dublin, Ireland. On March 5, Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) launched Accenture LearnVantage, an AI-native learning platform that uses a recommendation engine to deliver personalized learning experiences for teams and businesses. The platform will not only provide a comprehensive technology learning experience for Accenture plc's (NYSE:ACN) clients but will also allow businesses to achieve greater business value through data-driven insights for learning across various industries. The company has also agreed to acquire Udacity, an American education platform, and will invest $1 billion in LearnVantage over the next 3 years.
Headquartered in London, England, Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) is a multinational oil and gas producing and exploring company. On February 1, Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) reported earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter of 2023. The company reported earnings per share of $2.22 and outperformed EPS estimates by $0.36. The company's revenue for the quarter amounted to $78.73 billion. Here are some comments from Shell plc's (NYSE:SHEL) Q4 2023 earnings call:
In 2023, we demonstrated our strong commitment to capital discipline by delivering at the lower end of our $23 billion to $27 billion range. In addition, we have already achieved $1 billion in structural cost reductions, well on our way to a reduction of $2 billion to $3 billion by 2025. This reduction is a first step, this is not a one-off change program. We are building the capability to continuously adapt to changes through the energy transition. The reductions will be staggered. The most significant contribution in the short term comes from focusing on where we play, which are essentially portfolio choices. And at the same time, we are emphasizing a bottom-up focus to create a leaner more agile organization that delivers more value. We are also leveraging new technologies such as artificial intelligence to improve the performance of our assets.
With this context, let’s look at the 12 most profitable foreign languages to learn.
12 Most Profitable Foreign Languages To Learn
Our Methodology
To compile the list of the 12 most profitable foreign languages to learn, we shortlisted languages from our article on the 15 Most Valuable Languages to Learn for International Business. We used our initial research which included the number of speakers and GDP of countries where the languages were officially spoken, and added two further dimensions to it. We considered the unemployment rates and the GDP per capita of countries where these languages are officially spoken. Our hypothesis is: a language spoken in a country with greater GDP per capita and lower unemployment rates is more profitable to learn than the opposite. Countries with a high GDP per capita and low unemployment rate are robust economies, offering ample business prospects and enhanced employment opportunities, thus increasing the profitability of learning languages that are home to them. GDP per capita is also an indirect indicator of per capita income, so learning languages of countries with high GDP per capita can position individuals for higher income opportunities.
We sourced our data for the aforementioned economic indicators from the World Bank. Our data for the number of speakers was sourced from Ethnologue.
We have ranked these languages in the ascending order of the GDP per capita of countries, our primary metric, and broke ties based on unemployment rates, if necessary. We have also mentioned GDPs of the countries and number of speakers of each language.
Please note that we have excluded English from the list as this article discusses foreign languages.
12 Most Profitable Foreign Languages To Learn
12. Malay
GDP per Capita of Malaysia (2022): $11,993.2
Unemployment Rate (2022): 3.6%
Number of Speakers (2023): 19,200,000
GDP of Malaysia (2022): $407.03 billion
Malay belongs to the Austronesian language family and is most commonly spoken in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and Singapore. There are over 19.2 million Malay speakers around the world. Malaysia is one of the countries where Malay is spoken as an official language and the country had a GDP per capita of $11,993.20 in 2022.
11. Mandarin
GDP per Capita of China (2022): $12,720.2
Unemployment Rate (2022): 5%
Number of Speakers (2023): 1,100,000,000
GDP of China (2022): $17.96 trillion
Mandarin, also known as Putonghua, is one of the most commonly spoken dialects of Chinese spoken in China. It is spoken by around 1.1 billion people around the globe. China had a GDP per capita of $12,720.20 and an unemployment rate of 5% in 2022. Mandarin is also recognized as one of the official languages of Singapore and the United Nations.
10. Polish
GDP per Capita of Poland (2022): $18,688
Unemployment Rate (2022): 2.9%
Number of Speakers (2023): 40,600,000
GDP of Poland (2022): $688.13 billion
Polish is the official language of Poland and belongs to the West Slavic languages. There are around 40.6 million Polish speakers around the world. The Polish language contains many words borrowed from Latin, Czech, German, Belarusian, and Ukrainian. Poland had a GDP per capita of $18,688 and an unemployment rate of 2.9% in 2022. A considerable population speaks Polish in the United States, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Austria.
9. Portuguese
GDP per Capita of Portugal (2022): $24,515.3
Unemployment Rate (2022): 6%
Number of Speakers (2023): 263,600,000
GDP of Portugal (2022): $255.2 billion
Portuguese ranks as the 9th most profitable foreign language to learn. It belongs to the category of romance languages and is Portugal's official language. Portugal is a European country with a GDP per capita of $24,515.30 and an unemployment rate of 6% as of 2022. Moreover, according to World Bank data, Portugal's GDP amounted to $255.2 billion in 2022. Portuguese is also the official language of Brazil, Angola, Mozambique, and Cabo Verde.
8. Spanish
GDP per Capita of Spain (2022): $29,674.5
Unemployment Rate (2022): 12.9%
Number of Speakers (2023): 559,100,000
GDP of Spain (2022): $1.42 trillion
Spanish belongs to the Indo-European language family and ranks 8th on our list. It is the official language of Spain and is spoken by more than 559.1 million people around the globe. Moreover, Spain had a GDP per capita of $29,674.5 and an unemployment rate of 12.9% in 2022. Spanish is the official language of 21 countries around the globe, including Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Cuba.
7. Arabic
GDP per Capita of Saudi Arabia (2022): $30,447.9
Unemployment Rate (2022): 5.6%
Number of Speakers (2023): 274,000,000
GDP of Saudi Arabia (2022): $1.11 trillion
Ranking 7th on our list is Arabic, which is spoken by over 274 million people around the globe. It is the official language of more than 25 Arab countries along with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had a GDP per capita of $30,447.9 and an unemployment rate of 5.6% in 2022.
6. Korean
GDP per Capita of Korea (2022): $32,422.6
Unemployment Rate (2022): 2.9%
Number of Speakers (2023): 81,700,000
GDP of Korea (2022): $1.67 trillion
Korean is the official language of North and South Korea. It is spoken by approximately 81.7 million people around the globe. The Korean Republic had a GDP per capita of $32,422.6 and an unemployment rate of 2.9% in 2022. It is a vast economy with a GDP of $1.67 trillion.
