Editing German language (section)

== Geographic distribution ==

German is the official language of [[Germany]] and [[Austria]]. It is used in government, education, courts, publishing, broadcasting, and public administration.

In [[Switzerland]], German is one of the four official languages alongside [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]], and [[Romansh language|Romansh]]. German is used across much of northern, central, and eastern Switzerland. Swiss Standard German is used in formal writing and public administration, while Swiss German dialects are common in daily speech.

German is one of the three official languages of [[Belgium]], together with [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and French. It is concentrated in the German-speaking area of eastern Belgium near the German border.

German is the official language of [[Liechtenstein]]. It is also used in Luxembourgish administration, education, publishing, and media. In northern [[Italy]], German has official status in South Tyrol together with Italian.

German-speaking communities also exist in parts of eastern France, Denmark, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and several countries outside Europe.