Duolingo, the renowned language learning app, has released its Annual Summary for 2025, a feature that allows students to review detailed insights into their performance throughout the year. The summary provides users with a comprehensive overview of their language learning journey, including peak dedication periods, total study minutes, XP earned, and personal learning styles.
One of the most striking revelations from Duolingo’s summary is the soaring demand for Portuguese courses. Portuguese has taken the top spot as the fastest-growing language in China and India, possibly due to economic factors, as Brazil’s economic and cultural influence continues to expand globally. It ranks second in Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and Turkey.
Worldwide, the most popular languages in 2025 are:
- English
- Spanish
- French
- Japanese
- German
- Korean
- Italian
- Chinese
- Portuguese
- Hindi
Duolingo’s report also highlights the impressive performance of Japanese users in 2025, who lead in categories such as “most dedicated students” on the platform. In the ranking of polyglot countries, where individuals study three or more languages simultaneously, the top nations are:
- Japan
- Australia
- Finland
- Germany
- United Kingdom
Chinese emerges as the fastest-growing language in several countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, and Turkey. It is also the second fastest-growing language in the United States.
Korean is the second fastest-growing language in seven countries worldwide: Argentina, Colombia, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain, and Poland.
The growing interest in Portuguese and other languages reflects the increasing interconnectedness of global economies and cultures. Duolingo’s Annual Summary not only serves as a personal reflection for users but also sheds light on broader trends in language education. Users can access this feature to celebrate their achievements and plan their next steps in mastering new languages.
Why Portuguese?
Portuguese has become increasingly important in 2025 due to several key factors:
- Economic Growth of Brazil: Brazil, with its vast natural resources and dynamic economy, has become a significant player in the global economy. As a result, businesses and individuals are recognizing the value of Portuguese for trade and economic opportunities.
- Cultural Influence: Brazil’s rich cultural output, including music, film, and literature, has gained international acclaim, driving interest in the Portuguese language among those who wish to engage more deeply with Brazilian culture.
- Tourism: Portugal and Brazil are popular tourist destinations. With the rise in global travel, more people are learning Portuguese to enhance their travel experiences. Brazil also broke tourism records this year.
- Educational Purposes: Some academic programs and research opportunities are increasingly available in Portuguese-speaking countries, encouraging students and academics to learn the language.
- Geopolitical Reasons: Portuguese is the official language of eight countries and is gaining importance in international diplomacy and organizations.
Source: Duolingo
Some of your information is not accurate or is missing. Portuguese is also officially spoken in East Timor as well. So it is spoken officially in 9 countries + 1 territory called Macau, on 5 continents!
Portuguese is actually the 8th most spoken world language, with close to 280 million speaking it officially.
Additionally, Portuguese is spoken natively by more people than: French, Russian, German, Japanese and Italian.
Portuguese is also the most spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere, and in South America.
Six African countries speak Portuguese officially. They are: Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde Islands, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial-Guinea, and São Tomé & Principe Islands.
Portuguese is also spoken officially in Macau in Asia, and in East Timor, Oceania. And Portuguese is still spoken by approx. 17,000 people in the former Portuguese Indian colonies of Goa, Daman & Diu.
The Chinese consider Macau to be the gateway to the Portuguese speaking world called CPLP – several countries have Associate Member Status. China is the primary trading partner of Brasil, Angola & Mozambique (all officially Portuguese speaking) – China trades with Portugal too.
Furthermore, there is a large Brazilian-Japanese Portuguese speaking community in Japan. The language is taught in Japanese schools as a 3rd language. There are daily Portuguese language television & radio (news, music), movies & tv shows in Japan. Portuguese is also available in print media as well i.e., newspapers, magazines, periodicals, books, etc.
Additionally, there many Immigrant Portuguese speaking communities all over the world including; England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg, Andorra, Spain, USA, Canada, Bermuda, Venezuela, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Namibia, South Africa, Zaire, Dem. Rep. of the Congo, Senegal, Zimbabwe, Australia, etc.
The Portuguese language is also taught in several South American, African, Asian & European schools, either as an obligatory i.e., Uruguay, Argentina, Macau, Namibia, Galicia, Venezuela, or as an optional language i.e., Paraguay, Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, Mexico, France, Spain, Luxembourg, Andorra, Cuba, Eswanti, Zaire, Zimbabwe, Dem. Rep. of the Congo, Casamance, Senegal, Mauritius, Japan, Goa, Bermuda, etc., etc.
those are some impressive numbers!
I just re-reported information I had seen on a news website