Debrecen.hu
The number of people speaking foreign languages in Debrecen
In the academic year 1987-1988, just before the political transformations in Hungary, only 38% of the students in the secondary schools operated by the Municipality of Debrecen studied English and 19% of the graduates took their final exam in English as well. By comparison, in the academic year 2007-2008, 71% of the students studied English and 59% of the graduates also took their final exam in English.
| Foreign languages | The number of people speaking foreign languages (Source: Population census in 1990 by HCSO) | The number of people speaking foreign languages (Source: Population census in 2001 by HCSO) |
| English | 8,340 | 45,098 |
| German | 8,714 | 32,421 |
| Russian | 7,621 | 10,870 |
| French | - | 4,240 |
| Romanian | 2,877 | 5,166 |
The first foreign language is traditionally German (the nr.1 in 1990), but today English became the leading foreign language at school.
