* Germany: This is the largest country where German is the official language, with around 78 million native speakers.
* Austria: German is the official language here, spoken by about 8.9 million people.
* Liechtenstein: This small principality has German as its official language, with about 38,000 speakers.
* Luxembourg: While Luxembourgish is the official language, German is widely spoken as a second language and is part of the official language system. About 40% of the population speaks German as a first language.
* Switzerland: While Switzerland has four official languages (German, French, Italian, and Romansh), German is the most spoken, with about 63% of the population speaking it as a first language.
* South Tyrol (Italy): German is one of the official languages alongside Italian and Ladin in this autonomous province of Italy. About 62% of the population speaks German as a first language.
It's important to note that German is also spoken as a minority language in other countries, such as:
* Belgium: German is spoken in the easternmost region of Belgium, known as the German-speaking Community.
* France: A small number of people in the Alsace-Lorraine region speak German.
* Poland: German is spoken by a small minority in some border areas.
* Czech Republic: German is spoken by a small minority in the Sudetenland region.
* Namibia: German is spoken by a small minority, a legacy of colonial rule.
So, while the countries listed first are the ones where German is the main language, it's important to remember that it is also present in other parts of the world as well.