Duolingo sees Indonesia among fastest-growing markets

Indonesia has emerged as one of Duolingo’s five fastest-growing markets globally, driven by strong learner motivation and rising interest in East Asian languages, the language-learning platform said.

The company said Indonesia ranked among its five fastest-growing markets based on year-over-year growth in daily active users as of the second quarter of 2026.

Duolingo CEO and co-founder Luis von Ahn highlighted the country’s growing interest in language learning during a conversation with Indonesian creator Raditya Dika at Duolingo’s New York City office.

“We’re very interested in the Indonesian market,” Von Ahn said, adding that the company is interested in teaching English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other languages to learners in Indonesia.

Duolingo’s learner data showed that Indonesia ranked first globally in the share of learners who cited “Support my education” as their motivation.

Indonesian learners were 37 percent more likely than the global average to study for education and 41 percent more likely to learn languages to spend their time productively, according to the company.

English remains the most learned language on Duolingo in Indonesia, followed by Japanese and Chinese. Interest in Chinese has grown sharply, with the share of Indonesian daily active users learning the language nearly tripling from July 2023 to July 2026.

Indonesian learners are also more likely to study multiple languages at the same time. Those learning English and Chinese concurrently were 4.15 times more likely to do so than the global average. Learners studying Japanese and Chinese, as well as English and Japanese, were 3.3 times and 2.8 times more likely, respectively.

Von Ahn said his interest in expanding access to education was shaped by his upbringing in Guatemala, where he saw how access to quality education could depend on a family’s financial circumstances.

“I wanted to do something that would give equal access to education to everyone,” he told Raditya.

Duolingo said its mission is to make education universally available, including to people who cannot afford to pay for the platform.

As Indonesian learners pursue languages for education, careers and international opportunities, Duolingo is expanding its curriculum to include more advanced and practical language skills.

Nine of the platform’s most popular language courses now teach up to the B2 level, while AI-powered conversation practice allows learners to practice speaking without the fear of being judged, the company said.

During his visit, von Ahn sampled Indonesian snacks, wore a batik shirt gifted by Raditya and practiced introducing himself and thanking Duolingo learners in Indonesian.

He had previously visited Bali and said he would like to explore other Indonesian islands, according to the company.