* No official census exists for Low German speakers. It's not usually included in official language counts.
* Low German exists in a continuum of dialects. There's no single standard form, making accurate categorization challenging.
* Many Low German speakers also speak Standard German. This blurs the lines of who counts as a speaker.
* The number of speakers is declining. With younger generations primarily using Standard German, the number of Low German speakers is shrinking.
However, estimates suggest that there are between 2 and 5 million Low German speakers worldwide, primarily located in:
* Northern Germany (especially Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)
* The Netherlands (especially the provinces of Groningen, Friesland, and Drenthe)
* Denmark (especially Southern Jutland)
Keep in mind that these are rough estimates, and the actual number could be higher or lower.