In Germany nearly everyone can drive manual. Used to be that if you didn't learn how to drive manual in driving school, you weren't allowed to drive manual with your license.
I can vouch for Belgium, where this is still the case. I have yet to meet someone who can only drive automatic (except for people with disabilities ofcourse)
Yes, but it used to be that you had to do the majority of lessons in a manual, now it's reduced, you can get B197 with a few hours of manual. And then you can drive both.
B197
I just learned about "Schlüsselzahl 78" and "Schlüsselzahl 197". Interesting.
10 lessons of 45 minutes in a manual car and a 15 minute test drive apparently.
Still the case, got my B197 driving license last week in Bavaria. You have 10 lessons with manual as part of your education, then the rest + exam on automatic. B197 allows to drive both, B allows automatic only.
Not entirely accurate, B allows both manual and automatic, you get B by doing everything including the exam in a manual car, B78 is automatic only and B197 allows you to drive manual and automatic as well but as you described with only 10 manual lessons.
That’s still the case all over the EU since rules for driving licenses are more or less the same all over the EU. Even the licenses look the same except maybe some minor details