Do most languages need more space than English?

Fascinating Q & A post on the English Language and Usage web site that explodes some common misconceptions about the space efficiency of English on the page in relation to other popular languages. A couple of interesting observations: Hebrew texts are usually shorter than their English equivalents by approximately a third, and long German words actually save space. For example, the famous compounded noun "Donau­dampf­schiffahrts­elektri­zitäten­haupt­betriebs­werk­bau­unter­beamten­gesell­schaft" is considerably shorter than its English translation of "Association for subordinate officials of the head office management of the Danube steamboat electrical services".