diff --git a/core/modules/edit/lib/Drupal/edit/Tests/EditTestBase.php b/core/modules/edit/lib/Drupal/edit/Tests/EditTestBase.php
index bdf56c5..d3737bb 100644
--- a/core/modules/edit/lib/Drupal/edit/Tests/EditTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/edit/lib/Drupal/edit/Tests/EditTestBase.php
@@ -13,7 +13,6 @@
  * Parent class for Edit tests.
  */
 class EditTestBase extends DrupalUnitTestBase {
-  var $default_storage = 'field_sql_storage';
 
   /**
    * Modules to enable.
@@ -29,9 +28,7 @@ function setUp() {
 
     $this->installSchema('system', 'variable');
     $this->installSchema('entity_test', array('entity_test', 'entity_test_rev'));
-
-    // Set default storage backend.
-    variable_set('field_storage_default', $this->default_storage);
+    $this->installConfig(array('field'));
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/Tests/EntityDisplayTest.php b/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/Tests/EntityDisplayTest.php
index 1257f48..11f6da7 100644
--- a/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/Tests/EntityDisplayTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/entity/lib/Drupal/entity/Tests/EntityDisplayTest.php
@@ -24,6 +24,11 @@ public static function getInfo() {
     );
   }
 
+  protected function setUp() {
+    parent::setUp();
+    $this->installConfig(array('field'));
+  }
+
   /**
    * Tests basic CRUD operations on EntityDisplay objects.
    */
diff --git a/core/modules/field/config/field.settings.yml b/core/modules/field/config/field.settings.yml
index b6172c1..5ca0000 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/config/field.settings.yml
+++ b/core/modules/field/config/field.settings.yml
@@ -1 +1,3 @@
+default_storage: field_sql_storage
+language_fallback: '1'
 purge_batch_size: 10
diff --git a/core/modules/field/config/schema/field.schema.yml b/core/modules/field/config/schema/field.schema.yml
index b9e51d6..238409e 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/config/schema/field.schema.yml
+++ b/core/modules/field/config/schema/field.schema.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@ field.settings:
   type: mapping
   label: 'Field settings'
   mapping:
+    default_storage:
+      type: string
+      label: 'The default storage backend for a field'
+    language_fallback:
+      type: boolean
+      label: 'Whether the field display falls back to global language fallback configuration'
     purge_batch_size:
       type: integer
       label: 'Maximum number of field data records to purge'
diff --git a/core/modules/field/field.api.php b/core/modules/field/field.api.php
index 7b95762..850912e 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/field.api.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/field.api.php
@@ -1142,7 +1142,7 @@ function hook_field_attach_prepare_translation_alter(\Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityI
 function hook_field_language_alter(&$display_langcode, $context) {
   // Do not apply core language fallback rules if they are disabled or if Locale
   // is not registered as a translation handler.
-  if (variable_get('field_language_fallback', TRUE) && field_has_translation_handler($context['entity']->entityType())) {
+  if (field_language_fallback_enabled() && field_has_translation_handler($context['entity']->entityType())) {
     field_language_fallback($display_langcode, $context['entity'], $context['langcode']);
   }
 }
diff --git a/core/modules/field/field.attach.inc b/core/modules/field/field.attach.inc
index 51d2d57..cde15f4 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/field.attach.inc
+++ b/core/modules/field/field.attach.inc
@@ -22,8 +22,9 @@
  * the data in SQL differently or use a completely different storage mechanism
  * such as a cloud-based database.
  *
- * Each field defines which storage backend it uses. The Drupal system variable
- * 'field_storage_default' identifies the storage backend used by default.
+ * Each field defines which storage backend it uses. The Drupal configuration
+ * 'field.settings.default_storage' identifies the storage backend used by
+ * default.
  *
  * See @link field Field API @endlink for information about the other parts of
  * the Field API.
diff --git a/core/modules/field/field.crud.inc b/core/modules/field/field.crud.inc
index 14566f2..9880824 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/field.crud.inc
+++ b/core/modules/field/field.crud.inc
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@
  *   - settings: each omitted setting is given the default value defined in
  *     hook_field_info().
  *   - storage:
- *     - type: the storage backend specified in the 'field_storage_default'
- *       system variable.
+ *     - type: the storage backend specified in the
+ *       'field.settings.default_storage' configuration.
  *     - settings: each omitted setting is given the default value specified in
  *       hook_field_storage_info().
  *
diff --git a/core/modules/field/field.install b/core/modules/field/field.install
index 663ae69..b103222 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/field.install
+++ b/core/modules/field/field.install
@@ -481,6 +481,19 @@ function field_update_8003() {
 }
 
 /**
+ * Moves field_storage_default and field_language_fallback to config.
+ *
+ * @ingroup config_upgrade
+ */
+function field_update_8004() {
+  update_variable_set('field_language_fallback', TRUE);
+  update_variables_to_config('field.settings', array(
+    'field_storage_default' => 'default_storage',
+    'field_language_fallback' => 'language_fallback',
+  ));
+}
+
+/**
  * @} End of "addtogroup updates-7.x-to-8.x".
  * The next series of updates should start at 9000.
  */
diff --git a/core/modules/field/field.module b/core/modules/field/field.module
index 1e31484..8f459a3 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/field.module
+++ b/core/modules/field/field.module
@@ -333,7 +333,7 @@ function field_field_widget_info_alter(&$info) {
  * otherwise all the fallback candidates are inspected to see if there is a
  * field translation available in another language.
  * By default this is called by field_field_language_alter(), but this
- * behavior can be disabled by setting the 'field_language_fallback'
+ * behavior can be disabled by setting the 'field.settings.language_fallback'
  * variable to FALSE.
  *
  * @param $field_langcodes
diff --git a/core/modules/field/field.multilingual.inc b/core/modules/field/field.multilingual.inc
index 8e5ee39..55b364e 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/field.multilingual.inc
+++ b/core/modules/field/field.multilingual.inc
@@ -64,41 +64,6 @@
  */
 
 /**
- * Implements hook_language_insert().
- */
-function field_language_insert() {
-  field_info_cache_clear();
-  // If the number of languages is bigger than 1, enable the core language
-  // fallback rules.
-  // Because the language_count is updated only after the hook is invoked, we
-  // check if the language_count is bigger or equal with 1 at the current time.
-  if (variable_get('language_count', 1) >= 1) {
-    variable_set('field_language_fallback', TRUE);
-  }
-}
-
-/**
- * Implements hook_language_update().
- */
-function field_language_update() {
-  field_info_cache_clear();
-}
-
-/**
- * Implements hook_language_delete().
- */
-function field_language_delete() {
-  field_info_cache_clear();
-  // If the number of languages is less than 2, disable the core language
-  // fallback rules.
-  // Because the language_count is updated after the hook is invoked, we check
-  // if the language_count is less or equal with 2 at the current time.
-  if (variable_get('language_count', 1) <= 2) {
-    variable_set('field_language_fallback', FALSE);
-  }
-}
-
-/**
  * Collects the available language codes for the given entity type and field.
  *
  * If the given field has language support enabled, an array of available
@@ -186,6 +151,13 @@ function field_content_languages() {
 }
 
 /**
+ * Checks whether field language fallback is enabled.
+ */
+function field_language_fallback_enabled() {
+  return language_multilingual() && config('field.settings')->get('language_fallback');
+}
+
+/**
  * Checks whether a field has language support.
  *
  * A field has language support enabled if its 'translatable' property is set to
@@ -317,7 +289,7 @@ function field_language(EntityInterface $entity, $field_name = NULL, $langcode =
       );
       // Do not apply core language fallback rules if they are disabled or if
       // the entity does not have a translation handler registered.
-      if (variable_get('field_language_fallback', FALSE) && field_has_translation_handler($entity_type)) {
+      if (field_language_fallback_enabled() && field_has_translation_handler($entity_type)) {
         field_language_fallback($display_langcode, $context['entity'], $context['langcode']);
       }
       drupal_alter('field_language', $display_langcode, $context);
diff --git a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Plugin/Core/Entity/Field.php b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Plugin/Core/Entity/Field.php
index 14d02e8..b899533 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Plugin/Core/Entity/Field.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Plugin/Core/Entity/Field.php
@@ -323,7 +323,7 @@ public function save() {
 
       // Provide default storage.
       $this->storage += array(
-        'type' => variable_get('field_storage_default', 'field_sql_storage'),
+        'type' => config('field.settings')->get('default_storage'),
         'settings' => array(),
       );
       // Check that the storage type is known.
diff --git a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Plugin/views/field/Field.php b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Plugin/views/field/Field.php
index c288750..2e91a31 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Plugin/views/field/Field.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Plugin/views/field/Field.php
@@ -193,7 +193,7 @@ public function query($use_groupby = FALSE) {
                                 $this->view->display_handler->options['field_langcode']);
         $placeholder = $this->placeholder();
         $langcode_fallback_candidates = array($langcode);
-        if (variable_get('locale_field_language_fallback', TRUE)) {
+        if (field_language_fallback_enabled()) {
           require_once DRUPAL_ROOT . '/includes/language.inc';
           $langcode_fallback_candidates = array_merge($langcode_fallback_candidates, language_fallback_get_candidates());
         }
diff --git a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/CrudTest.php b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/CrudTest.php
index a0afa3f..9ee6019 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/CrudTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/CrudTest.php
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ function testCreateField() {
     $this->assertEqual($field_config['settings'], $field_type['settings'], 'Default field settings have been written.');
 
     // Ensure that default storage was set.
-    $this->assertEqual($field_config['storage']['type'], variable_get('field_storage_default'), 'The field type is properly saved.');
+    $this->assertEqual($field_config['storage']['type'], config('field.settings')->get('default_storage'), 'The field type is properly saved.');
 
     // Guarantee that the name is unique.
     try {
diff --git a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldTestBase.php b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldTestBase.php
index a34586e..3944639 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldTestBase.php
@@ -14,17 +14,6 @@
  * Parent class for Field API tests.
  */
 abstract class FieldTestBase extends WebTestBase {
-  var $default_storage = 'field_sql_storage';
-
-  /**
-   * Set the default field storage backend for fields created during tests.
-   */
-  function setUp() {
-    parent::setUp();
-
-    // Set default storage backend.
-    variable_set('field_storage_default', $this->default_storage);
-  }
 
   /**
    * Generate random values for a field_test field.
diff --git a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldUnitTestBase.php b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldUnitTestBase.php
index 3e1bf38..223e0ac 100644
--- a/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldUnitTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/field/lib/Drupal/field/Tests/FieldUnitTestBase.php
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
  * Parent class for Field API unit tests.
  */
 abstract class FieldUnitTestBase extends DrupalUnitTestBase {
-  var $default_storage = 'field_sql_storage';
 
   /**
    * Modules to enable.
@@ -40,7 +39,7 @@ function setUp() {
     $this->installSchema('field_test', array('test_entity', 'test_entity_revision', 'test_entity_bundle'));
 
     // Set default storage backend.
-    variable_set('field_storage_default', $this->default_storage);
+    $this->installConfig(array('field'));
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/hal/lib/Drupal/hal/Tests/NormalizerTestBase.php b/core/modules/hal/lib/Drupal/hal/Tests/NormalizerTestBase.php
index 8391d0e..b40bffa 100644
--- a/core/modules/hal/lib/Drupal/hal/Tests/NormalizerTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/hal/lib/Drupal/hal/Tests/NormalizerTestBase.php
@@ -62,6 +62,7 @@ function setUp() {
     $this->installSchema('user', array('users'));
     $this->installSchema('language', array('language'));
     $this->installSchema('entity_test', array('entity_test'));
+    $this->installConfig(array('field'));
 
     // Add English as a language.
     $english = new Language(array(
diff --git a/core/modules/serialization/lib/Drupal/serialization/Tests/EntitySerializationTest.php b/core/modules/serialization/lib/Drupal/serialization/Tests/EntitySerializationTest.php
index 5afc882..f6c106e 100644
--- a/core/modules/serialization/lib/Drupal/serialization/Tests/EntitySerializationTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/serialization/lib/Drupal/serialization/Tests/EntitySerializationTest.php
@@ -63,6 +63,8 @@ protected function setUp() {
     $this->entity->save();
 
     $this->serializer = $this->container->get('serializer');
+
+    $this->installConfig(array('field'));
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/serialization/lib/Drupal/serialization/Tests/NormalizerTestBase.php b/core/modules/serialization/lib/Drupal/serialization/Tests/NormalizerTestBase.php
index d485a5b..1d9bff6 100644
--- a/core/modules/serialization/lib/Drupal/serialization/Tests/NormalizerTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/serialization/lib/Drupal/serialization/Tests/NormalizerTestBase.php
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ protected function setUp() {
 
     $this->installSchema('entity_test', array('entity_test_mulrev', 'entity_test_mulrev_property_revision', 'entity_test_mulrev_property_data'));
     $this->installSchema('system', array('url_alias'));
+    $this->installConfig(array('field'));
 
     // Auto-create a field for testing.
     field_create_field(array(
diff --git a/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Entity/EntityUnitTestBase.php b/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Entity/EntityUnitTestBase.php
index c3f236b..41918d3 100644
--- a/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Entity/EntityUnitTestBase.php
+++ b/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Entity/EntityUnitTestBase.php
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ public function setUp() {
     $this->installSchema('user', 'users');
     $this->installSchema('system', 'sequences');
     $this->installSchema('entity_test', 'entity_test');
+    $this->installConfig(array('field'));
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Entity/FieldAccessTest.php b/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Entity/FieldAccessTest.php
index 5e08eed..a460b6f 100644
--- a/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Entity/FieldAccessTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/system/lib/Drupal/system/Tests/Entity/FieldAccessTest.php
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ public static function getInfo() {
 
   protected function setUp() {
     parent::setUp();
+    // Install field configuration.
+    $this->installConfig(array('field'));
     // The users table is needed for creating dummy user accounts.
     $this->installSchema('user', array('users'));
     // Register entity_test text field.
diff --git a/core/modules/text/lib/Drupal/text/Tests/Formatter/TextPlainUnitTest.php b/core/modules/text/lib/Drupal/text/Tests/Formatter/TextPlainUnitTest.php
index 2000ffd..7126384 100644
--- a/core/modules/text/lib/Drupal/text/Tests/Formatter/TextPlainUnitTest.php
+++ b/core/modules/text/lib/Drupal/text/Tests/Formatter/TextPlainUnitTest.php
@@ -45,6 +45,8 @@ public static function getInfo() {
   function setUp() {
     parent::setUp();
 
+    $this->installConfig(array('field'));
+
     // @todo Add helper methods for all of the following.
 
     $this->entity_type = 'test_entity';