Spanish Language

Spanish Language Facts

After Chinese and English Spanish is the most commonly used language world wide. It is the most common first language in the Americas, and Spanish speakers also can be found in Spain, of course, United States, Philippines, and even Africa.

Spoken in: Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Argentina, USA, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Cuba and 34 other countries.

Other countries or semi-autonomous areas with significant Spanish-speaking populations include Andorra, Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Gibraltar, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, the United States and Venezuela.

Total speakers: 417 million (including second language speakers)

Official language of: Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Ecuador, Cuba and 13 other countries.

Spanish, like all Romance languages, derives from Latin, with Castilian being considered to be the purest form of Spanish.

Statistics:

Mexico - 105,000,000
Colombia - 42,000,000
Argentina - 39,000,000
Spain - 40,000,000
United States - 22,500,000
Venezuela - 25,000,000
Peru - 27,500,000
Chile - 16,000,000
Cuba - 11,000,000
Ecuador - 13,000,000
Dominican Republic - 8,800,000
El Salvador - 6,500,000
Honduras - 6,800,000
Guatemala - 14,200,000
Nicaragua - 5,300,000
Bolivia - 8,700,000
Costa Rica - 4,000,000
Uruguay - 3,400,000
Puerto Rico - 3,700,000
Panama - 3,000,000
Philippines - 1,500,000
Germany - 150,000
Paraguay - 6,000,000
Israel - 60,000
Andorra - 69,000
Canada - 27,000
Morocco - 32,000
Equatorial Guinea - 50,000
Jamaica - 8,000
Norway - 6,500
U.S. Virgin Islands - 5,000

Total - 413,000,000

About 5.8 percent of the people who use the Internet speak Spanish, making it the No. 4 language in the Internet community, following English (51.3 percent), Japanese (8.1 percent) German (5.9 percent). Close behind is Chinese, with 5.4 percent, followed by French with 3.9 percent.