The Spanish language in numbers
Check out this fact-packed infographic we’ve created that illustrates a collection of curious stats on the Spanish language.
Infographics of the Spanish language by Gabrielle Cooper-WeiszFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Spanish is the first language of nearly 493 million people in the world, and it is the second most commonly spoken language in the world (after Chinese).
It is currently spoken by over 591 million people across the globe, whether as their native language or as a second or foreign language. Spanish speakers make up 7,5% of the global population.
Spanish is the official language of 21 countries: Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, and Spain. Check the red countries!
...but it is also frequently spoken in many other countries. Check now the orange countries on the map.
It is the official language of countries in the three continents. Most of them are in the Americas…
…with the exception of Spain...
... and Equatorial Guinea (the latter being the only African country and the only place in the Western Sahara to have Spanish as an official language).
It is one of the world’s most commonly studied languages. In 2021, more than 24 million students studied Spanish as a foreign language. In the USA alone, more than eight million people are learning Spanish.
In Europe, France has the largest number of students learning Spanish in its formal education system, while in the United Kingdom, Spanish is viewed as the most important language for the future.
Did you know that Spanish has more than 93,000 words in its vocabulary?
7.9% of internet users communicate in Spanish, making it the second most commonly used language on digital platforms. Only one Spanish-speaking country—Mexico—is among the 10 countries with the greatest number of internet users.
Spanish is the third most commonly used language at the UN, and the fourth most commonly used language within the institutional framework of the European Union. It is an official language in both.
By 2068, it is anticipated that the number of Spanish speakers will exceed 726 million people. That is when the number of Spanish speakers will peak, and after that date it is anticipated that there will be a gradual decline, falling to 690 million people by 2100.
In 2060, the USA will have the second largest number of Spanish speakers in the world, after Mexico. One in every three US citizens—27.5% of the population—will be Hispanic.
Nonetheless, projections suggest that the relative prevalence of Spanish will become progressively lower, mainly due to a declining birth rate. It is likely to be replaced by India and several of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa.
Illustrations by Gabrielle Cooper-Weisz
