Spanish Joins the Chat
Learn about the huge presence of Spanish on the internet and on the most popular social media networks.
Ilustración post de instagram (2023) by Tais BernabéFundación Antonio de Nebrija
The growth in the use of Spanish on the internet in the last 20 years is double that recorded by English over that same period.
Why has it increased so much?
Latin American countries have come online at a slower pace, which has led to a growth of 2411% in Spanish-speaking users between 2000 and 2020.
Ilustración post de instagram (2023) by ArkhytiremaFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Of the more than 5.1 billion internet users in February 2022, 7.9% communicated in Spanish. In fact, after English and Chinese, Spanish is the third most used language on the internet.
For example, US Hispanics prefer to consume and create digital content in Spanish rather than English, despite living in an English-speaking country.
Red social (2023) by BekeencoFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Spanish on Facebook
Spanish has seen its use on this platform increase by 6% since 2017. Out of the 2.8 billion users in February 2022, 372 million communicated in Spanish, as a native or foreign language.
Ilustración de instagram (2023) by SleborFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Spanish on LinkedIn
LinkedIn is very representative when analyzing the demand and value of Spanish in the world of business.
Of the 790 million registered users on this network, 77 million use Spanish. In countries where Spanish is not the official language, the use of Spanish on LinkedIn by users in the United States stands out.
Youtube (2023) by Anastassia IvanskaiaFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Spanish on YouTube
YouTube has become one of the main channels for the promotion of Hispanic and Spanish culture.
Its format has made the audiovisual market more accessible to Spanish-speaking creators. Of the 250 most watched videos on the platform, 15% are in Spanish, placing it only behind English, which accounts for 66% of the videos.
Recordando antiguedades (2023) by Ina MillerFundación Antonio de Nebrija
Spanish on Twitter
It is interesting to note that on Twitter, Spanish ranks second in mostly English-speaking international cities, such as London or New York.
Red social (2023) by BekeencoFundación Antonio de Nebrija
It is estimated that 70.7% of the Spanish-speaking population have access to the internet, while the European average is 87.7%.
¿Seguir o cancelar? (2023) by Cherry BerryFundación Antonio de Nebrija
New challenges and opportunities
There are still many Spanish-speaking countries with major connection restrictions, so there is immense potential for growth of the presence of Spanish online.
This article is based on the Instituto Cervantes' Anual Report 2022, as well as the book Alonso, J. A., Jiménez, J. C. y García Delgado, J. L. (2023). Los futuros del español. Alianza Editorial.
Content curation and script: Aina Arbona
Graphic Editor: Carmen García
Consulting and review: Lola Pons (Universidad de Sevilla)
