Interesting facts about Spanish

Some sources suggest that there are around 7,000 languages in the whole world, while others are more circumspect, estimating that the number could lie anywhere between 6,000 and 10,000. Regardless, most inhabitants of the globe communicate using a much smaller number of them.

The growing number of Spanish speakers is mainly due to population growth in places where Spanish is the official language. Population growth in Mexico alone represents the addition of another 1.2 million Spanish speakers per year.

In 18 of the European Union's 27 member states, Spanish is the most popular language among those wanting to learn a second language. In the USA, Spanish is by far the most commonly studied language at all levels of the education system.

The Spanish-speaking community has a purchasing power of around 9% of global GDP. This potential, when added to the number of Spanish speakers and the global reach of the language, means that Spanish is an economic force when compared with other languages.

After English, Spanish is the second most common language for publications of scientific documents. However, the global presence of Spanish in the field of science puts it in fourth place.

Spain, Mexico, and Argentina are among the fifteen main countries in the world when it comes to producing books and films.

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 was the lingua franca in the Philippines from the early 20th century onward, and today 33% of words in Tagalog are Spanish in origin. There are also four languages that are based on Spanish: Chavacano, Palenquero, Papiamento, and Yopará (also known as Jopara).

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).

The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy currently contains more than 93,000 words. However, this fact is somewhat contentious, given that dictionaries often do not include all the words used by speakers of a language.