Reasons to speak Spanish

Native Spanish Speakers in the World

Highlighted Countries: Mexico (1st), Colombia (2nd), Argentina (3rd), Spain (4th), USA (5th)

• Other Countries: Canada, United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, Russia, Morocco, Portugal, Turkey, China, Japan, Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Algeria, Israel, India, Philippines, Guam, Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Australia, New Zealand

• Native Speakers:

  • Less than 10,000

  • 10,000 - 100,000

  • 100,000 - 1 million

  • 1 million - 10 million

  • 10 million - 100 million

  • More than 100 million

• Spanish as an official language

Global Level:

• 595 million speakers as a native, second, or foreign language

• 496 million native speakers

• 451 million native speakers in countries where Spanish is official

• 75 million speakers with limited competence

Source: Instituto Cervantes (2022)