Spanish ranks between second and third as the most-widely spoken language in the world

Spanish is spoken as a first language by over 400 million people; and by 500 million if non-native speakers are included

Spanish can be considered one of the most important languages in the world, due to:

• Increased usage in the United States: over 34 million Americans – around 12% of the population – speak Spanish, which gives this country the second largest Spanish-speaking population in the world



• Growing economies of the Spanish-speaking world: the U.S. has standing free trade agreements with over ten Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, and is in negotiations with several others



• Importance of its literature: nine Nobel prize laureates in Literature; the modern novel; magical realism



• Influence on the global music market



• Broad number of areas on the Earth's surface where the language is spoken (click here for a map)*

Data mainly collected from Al Dia newspaper, International Monetary Fund, and Instituto Cervantes