Spanish-speaking Countries

Spanish is the official language for over twenty countries and for numerous international organizations. There are over 400 million Spanish-speaking people in the world, plus Spanish is the native language of more than 90% of the population in Spain. Some of the significant organizations that consider Spanish as an official language include: the United Nations, the European Union, the Union of South American Nations, the African Union, and the Latin Union.

The different regions where we can find Spanish-speaking countries include, but are not limited to:

United States of America
United Kingdom
Mexico
Italy
France
Germany
Switzerland
Argentina
Australia

Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba, Canada
Uruguay
Venezuela
Ecuador
Panama
Belgium

Spanish-speaking Population in Mexico

The country of Mexico leads the pack of Spanish-speaking countries, as it surpasses 100 million. Runner up is the United States, emerging with a Spanish-speaking population of about 47 million. Surprisingly, this number is higher than that of Spain – the country of origin of the Spanish language – but only because Spain only has about 47 million citizens.

Mexico is the only nation in the world that has more than 100 million Spanish-speaking people spread across its borders. The Spanish language first reached Mexico a little before the start of the 16th century. The Spanish people migrated from Spain mainly due to political instability and the civil wars. Today, 97.5% of the population of Mexico speaks Spanish. They speak a Mexican Spanish dialect that differs from the Standard Spanish dialect in terms of pronunciation and to some extent in grammar.

In terms of industry, Mexico is the largest producer of automobiles in the American continent. The economy of this consumer market is estimated to rank in the top five of the strongest economies in the world in decades to come.

Spanish-speaking Populations in the U.S.

Like Mexico, the United States was occupied by Spaniards during the 16th century. Having just crossed the 47 million mark, the same amount of citizens in Spain, the United States is now the 2nd largest of Spanish-speaking countries. However, this count has fewer than half the Spanish-speaking population in Mexico – amassing 100 million.

The major populations are concentrated in the states of: Arizona, Colorado, California, Florida, Illinois, New York, New Mexico, New Jersey, and Texas. The Spanish-based population of the United States mainly uses the Mexican Spanish dialect, New Mexican Spanish dialect, or the Standard Spanish dialect in their everyday communication.

Spanish – De jure Official and National Language

Sovereign states where Spanish is a de jure official language.

Country	Population (2011)
Spain	47,190,493
Colombia	44,725,543
Peru	29,248,943
Venezuela	27,635,743
Ecuador	15,007,343
Guatemala	13,824,463
Cuba	11,087,330
Bolivia	10,118,683
Honduras	8,143,564
Paraguay	6,459,058
El Salvador	6,071,774
Costa Rica	4,576,562
Panama	3,460,462
Equatorial Guinea	668,225

Dependent entities where Spanish is a de jure official language

Country	Population (2011)
Puerto Rico	3,989,133

Spanish – De facto Official and National Language

This is a list of sovereign states where Spanish is a de facto official language. That is, it is the main or only language of communication of the vast majority of the population, official documents are written chiefly or solely in that language, and it is spoken and taught in schools as part of the official curriculum. However, it is not established by legislation as an official language.