Spanish Information
Hispanophone
Hispanophone (hispanohablantes or hispanofonía in Spanish) denotes Spanish language speakers and the Spanish-speaking world. The word derives from the Latin political name of the Iberian Peninsula, Hispania, which comprised basically the territory of the modern states of Spain and Portugal.
Hispanophones are estimated at between 450 and 500 million globally, making Spanish the second most spoken language in terms of native speakers. Around 360 million live in Hispanic America and 40 million in Spain. There are a large number of Spanish speakers in the United States, comprising more than 34 million. There are also smaller Hispanophone groups in Canada, northern Morocco, Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara the Philippines and Brazil as well as in many other places around the world, particularly large cities in Western Europe, and Australia.
List of countries with Spanish-speaking populations
Rank![]() |
Country/territory/entity![]() |
Population![]() |
Source![]() |
Secondary also![]() |
Area (km)![]() |
Area (mi)![]() |
1 | ![]() |
111,211,789 | CIA 2009 | 106,770,268 | 1,970,552 | 761,606 |
2 | ![]() |
46,951,532 | Official INE estimate | 46,184,857 | 504,030 | 195,364 |
3 | ![]() |
45,567,961 | Official Colombian Population clock | 44,937,600 | 1,141,748 | 440,831 |
4 | ![]() |
40,518,951 | Official INDEC estimate | 40,275,837 | 2,766,880 | 1,068,302 |
5 | ![]() |
35,468,501 | U.S. Census Bureau[6] | 50,000,000 | ||
6 | ![]() |
29,461,933 | Official INEI estimate | 25,514,034 | 1,285,216 | 496,225 |
7 | ![]() |
28,755,000 | Official Venezuelan Population clock | 28,296,320 | 916,445 | 353,841 |
8 | ![]() |
17,094,270 | Official INE projection | 16,974,610 | 756,950 | 292,183 |
9 | ![]() |
14,170,000 | Official Ecuador Population clock | 13,851,720 | 283,561 | 109,415 |
10 | ![]() |
11,204,000 | UN 2009 estimate | |||
11 | ![]() |
11,268,000 | UN 2009 estimate | |||
12 | ![]() |
10,426,154 | Official INE projection (2010) | |||
13 | ![]() |
10,090,000 | UN 2009 estimate | |||
14 | ![]() |
7,876,197 | Official INE projection (2010) | |||
15 | ![]() |
6,857,000 | UN estimate | |||
16 | ![]() |
6,127,000 | UN estimate | |||
17 | ![]() |
5,603,000 | UN estimate | |||
18 | ![]() |
4,468,000 | UN estimate | |||
19 | ![]() |
3,991,000 | UN estimate | |||
20 | ![]() |
3,343,000 | UN estimate | |||
21 | ![]() |
3,340,000 | UN estimate | |||
22 | ![]() |
507,000 | UN estimate |
- Secondary or primary language per Ethnologue [1]
Brazil 12,445,005. Also see Brazilian bilingualism.
Spanish as an Official or National Language

Map highlighting countries where Spanish is an official language, or a de facto official language.
Official and national languageSovereign states where Spanish is an official language, by lawa.
Dependent entities where Spanish is an official language, by law.
|
De facto official and national languageSovereign states where Spanish is a de facto official language,
Other areas where Spanish is the de facto language.
|
a Spanish was removed as an official language of the Philippines in 1973 and was removed from being a compulsory subject in 1987; on 8 August 2007, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced that the Philippine government asked help from the Spanish Government in her plan to reintroduce the Spanish as a required subject in the Philippine school system. The Constitution of the Philippines states that “Spanish and Arabic shall be promoted on a voluntary and optional basis” and that the Constitution itself will be translated into Spanish.
b Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the U.S. where Spanish and English are the official languages and Spanish is the primary language.
c Argentinean territorial claim in Antarctica, suspended by the 1961 Antarctic Treaty.
d Chilean territorial claim in Antarctica, suspended by the 1961 Antarctic Treaty.
Commonly used language
Spanish language is not official but has a special status in several countries (in the education system, the media, and some official documents): Andorra, Gibraltar, and Western Sahara. Spanish is used for international commerce in Brazil due to being surrounded mostly by Spanish-speaking countries and Spanish is widely taught as a foreign language.
Additionally, Spanish is by far the most studied foreign language in the United States.
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