Spanish-speaking countries

With almost 500 million native speakers across 21 countries and 3 continents, Spanish is the second most widely-spoken language in the world, ahead of English and only surpassed by Chinese. In addition, it is one of the six official languages of the UN (United Nations).

The highest number of speakers inhabit the Americas, followed by Spain, in Europe. The only country in Africa where Spanish is an official language is Equatorial Guinea.

Mexico is home to the largest population of native Spanish speakers, boasting over 127 million.

The 21 countries and territories where Spanish is an official language are:

Continent	Country	Flag	Population
Europe	Spain		47.8 million
The Americas	Mexico		127.5 million
	Colombia		51.9 million
	Argentina		43.2 million
	Peru		34 million
	Venezuela		28.3 million
	Chile		19.6 million
	Guatemala		17.4 million
	Ecuador		18 million
	Bolivia		12.2 million
	Cuba		11.2 million
	Dominican Republic		11.2 million
	Honduras		10.4 million
	Paraguay		6.8 million
	El Salvador		6.3 million
	Nicaragua		6.9 million
	Costa Rica		5.2 million
	Panama		4.4 million
	Uruguay		3.4 million
	Puerto Rico (self-governing territory)		3.2 million
Africa	Equatorial Guinea		1.7 million
TOTAL			456.2 million

Hispanic America is the term used to make reference to Spanish-speaking countries across the Americas. The term Latin America, in turn, encompasses all countries in the Americas (with the exception of the United States and Canada) where Romance languages are spoken, including Brazil, where Portuguese is the official language.

Countries where Spanish is a significant language

Spanish is also spoken by millions of people in countries where it is, though not the official language, a significant language. Large communities of Spanish speakers populate countries across the globe not only as a result of colonialism but also through immigration. These countries include:

• United States. Hispanic communities are the largest minority group in the US. According to the US Census Bureau, over 41.7 million people speak Spanish at home, accounting for over 60% of the languages spoken other than the official English.
• Belize. While the official language is English, Spanish is among the major languages spoken in the country, and is taught in schools.
• Andorra. Though the official language is Catalan, Spanish is spoken by a large percentage of the population. Other foreign languages include Portuguese and French, but to a lesser extent.
• Philippines. Despite its colonial past, Spanish is spoken by a small minority of the population, accounting for some hundred thousands.

Spanish dialects

The Spanish language, derived from Latin, was born in Spain, Europe, and was introduced into the Americas during the Spanish colonial period, where many different indigenous languages were spoken across the territories of the New World.

These indigenous languages started to mix with Spanish, evolving into new dialects unique to the Americas and to each individual region. Americanisms were thus born, deriving from the indigenous languages of the populations that inhabited those lands.

Thus, the Spanish spoken across the many regions in the Americas shows a large number of distinctions that differentiate it from the language spoken in Spain that have to do not only with vocabulary, but also with pronunciation and grammar.

• Vocabulary. The most noticeable difference between the different types of Spanish is vocabulary, with each region or country having their own way of naming things. Words like ordenador (computer), bocadillo (sandwich), or coger (take) are used in Spain, while their Latin American counterparts are computadora, sándwich, and tomar respectively.
  Likewise, the introduction of anglicisms is more typical of Latin American countries, with words like smartphone being of every-day use.
• Grammar. Grammar differences exist between the different Spanish dialects, the biggest one being the use of the vosotros pronoun in Spain for the second person plural. Latin American countries use the ustedes pronoun instead.
• Pronunciation. A marked distinction between the various Spanish dialects is pronunciation. Broadly speaking, it can be said that Spanish consonants are much stronger, with more air being released in their articulation. Latin American consonants, in turn, are much softer. The pronunciation of the letter z and of the ce and ci sequences as “th” in Spain, as opposed to “s” in Latin America, is a clear example.

Differences in pronunciation also distinguish the several accents in Latin America. Nonetheless, these differences may be compared to those between American and British accents, where speakers understand one another in spite of the differences in their accents.

What other languages are spoken in Spanish-speaking countries?

Besides Spanish, which is the major language in Spanish-speaking countries, other minority languages have been retained. The preservation of regional and indigenous languages is directly related to the preservation of native cultures.

Country	Primary language	Minority native languages
Argentina	Spanish	Guaraní, Quechua, Mapuche
Bolivia	Spanish	Aymara, Quechua, Chiquitano, Guaraní
Chile	Spanish	Aymara, Quechua, Rapa Nui
Colombia	Spanish	Emberá, Guahibo, Guajiro
Costa Rica	Spanish	Maleku, Cabécar, Bribri, Guaymí, Buglé
Cuba	Spanish	Haitian, Creole
Dominican Republic	Spanish	Haitian, Creole
Ecuador	Spanish	Quichua, Shuar
Equatorial Guinea	Spanish	Fan, Bube, Kwasio
Guatemala	Spanish	K’iche’, Q’eqchi’, Kaqchikel, Mam
Honduras	Spanish	Garifuna, Miskito
Mexico	Spanish	Nahuatl, Maya, Tseltal, Tsotsil, Mixtec
Nicaragua	Spanish	Miskito, Mayagna, Rama
Panama	Spanish	Ngäbere, Buglé, Emberá, Kuna
Paraguay	Spanish and Guaraní	Dialects of Guaraní
Peru	Spanish	Quechua, Aymara
Spain	Spanish	Catalan, Galician, Basque, Occitan
Venezuela	Spanish	Wayuu, Warao, Pemon

Note: Countries where the number of speakers of native languages is not significant have not been included in the chart above.

• More on this: Latin American Spanish vs Spain Spanish

References

• "What languages do we speak in the United States?" United Census Bureau, accessed July 30, 2024 https://www.census.gov/
• "People" The World Bank, accessed July 30, 2024, https://datatopics.worldbank.org/