The Spanish Institute

SPANISH or CASTILIAN

Castellano

Is a Romance language originating in the northern Spain, whence it gradually spread inside the Kingdom of Castile.

 It was later taken to Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific when the Spanish Empire was established between the 15th and 19th centuries.

Spanish is the official language of Spain, most Latin American countries and Equatorial Guinea; 21 nations speak Spanish as their primary language.

The Spanish Language Worldwide

^{ARGENTINA                  40,500,000
BOLIVIA                         9,200,000
COLOMBIA                  44,500,000
COSTA RICA                   4,220,000
CUBA                             11,400,000
CHILE                            16,300,000
ECUADOR                       14,000,000
EL SALVADOR                   7,200,000}

^{ESPAÑA                          45,062,000
 ESTADOS UNIDOS           41,286,000 
FILIPINAS                         4,000,000
GUATEMALA                    13,000,000
GUINEA ECUATORIAL         507,000
HONDURAS                       7,500,000
MEXICO                         108,000,000
NICARAGUA                      5,700,000
PANAMA                           3,300,000
PARAGUAY                        7,700,000
REPUBLICA DOMINICANA   9,400,000
PERU                              29,000,000
PUERTO RICO                   4,000,000
URUGUAY                         3,500,000
VENEZUELA                     26,100,000}

Almost 500 million people worldwide speak Spanish.

Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the United States and the most popular studied foreign language in U.S. schools and universities by a considerable margin.

“More American companies are looking to recruit and hire bilingual employees!”By having staff that speak Spanish, companies have been able to attract and market to the Hispanic population, one of the fastest growing markets in the world."