Spanish is the world's third most spoken language, after Mandarin Chinese and English, and ranks second in terms of native speakers.

At the end of the 19th century, 60 million people spoke Spanish. Today, almost 500 million people worldwide speak Spanish!

Spanish is the mother tongue of approximately 350 million people in 21 countries (Mexico: 98 million, Spain: 39 million, USA: 39 million, Argentina: 35 million, Colombia: 36 million, Venezuela: 22 million, Peru: 20 million…) It is also widely spoken in many more where it is not an official language.

Hispanic consumers are the fastest-growing market segment in North America. Their population in the USA has grown by 60% in just one decade and their buying exceeded $926 million in 2007.

Spanish is the second most used language in international communication, and an official language of the UN and its organisations.