Why learn Spanish?
If you speak Spanish, you can communicate with almost 500 million people worldwide! Think how many more employment options that gives you! And if you want to take a trip to Spain or Latin America, a little knowledge of Spanish will go a long way.
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 388 million people in 21 countries (Mexico: 102 million, USA: 45 million, Spain: 44 million, Colombia: 44 million, Argentina: 39 million, Venezuela: 28 million, Peru: 28 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 power is expected to exceed $926 million by 2007. Spanish is the second most used language in international communication, and an official language of the UN and its organizations.
page last updated: 03/28/09
