The United States of America has always had a policy of accepting immigrants and refugees from other countries, thus giving them a chance to live in the US and become citizens. Due to this long-standing policy, the US has no official language. However, English is the most spoken language followed by Spanish as the second most spoken language. The US Census Bureau released the American Community Survey of 2017 that states 41 million people in the US speak Spanish. Maybe you should be learning Spanish!

How Many People Speak Spanish Worldwide?

Worldwide, more people speak Mandarin Chinese than any other language, due primarily to the immense population of China. Of the 1.4 billion residents of China, over 900 million of them speak Mandarin Chinese. The second most spoken language in the world is Spanish with 572 million people. But while the majority of Chinese speakers are in China, Spanish speakers are much more spread out. Currently, there are 22 countries that speak Spanish.

What countries speak Spanish?

Spanish speaking countries include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Spain, The United States, Guatemala, Equatorial Guinea, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

If you’re considering learning a second or third language, Spanish is one to consider. Sign up for classes at any level with the International Language Institute. Classes are offered in-person or online and are delivered by native-speaking instructors. Learn more here.

Here are four reasons to help convince you to learn Spanish.

1. Increasing Popularity – Not only is the Spanish language one of the most popular languages in the world, its popularity is increasing. The number of Spanish speakers has been increasing in the past decade and continues to rise. Spanish is spoken throughout much of South and Central America and North America, and you can go to Europe and speak Spanish in Spain and other European countries.

• Easy to Learn – By all accounts, Spanish is universally considered the easiest language to learn. Aside from the rolling Rs, there are just a few tricky sounds that people have trouble with. Spanish grammar is considered fairly simple, as is writing Spanish. The estimated number of hours it takes to learn Spanish varies, but most people who speak Spanish as a second language are in agreement that Spanish takes the least amount of time.

• Increased Employment Opportunities – Because so many countries do speak Spanish, there is considerable international commerce between Spanish-speaking countries and every other country in the world. If you speak Spanish in addition to your own native language, you have a great chance of working for a company that deals with a foreign Spanish-speaking company. Not only would you be translating, you most likely would also be conducting the business operations in some capacity. Companies are willing to pay well for bilingual employees.

• You Can Live in a Variety of Places – If you speak Spanish, you can live in so many places around the world. Imagine living in Belize for a year, then moving to Spain for a year, and then heading on over to Costa Rica to find a nice little bungalow to retire. From there, you can travel as a tourist to multiple places around the globe and feel right at home speaking the native language of your destination.

Spanish is a beautiful language and is spoken around the world. It’s easy to learn and can potentially open a lot of doors for someone wanting to use the language for career advancement opportunities. If you’re looking for a language to conquer, Spanish is the perfect choice. ¡Disfruta aprendiendo español!