The US Has More Spanish Speakers Than Spain

According to a recent survey, the United States has the second-highest population of Spanish speakers in the world, surpassing Spain. There are already an estimated 52.6 million persons in the US who are able to speak the international romance language, which is second only to Mexico's 121 million speakers, according to a study by the renowned Institute Cervantes research institute.

Spanish is spoken by 48 million people in Colombia, compared to 46 million in Spain. There are currently 559 million Spanish speakers globally, according to the study. Of those, about 470 million are native speakers. According to data from the US Census Office, the US will have 138 million native Spanish speakers by the year 2050, making it the largest Spanish-speaking country on the planet.

According to the survey, there are approximately 41 million native Spanish speakers residing in the US, along with 11.6 million bilingual individuals, many of whom are the offspring of Spanish-speaking immigrants. Spanish is reportedly a second language for 18.2 percent of New Yorkers, according to the US Hispanic Data Gallery. With a 47 percent Spanish-speaking population, New Mexico has the highest percentage in the nation. Arizona (30%), Nevada (27.3%), Florida (27.4%), California (38%) and Texas (38%) are next in line (23.2 percent).