The Growing Importance of Speaking Spanish

Spanish is a beautiful romance language that has crossed borders and continents from the point of its creation to this day. According to Mondly's research, as of 2022, statistics show that 548 million people speak Spanish around the world, including native and non-native speakers. With every year, the quantity of Spanish speakers grows, and the importance of knowing Spanish does too. Outside of being a beautiful language, speaking Spanish is a skill that is becoming more and more necessary.

Spanish in North America

There are 20 countries that formally speak Spanish worldwide, however, there are countries where the official language isn’t Spanish, and yet, it is spoken heavily. The best example of this is the United States (US). According to the US Census Bureau, Spanish was the most common non-English language spoken as of the 2019 census in US homes, 12 times more than the next four most commonly spoken languages (Chinese-Mandarin, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Arabic).

Here in Canada, the amount of Spanish spoken has rapidly increased. According to Statistics Canada, Spanish spoken in the home has increased by +20% to 317,000 people. Spanish is becoming increasingly more popular in Canada and is already one of the most spoken languages in North America. Not only because it is the second most spoken language in the US but because it is the official language of Mexico, where 97% of the population speaks Spanish.

The Impact of Spanish Worldwide

The Spanish language hasn’t just increased in use within Canada and the US—it is also one of the most spoken languages worldwide. The Association for Language Learning states as of 2022, Spanish is the 4th most spoken language after English, Chinese-Mandarin, and Hindi.?

Spanish is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (UN). UN delegates can address the general assembly in any of the official languages. They are representatives of their countries in meetings at the United Nations who speak and vote for their countries unless a politician with a higher rank is present. Additionally, every official document put out by the UN is always released in Spanish, in addition to the other five official languages.

The Importance of Speaking Spanish

The importance of speaking Spanish is undeniable, as it has become part of our tapestry. Because speaking Spanish has had an explosion in growth, both in population and financial progression, the Spanish language has been described as a “Growth Language.” In North America, with such a considerable Latinx population and thriving Latin economies throughout the world, many employers are looking for applicants fluent in Spanish.?

Forbes writes that based on Preply’s research, a language learning provider, of 750,000 American job postings, more than 152,000 were seeking Spanish speakers. Essentially, stating that one in every five job posts is seeking Spanish speakers, creating a massive amount of opportunity for those who know the language. Truly, whether it’s for work or travel, fluency in a second language, such as Spanish, opens your world to new cultures and broadens your way of thinking.