Statistics reveal that the United States, long recognized as a melting pot of cultures and languages, now boasts 56.7 million Spanish speakers, placing it firmly ahead of Spain and second only to Mexico in the global ranking of Spanish-speaking populations.
As of 2013, Hispanics account for 17% of the U.S. population. This means that roughly one in every six Americans falls into this demographic. The Hispanic growth rate over the July 1, 2003 to July 1, 2004, period was 3.6% — higher than any other ancestral group in the United States — and more than three times the rate of the nation’s total population (at 1.0%). The projected Hispanic population of the United States for July 1, 2050, is 105.6 million people. According to this projection, Hispanics will constitute 25% of the nation’s total population by the year 2050.
For example, the Pew Research Center found that the percentage of people older than five who speak Spanish at home has dropped, from 78% in 2000 to 73% in 2013. Young Latinos increasingly prefer to consume news and entertainment in English, as well.
“If we would add the 9.7 million of undocumented immigrants to the total number of Hispanics on the census, the number of potential speakers of Spanish in the United States would rise to about 62 million people,” said Instituto Cervantes, a cultural organization that promotes the Spanish language.
The report says there are 41 million native Spanish speakers in the US plus a further 11.6 million who are bilingual, mainly the children of Spanish-speaking immigrants. This puts the US ahead of Colombia (48 million) and Spain (46 million) and second only to Mexico (121 million).
The report, El español, una lengua viva – Spanish, a living language – estimates that there are 559 million Spanish speakers worldwide, a figure that includes 470 million native speakers and those with some command of the language.
Relevant articles:
– Hispanophone
By 2050, the US could have more Spanish speakers than any other country