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Ten facts to understand the rise of Spanish

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Language learning

Some fun facts that will help you understand why Spanish is a booming language

By now, we all know that Spanish is a language on the rise with a very, very bright future. And we’re not just saying that because we teach it! We’re saying it because it’s a fact: our language is being spoken more and more. As proof, we provide the following data... it will leave you speechless!

  1. Do you know which country has the highest number of Spanish speakers? Yes, it’s Mexico... But do you know which is the second? None other than the USA, with more than 52 million speakers. The world's great superpower speaks our language! Oh! And Spain? It’s in fourth place, after Colombia.
  2. It’s a classic trivia question: Chinese is the most spoken language on the planet; but with the rise of Spanish, the language of the Asian giant is gradually yielding its primacy. Interestingly, interest in our language is growing in China, as evidenced by the more than 40,000 Chinese students studying it.
  3. Since 2009, the use of Spanish on the Internet has increased by 650%. That’s quite a jump!
  4. Did you know that Spanish is the second most used language on the social network Twitter? Now you know there are millions of readers who can understand what you comment about your work... so be careful!
  5. In 33rd place for best-selling books is “One Hundred Years of Solitude” by Gabriel García Márquez. It might seem like a low ranking... but we are talking about 30 million copies sold! José Arcadio Buendía would be proud.
  6. Nowadays, people talk a lot about Spanish series that are successful abroad. But did you know that “Verano Azul” was a massive success in Portugal, Angola, Algeria, Croatia, Poland, France, and Bulgaria? Imagine millions of people crying their eyes out over the death of Chanquete.
  7. How many Spanish students are there in the world? According to the Instituto Cervantes, there are 21 million people. We wonder if their teaching materials include texts from “One Hundred Years of Solitude” or an episode of “Verano Azul”?
  8. There are 22 Academies of the Spanish Language spread across the world. The first was the RAE (founded in 1713) and the youngest is the North American one (founded in 1973).
  9. “Don Quixote” is not only one of the most translated books, it is also one of the most adapted: to the point that you can find versions in Spanglish, Japanese manga versions, mentions in international comics like “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,” and even novels... where the Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance hunts zombies!
  10. We have searched various websites for the most famous festivals in the world. And on all of them, the Day of the Dead (Mexico), the Tomatina in Buñol (Spain), and, of course, San Fermín appear. Interestingly, the Tomatina seems to have been gaining more popularity than the bull runs for a few years now.

These aren't exactly highbrow statistics, we know that... but by mentioning them, don't you get an idea of the growing importance of Spanish?