The number of Spanish speakers around the world has now reached 636 million, according to the newly published November 2025 annual report by Spain’s Instituto Cervantes.
The report, titled El Español en el Mundo, discovered that people learning Spanish as a foreign language is the fastest-growing group – expanding by 79% in the last decade.
The report predicts that one in three people in non-Hispanic countries will soon be Spanish speakers, if this growth continues.
According to the latest figures, 92 million people already speak Spanish as a second or third language, meaning they learned Spanish through formal or informal education.
In addition, there are currently 24.6 million people actively studying Spanish worldwide.
These groups are added to the 519 million native Spanish speakers, to reach a total of 636 million.
Geographically, the expansion of Spanish language learners is concentrated in some of the world’s top economies. The report notes that the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom and Brazil account for more than 78% of all Spanish learners globally.
Today:
- 9 million people are learning Spanish in the United States
- 4 million in Brazil
- 3.6 million in France
- 2 million in the United Kingdom
- 970,000 in Italy
Thanks to the popularity of Spanish as a foreign language in EU-27 countries (not including Spain), there are now 45.7 million Spanish speakers in the bloc – a figure almost level with Spain’s population of 49 million.
Based on present growth rates, the report anticipates that the number of people speaking Spanish as a foreign or secondary language could reach 200 million by the end of the century.
The report also states that bilingual proficiency in Spanish and English now represents the ‘most promising language combination’ for the future, noting that native speakers of both languages already total more than one billion people globally.
The languages hold official or co-official status in over 75 countries, providing combined access to some of the world’s most influential markets, professional networks and cultural ecosystems.
Beyond demography, the cultural and digital footprint of Spanish continues to grow.
Although Spanish remains the fourth-largest language by number of native speakers – after Mandarin, Hindi, and English – it is already the second most widely used language online, behind only English.
This momentum reflects the increasing influence of Spanish in technology, trade, entertainment, migration and international education.
According to Yasmin Minusculi, Operations Manager at Spanish language school Speakeasy BCN in central Barcelona, the growth in demand for Spanish courses comes with a shift in student profile.
‘After eight years at Speakeasy BCN, I’ve never seen interest in Spanish learning this strong,’ she said.
‘What’s interesting is the shift in age groups. We’re seeing more students in their late 20s to 40s who are studying Spanish to broaden their career horizons.
‘Companies are valuing multilingual talent more than ever, and Spanish has become a strategic asset.’
She gives the example of Luka, a mature student from Serbia who moved to Barcelona to work as an atmospheric scientist in the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre.
Luka said: ‘I decided to learn Spanish because many of my colleagues speak Spanish, so I wanted to learn about the culture and integrate into the environment.’
Another example is Alicia, a student from China.
‘I came to Barcelona to study my Master’s degree,’ she said.
‘When talking about my reasons to learn Spanish, my first would be that learning Spanish will help me find a job…as Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.’
Yasmin added that the typical profile at the school used to be a student in their early 20s who was learning Spanish during a ‘year abroad’, and wanted an experience in a foreign country.
‘It’s no longer just about moving to Barcelona or enjoying the culture. Students are realising that Spanish opens doors globally, both personally and professionally.’
