According to data provided by the MEC, Spanish is the most studied language at all educational stages in the United States. It ranks second in number of students in France, Sweden, Brazil and most of the United Kingdom. In Germany, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal and Italy it is the third language. On the other hand, Spanish has the status of Foreign Language 1 (LE1) especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, where students generally study one or no foreign language; and its position as Foreign Language 2 (LE2) is in the majority in France, Sweden and Brazil.
329 MillionsNative Speakers
Spanish is used by some 450 million people (natives and speakers of Spanish as a second language). It is undergoing continuous growth and predictions indicate that 535 people million will be speaking Spanish in 20 years.
650,9%Increased web usage
In only ten years time (2000-2009), the use of Spanish on the Internet has experienced this great leap, making it the third most widely used language on the web. 7.9% of web users (of the 1700 million users worldwide) communicate in Spanish. As for the number of documents requested, Spanish ranks as the fourth most popular language.
1000Average number of students per year in courses for foreigners at the UD
Since 1989, the University of Deusto has offered Spanish classes for foreigners though CIDE (International Centre for Spanish), based in the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences. An average of 1000 students study here every year, coming from all over the world and participating in international programmes.
CIDE has been a Cervantes DELE Exam Centre for Official Spanish Diplomas since 1997. Since 2004, it has taken part in the Training Programme for Teachers of Second Languages in collaboration with the Cervantes Institute, in addition to course design for the Educational Council of the Spanish Embassy in the USA for Spanish teachers.
2050Year in which the U.S. will be the first Spanish-speaking country
It is estimated that by the year 2050, the U.S. will be the world's leading Spanish-speaking country. And interest in our language in China is on the rise. Since 2005, the so-called Spanish Law has been in force in Brazil, obliging all secondary schools, both public and private, to offer the teaching of Spanish during school hours. To this end, 200,000 teachers will be trained or hired.
Data from the German Federal Statistical Office reveal that in the 2000/2001 academic year, some 115,000 German students were studying Spanish, while in the 2007/2008 academic year, the figure rose to 285,000 students, an increase of almost 150%.
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