Spanish is a global language that is of strategic importance as a line of action in Spain's foreign policy.
The latest edition of the Cervantes Institute Yearbook provides data reflecting the importance of Spanish today. There are more than 600 million potential Spanish speakers worldwide, or 7.5% of the world's population. There are almost 500 million Spanish speakers with a native command of the language, surpassed only by Mandarin Chinese.
Aware of its importance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation has set up the Directorate General for Spanish Language in the World, under the aegis of the State Secretary for Ibero-America and the Caribbean and Spanish around the World. Its objective is to ensure consistent State action in disseminating the language abroad and to optimise the full potential that Spanish offers in the international sphere.
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‘Caja de las Letras’ of the Cervantes Institute in Madrid, which has 1,800 safe deposit boxes from what was formerly the headquarters of the Central Bank. Today, many of these boxes house the legacies of some of the most prominent intellectuals in Spanish-language culture. Photo: Verónica San Narciso (Nolsom) / MFA
The promotion of Spanish in diplomacy and international organisations
The promotion of Spanish in multilateral diplomacy is a key pillar of our foreign policy in collaboration with other nations that have Spanish as their official language.
Spain has signed 10 memorandums of understanding bilaterally with Ibero-American countries for the promotion of Spanish in the diplomatic sphere and in international organisations.
The memorandums of understanding vindicate Spanish as a global language, being the second most widely spoken native language in the world and an official language of the United Nations.
In July 2024, Spanish became an official language at the Hague Conference on Private International Law, which aims to standardise the rules of Private International Law worldwide.
The Hague Conference on Private International Law draws up international conventions, twenty of which are currently in force. They particularly focus on conflicts of law, for example, in matters of law applicable to international adoptions, matrimonial property regimes or inheritances.
The presence of our language as an official language for the Hague Conference on Private International Law confirms the efforts being made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation to promote Spanish as a diplomatic language and its use in all international organisations.
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Group photo of the presentation ceremony of the Global Observatory for the Spanish Language, held at the Instituto Cervantes in November 2023. Photo: Javier Hernández (Nolsom) / MFA
Global Observatory for the Spanish Language
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, together with the Cervantes Institute, the Government of La Rioja and the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Administration, have created the Global Observatory for the Spanish Language.
The creation of this foresight and analysis centre is aimed at harnessing the potential of Spanish as a tool for territorial development in a context marked by digitalisation processes and transformations in knowledge technology.
The Global Observatory for the Spanish Language is open to international collaboration and aspires to become a key tool for shaping strategic actions for the promotion and dissemination of our language and, in particular, its connection with the new digital economy and all the opportunities it opens up.
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