Depending on how you count, there are 22 Spanish speaking countries in the world. The five most populous countries where Spanish is the official language are Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Argentina, and Peru.

The 22 Spanish Speaking Countries of the World

= CIA World Factbook, = National Geographic, = NationMaster, = Wikipedia,
= Lonely Planet, = Wolfram Alpha, = If It Were My Home

The United States?

Should the United States be considered a Spanish speaking country? While English is the most widely spoken, the U.S. has no official language. The number of Spanish speakers in the U.S. currently makes it the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world (after Mexico) and it is projected to become the largest by 2050. Spanish is widely spoken along the border states of the southern U.S. and in big cities such as Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, & New York.

California's constitution specifies that all official documents be printed in both Spanish and English. New Mexico, the state with the highest percentage of Spanish speakers (47%), is also extremely bilingual.

Other Countries

In addition to the 22 countries listed above you will also find Spanish widely spoken and understood in Andorra, a tiny country nestled between Spain and France.

Many residents of the British territory of Gibraltar located at the southern tip of Spain speak Spanish as well as English because of its proximity to Spain.

Spanish is also spoken in the sparsely populated Western Sahara, a disputed territory and former Spanish colony in North Africa.

Although English is the official language of Belize (formerly British Honduras), its location in Central America makes Spanish an important language for its citizens.

Portuguese is the official language of Brazil (the only such country in Latin America) but Spanish can be understood to some degree by many Brazilians living near its borders.

Because Spain ruled the Philippines for three centuries, the country retains many Hispanic characteristics. The official language, Filipino, has absorbed a great deal of Spanish.

The twin island country of Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean was a Spanish colony until England seized control in 1797. Spanish still remains an important language.

Source: www.spanish411.net