Hispanic facts for kids

The unofficial cultural Hispanic flag.

Hispanic (Spanish: Hispano, hispánico) is a word that originally meant a relationship to Hispania. This is the Iberian Peninsula and includes Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar and Spain. Now the word is used with a more limited meaning. In the United States it is often used to mean a person of (usually) mixed race with a Spanish surname. In North America generally, the word Hispanic has lost its link to Spain and Portugal, and is mainly used to mean Latin America.

Hispanic has also been used to mean the culture and people of the former Spanish and Portuguese Empires in America. Known as Hispanic America, this region includes Mexico, most of the Central and South American countries, and the Spanish-speaking island-nations of the Caribbean.

Spanish names, the Spanish language, and Spanish customs can also be found in other areas that were part of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires, such as in Equatorial Guinea in Africa, or in the Spanish East Indies (e.g. Philipines) and the Portuguese Brazil.

Spanish-speaking countries and regions

Spanish-speaking countries

the map of the spanish language uses

Spanish identified as sole official language

Spanish identified as co-official language

Former Spanish co-official, now identified as auxillary language

Today, Spanish is among the most commonly spoken first languages of the world. During the period of the Spanish Empire from 1492 and 1898, many people migrated from Spain to the conquered lands. The Spaniards brought with them the Castilian language and culture, and in this process that lasted several centuries, created a global empire with a diverse population.

Culturally, Spaniards (those living in Spain) are typically European, but they also have small traces of many peoples from the rest of Europe, such as for example, old Germania, Scandinavia, France, the Mediterranean, the Near East and northern Africa.

Language and ethnicities in Spanish-speaking areas around the world

Continent/region	Country/territory	Languages spoken	Ethnic groups	Picture
Europe	Spain	Spanish (official) 70%, Catalan 20%, Galician 7%, Basque 2% (official regionally) (Spanish is spoken by 100% of the population)	88.0% Spanish, 12.0% others (Romanian, British, Moroccan, Hispanic American, German) (2009) (See: Spanish people)
	Andorra	Catalan (official) 57.7%, Spanish 56.4%, French 14.5%, Portuguese 13.9%
North America	Mexico	Spanish 92.7%, Spanish and other language 5.7%, native/indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; (Native/ Indigenous languages include Mayan languages, Mixtec, Nahuatl, Purépecha, Zapotec, and other) (2005)	Mestizo (European, mainly Spanish and Native Mixed) 65%, Amerindian (or predominantly Amerindian) 17.5%, White (full Spanish or other European) 16.5%, other (including Black minority) 1% (See: Mexican people)
	United States	English 79.4%, Spanish 12.8%, other Indo-European 3.7%, Asian and Pacific Islander languages 3.0%, other 0.9% (2010 census) (Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii).	White 79.96%, Black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska Native 0.97%, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific islanders 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate)
Central America	Belize	Spanish 43%, Belizean Creole 37%, Mayan dialects 7.8%, English 5.6% (official), German 3.2%, Garifuna 2%, other 1.5%	Mestizo 34%, Kriol 25%, Maya peoples 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 11% (2000 census)
	Costa Rica	Spanish (official)	White 81%, Mestizo 13%, Black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1% Other 1%
	El Salvador	Spanish (official)	Mestizo 86%, White 12%, Amerindian 1%
	Guatemala	Spanish 59.4%, Amerindian languages 40.5% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including K'iche, Kakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca).	Mestizo 41%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Maya peoples 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1%, White 18.5% (2001 census)
	Honduras	Spanish (official), (various Amerindian languages, including Garifuna, Lenca, Miskito, Ch’orti’, and Tol). English(on the Bay Islands)	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, Black 2%, White 1%
	Nicaragua	Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, others 0.8% (1995 census) (English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast).	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 69%, White 17%, Black 9%, Amerindian 5%
	Panama	Spanish (official), English 14% (bilingual: requires verification)	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 70%, Black 14%, White 10%, Amerindian 6%
South America	Argentina	Spanish (official), other European and Amerindian languages	European Argentine 86% (mostly from Spanish and Italian ancestries), Mestizo, Amerindian and other non-European or non-White groups (including Arab, East Asian, and Black minorities) 14%
	Bolivia	Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)	Quechua 30%, Mestizo (mixed White and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, White 15%, Black minority.
	Chile	Spanish (official), Mapudungun, other European languages	White 52.7%, Mestizo 44.1%, Amerindian 3.2% (See: Chilean people)
	Colombia	Spanish (official), 68 ethnic languages and dialects. English also official in the San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina Islands.	Mestizo 49%, White 37%, Black 10.6% (includes Mulatto and Zambo), Amerindian 3.4%, Roma 0.01%, among other ethnic groups.
	Ecuador	Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, Amerindian 25%, White 7%, Black 3%
	Paraguay	Spanish (official), Guaraní (official)	Mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian) 74.5%, White 20%, Mulato 3.5%, Amerindian 1.5%
	Peru	Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages	Mestizo 38%, Quechua 29.7%, Aymara 4.7%, Amazonian 1.8%, White 15.5%, Black 5%, East Asian 3.3%.
	Uruguay	Spanish (official)	White (mostly from Spanish and Italian ancestries) 88%, Mestizo 8%, Black 4%, Amerindian (less than 0.5%)
	Venezuela	Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects	Mestizos (mixed Amerindian, White and African) 49,9%, White 42,2%, Black 3,5% and Amerindians 2,7%
Caribbean Islands	Cuba	Spanish (official)	White 69.1% (mostly Spanish and Portuguese, or other European and British Ancestry), Mulattoes 20.7%, Black 10.2% (2002 census) (See: Cubans)
	Dominican Republic	Spanish (official)	Mestizo 44%, Mulatto 30%, White 16%, African 10%	Santo Domingo
	Puerto Rico (Territory of the U.S. with Commonwealth status)	Spanish, English	White (mostly of Spanish ancestry) 76.2%, Black 6.9%, Asian 0.3%, Amerindian 0.2%, mixed 4.4%, other 12% (2007)
Africa	Equatorial Guinea	Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes the other 2 official languages - French and Portuguese, Fang, Bube, Annobonese, Igbo, Krio, Pichinglis, and English) (1994 census) Note: Equatorial Guinea was the only Spanish colony in Sub-Saharan Africa.	Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census)
Polynesia	Easter Island Territory of Chile	Spanish (official), Rapanui	Rapanui

Images for kids

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  Stele of a family of celts, hispanus from Gallaecia : Apana · Ambo/lli · f(ilia) · Celtica /Supertam(arica) · / [j] Miobri · /an(norum) · XXV · h(ic) · s(ita) · e(st) · /Apanus · fr(ater) · f(aciendum)· c(uravit)

See also

In Spanish: Hispanos para niños