Benefits of Spanish and its Economic Value

Spanish has become the second most taught language in Europe, replacing French and German, a result of its high demand in international relations.
Although most European countries have been going through a crisis, language education has never been an obstacle for personal development. On the contrary, the business world shows great interest in Spanish speaking people.

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world in terms of native speakers and considering the number of Spanish speakers spreading all over the world, it is no wonder that the demand for the language is increasing as companies try to reach Spanish consumers. In the United States, many companies use Spanish in commercials and there are many TV channels that broadcast in Spanish. During the last US elections the importance of campaigning in Spanish reached a new level as candidates tried to reach the large Hispanic population via Spanish television and radio. Barack Obama has also mentioned the importance of the Spanish language and his regret for not having paid more attention to learning it. It is commonly believed that within 15 years, the USA will have a Hispanic president.

Speaking Spanish gives people a competitive advantage in countries that work with Latin America and Spain. China is an example of a country that has realized this trend and as a result the demand to learn Spanish has grown significantly in the country. China does a lot of business with Argentina and Brazil in Latin America.  Brazil is another country that also promotes the Spanish language by increasing its number of Spanish classes and prioritizing the language with the aim of benefiting the economy.

Even though the importance of the Spanish language is widely known, many private groups still do not take advantage of the opportunity to invest in the language due to its strong business potential. There are nearly 18 million students studying Spanish and according to a study published by Telefonica Foundation called the “Economic Value of Spanish,” the Spanish interpreter workforce is the third within the Interpreting Service of the European Commission as a result of the lack of proficiency in other European languages of Spanish delegates. The study also presented the facts below on the economic value and benefits of Spanish.

The buying power of Spanish speaking people represents 9% of global GDP
The business of Spanish teaching represents 16% of the GDP (164€ million)
The concept known as “factor ñ” (Spanish content) represents 2.9% of the GDP.
Knowing Spanish is considered to increase salary by nearly 10% in the United States
Investing in Spanish increases international business with Spanish speaking countries