Some relevant figures about the reach of Spanish around the world:

• There are more than 559 million Spanish-speakers worldwide, including people whose skills are limited, Spanish language students and native speakers (470 million).

• > Spanish ranks second in terms of the number of native speakers, after Mandarin Chinese. It is also the second most widely spoken language in terms of overall speakers (native speakers + limited skills + Spanish language students).

• The percentage of the world population that speaks Spanish as their mother tongue is increasing as a result of demographic causes, while the proportion of Chinese and English speakers is dwindling.

• Estimates suggest that by 2030 Spanish-speakers will make up 7.5% of the world population, a number that is expected to reach 10% within the next three to four generations.

• Nearly 20 million people study Spanish as a foreign language.

• The Hispanic population of the United States currently stands at approximately 52 million people. In 2050 the United States will be the world's top Spanish-speaking country.

Data taken from: Instituto Cervantes. Informe 2015. El español: una lengua viva.