Spanish voice-over agency

Which countries have Spanish as a national language? Spanish is the official language of 21 countries: Spain, Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guatemala, Cuba, Bolivia, Honduras, Paraguay, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Equatorial Guinea, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Uruguay and Puerto Rico.

How many people speak Spanish as their first language? It is estimated that there are between 400 and 500 million native Spanish speakers in the world, along with 60 million speakers of Spanish as a second language. Spanish is arguably the second most important language, after English, in terms of global communication. It is the third most commonly used language online, after English and Mandarin.

Did you know…

• Several different languages are spoken in Spain itself, in addition to the official Castilian Spanish. These include Galician, Catalan and Basque, and within their communities they have co-official designation.
• A number of distinct Spanish dialects are also spoken within the country, for example Andalusian and Canarian. These differ from the Castilian standard in terms of pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. However, they all use the same written standard.
• Different Spanish dialects have evolved throughout Latin America. These variants can roughly be grouped into Mexican, Caribbean, Andean-Pacific, Rio de la Plata, Chilean and Central American. Many of these dialects have been significantly influenced by Native American languages.
• The popularity of Latin American soap operas and music has helped Spanish speakers comprehend different versions of their language. All educated Spanish speakers can understand standard Spanish.
• Most non-Spanish films are currently dubbed using two separate accents – one for Spain and one for Latin America – but productions from other Spanish-speaking countries are rarely dubbed.

The Spanish economy Despite the country’s 2008-2013 recession, the Spanish economy is the fourth largest in the Eurozone, and the thirteenth largest in the world (based on nominal GDP statistics at the end of 2013). Important Spanish industries include:

• Tourism – Spain’s tourism industry is the second largest in the world, with millions of people visiting the country each year (a monthly record of 7.9 million was registered in August 2012).
• Automobile manufacture – in 2009 Spain was one of the top ten automobile producer countries in the world, employing 9% of the country’s total workforce (after suffering in the economic downturn, the industry is now beginning to recover).

Spain is a member of the European Union and the World Trade Organisation. It is the second biggest foreign investor in Latin America, after the United States.hidden text