The most spoken language in the world in terms of the number of countries. Features of the Spanish language in Latin America

In 2015, there are about 7,469 languages ​​in the world. But what is the most common among them? According to the well-known directory Ethnologue, which is developed and published in print and electronic form by the international non-profit organization SIL International, the list of the most common languages ​​in the world (by the number of speakers) is as follows.

Malay

Malay (incl. Indonesian) is a language that includes several related languages, spoken on the island of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, in the coastal regions of Borneo, Indonesia and Thailand. Speaks it 210 million human. It is the official language of Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and one of the four official languages ​​of Singapore, as well as a working language in the Philippines and East Timor.

Bengali is in ninth place in the ranking of the most spoken languages ​​in the world. It is the official language of the People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. It is spoken in parts of the Indian states of Jharkhand, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, as well as in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is the second most spoken language in India. The total number of speakers in the world - 210 million human.

French is the official language of France and 28 other countries (Belgium, Burundi, Guinea, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Republic of Congo, Vanuatu, Senegal, etc.), which is spoken by about 220 million human. It is the official and administrative language of many communities and international organizations such as the European Union (one of the six official languages), the International Olympic Committee, the United Nations and others.

Portuguese is the language spoken over 250 million people living in Portugal and the former Portuguese colonies: Brazil, Mozambique, Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome, Principe, East Timor and Macau. In all these countries, it is the official language. Also distributed in the United States of America, France, South Africa, Bermuda, the Netherlands, Barbados and Ireland. It is one of the official languages ​​of the European Union and other international organizations.

Russian is the official language of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Widely distributed in Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia. To a lesser extent in the countries that were part of the Soviet Union. It is one of the six official languages ​​of the United Nations and the most spoken language in Europe. All in the world speaks Russian 290 million human.

Hindi is the official language of India and Fiji spoken 380 million people, mainly in the central and northern regions of India. In the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and in the capital Delhi, Hindi is the official language of government and the main language of instruction in schools. It is also common in Nepal, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Suriname, the Republic of Mauritius and the Caribbean.

The fourth place in the ranking of the most popular languages ​​in the world is occupied by the Arabic language. It is the official language of all Arab countries, as well as Israel, Chad, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, the Comoros and the unrecognized state of Somaliland. All over the world speaks it 490 million human. Classical Arabic (the language of the Quran) is the liturgical language of 1.6 billion Muslims and one of the official languages ​​of the United Nations.

Spanish or Castilian is a language that originated in the medieval kingdom of Castile on the territory of modern Spain and spread during the era of the great geographical discoveries primarily in North and South America, as well as in parts of Africa and Asia. It is the official language of Spain and 20 other countries (Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Panama, Peru, etc.). In total, Spanish is spoken in the world 517 million people... It is also used as an official and working language by many international organizations, including the European Union, the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations, etc.

English is the official language of Great Britain, USA, Ireland, Canada, Malta, Australia, New Zealand, as well as some Asian countries. It is widespread in parts of the Caribbean, Africa and South Asia. In total, English is the official language of nearly 60 sovereign states and many world and regional international organizations. The total number of speakers in the world is 840 million human.

The most widely spoken language in the world is Mandarin Chinese, known as Mandarin or Mandarin, which is a common Chinese dialect spoken in the north and southwest of China. It is the official language of the People's Republic of China, Taiwan and Singapore. In addition, it is common in places where the Chinese diaspora lives: in Malaysia, Mozambique, Mongolia, the Asian part of Russia, Singapore, the USA, Taiwan and Thailand. According to Ethnologue, this language is spoken 1,030 million people.

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The first mentions of the Spanish language date back to the II century BC and it appeared on the Iberian Peninsula and by now has spread to several continents. It is spoken by over 400 million people around the world. Such a phenomenon as Latin American Spanish appeared thanks to the arrival of the conquistadors in America. Then the conquered countries began to speak the language of the invaders, mixed with local dialects. This is the same Spanish language, it is not singled out separately, but is called a dialect or "national variants of the language."

About 300 million Spanish-speaking people live on the territory of 19 countries of Latin America, for half of them it is a second language, there is also a local one. There are many Indians among the population, there are Uruguayans, Guarani, their number ranges from 2% (in Argentina) to 95% in Paraguay. For them, Spanish has not become their native language, many do not even know it at all. In some countries, archaisms have been preserved - for a long time not used words, addresses and turns of speech.

Today, in addition to Spain itself, Spanish is spoken in Mexico, the countries of Central America - Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua. The Antilles have 3 states with the predominant use of the language - Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rico. On the mainland of South America, there are also countries that use Spanish as the main or second language - Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia. The Rioplata region of the mainland is occupied by the states: Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, on their territory there are a lot of Spanish-speaking people (more than 90% of Argentines speak Spanish).

The reasons for the difference in language in different countries of Latin America

For a long time, the territory of modern Peru was inhabited by colonizers, mainly of noble origin, therefore the Spanish language in this country is closest to the original one. At the same time, laborers and peasants lived in Chile and Argentina, who spoke more without complicated phrases and words, just like a worker. Therefore, the Spanish language in Chile, its Chilean version, is very different from the classic pure one.

In countries where the Guarani Indians lived predominantly, the original Spanish strongly mixed with the local language, borrowing from them the features of colloquial speech, pronunciation and vocabulary. This option was most evident in Paraguay. But on the territory of modern Argentina lived both Spanish colonialists and local residents, as well as immigrants, who accounted for up to 30% of the total population. So the pure language was diluted both with the dialect of local residents, and with the peculiarities of the conversation of visitors, in particular Italians.

Lexical features

The vocabulary of the Spanish language has undergone changes since the beginning of its existence, borrowing words and meanings from different languages ​​and dialects. The conquest of the territory of modern Latin America was no exception. When the Spaniards came here, the bulk of the population were Indians and local tribes with their own linguistic characteristics. The colonialists, in turn, brought their families, black slaves and their own peculiarities of speech. Thus, all changes in vocabulary that happened to Spanish in these countries can be divided into 2 main groups:

• Local words that entered the vocabulary of the Spaniards, denoting some features of the life and life of the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland, as well as Anglo-Saxon, Italian or American concepts;
• Spanish words that have undergone changes in the process of life on the territory of Latin America.

A separate category of words - archaisms, or "Americanisms" appeared due to the transition of some concepts into the vocabulary of local residents from the Spanish language. Their peculiarity lies in the fact that in Spain they have not been used for a long time or have been greatly modified, turning into a new word.

For example, the word “pollera” used in Latin America means “skirt”, but in Spain it is not used at all. This also includes prieto (black) and frazada (blanket), which in Spanish will sound like negro and manta, respectively.

Thanks to the Indians and other peoples living on the mainland, many words came into the Spanish language, hitherto unknown to the Spaniards.

• Scientists call them indichenisms.
• For example, papa (potatoes), caucho (rubber), llama (llama), quina (hina) and tapir (tapir) were not known to the Spaniards at all until they came to South America.

And from the territory of modern Mexico, from the Nahuatl Aztec language, came the concepts used by the Mexicans today - cacahuete (peanut), hule (rubber), petaea (snuff box). Many words came from the need to denote objects and plants previously unknown to the Spaniards.

Phonetic differences between languages

In the pronunciation of some words and letters, you can also find differences between classical Spanish and its Latin American version. Their appearance is due to the same reasons as new concepts - some sounds were simply not in the language of the indigenous people, they did not hear them, and some were pronounced in their own way. In general, the pronunciations in the American version are softer and more melodic, the words are pronounced less harshly and more slowly.

Jorge Sanchez Mendes, linguist and scientist, gives characteristics of the general sound of the Spanish language in different countries of Latin America:

• Catalan (classic) - sounds harsh and imperious, words are pronounced hard, firmly;
  In the Antilles on the contrary, all sounds are pronounced softly, speech is fluid, pouring;
  Andalusian variant- brighter, more sonorous and lively;
  In Mexico speak softly and slowly, speech is unhurried, careful;
  In Chile and Ecuador- melodious, melodic, sounds soft and calm;
  but the conversation on the territory Rio de la Plata seems slow, calm and unhurried.

The main differences in pronunciation are recorded by the Language Studies Institutes, have their own names and are as follows:

1. Same pronunciation of the letters "r" and "l" if they are at the end of a syllable. This feature is typical for the population of the countries of Venezuela and Argentina, some regions of the states - Puerto Rico, Colombia, on the shores of Ecuador. For example, calamares in transcription looks like -, soldado sounds, and the word amor reads like.
2. Yeismo Phonetic Phenomenon- the sound of the letters ll in combination, like "y", or like "f" - in Argentina. For example, the word "calle" is translated as "street" and is pronounced in Spain - in Latin American countries and - in Argentina. It is found in Mexico, Colombia and Peru, in Chile and in the west of Ecuador, as well as on the Caribbean coast.
3. Changing the pronunciation of the letter "s" if it is at the end of a syllable, this feature is called aspiration. As in the words: este (this) will sound like mosca (fly) is pronounced. Sometimes the letter is simply lost and not pronounced - from las botas (boots) are obtained.
4. Seseo - phonetic feature b, which is found on the territory of almost all Latin American countries and it consists in pronouncing the letters "s" and "z", and sometimes "c", like [s]. For example, pobreza sounds like, zapato -, and entices would be pronounced like this -.
5. Transferring stress in some words to an adjacent vowel or another syllable: pais is read as in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries.

These are the most common differences, there are many more minor ones that include different pronunciation of the same word. Despite these differences, representatives of states in South America easily understand the Spaniards and each other.

Word formation

Latin Americans are more likely than Spaniards to use suffixes in words, the main ones being –ico / ica and –ito / ita. For example, platita (money) comes from plata, ranchito (ranch) comes from rancho, ahorita (now) comes from ahora, and prontito (soon) comes from pronto. In addition, some nouns have a different gender than in classical Spanish. For example, the word actor in Spain is masculine and pronounced comediante, and in Latin America - comedianta is feminine, call in Spain la lamada is feminine, in Latin American countries ell lamado is masculine.

The same applies to animals, for which one word is used in Catalan, and most often it is masculine. And in Latin America, women were added to them: tigre, husband. - tigra, wives. (tiger), caiman, husband. - caimana, wives. (caiman), sapo, husband. - sapa, wives. (toad).

Basically, new words are formed by using a root of non-Hispanic origin and adding suffixes and prefixes to it. The basis is taken by common American concepts, adapted to a specific situation and nationality. Word-building particles or suffixes are added to them, which give them a completely different meaning: -ada, -ero, -ear, -menta.

They all have their own history, "nationality" and meaning. For example, the –menta suffix is ​​actively used in the derivation of the Venezuelan dialect, it has a generalizing meaning: papelamnta - a pile of papers, perramenta - a pack of dogs. The suffix -io has the same meaning for the countries of Uruguay and Argentina - tablerio - a pile of stones.

In the words picada (path), sahleada (saber strike), nicada (company of children) "-ada" has a collective meaning or defining belonging to something. Other examples are gauchada (an act characteristic of a gaucho), ponchada (the amount of things conventionally fit on a poncho), and so on.

But the suffix -ear creates new verbs or American nouns: tanguear - to dance tango, jinitear - to ride a horse and other examples. Spanish in South America is more mobile, lively and developing than its European counterpart. Here there is a constant replenishment of vocabulary, the formation of new concepts and turns, due to the movement of the population across the mainland and the arrival of immigrants.

Grammatical differences

Features of grammar, characteristic of Latin America, have their own system and are the result of many years of language evolution. The Spaniards have a concept of "grammatical gender" applied to inanimate objects.

In the Latin American version, there are words with the same meaning, but strictly the opposite kind. In Spain - el color (color), el fin (end), la bombilla (light bulb), la vuelta (surrender), and in South American countries - la color, la fin el bombillo, el vuelto.

Plural endings also differ systemically in different countries: café (1 cafe) - cafes (several cafes), te (tea) - tes (several types of tea), pie (leg) - pies (legs), and in Latin America they will be called: cafeses, teses, pieses, respectively.

• Peculiarities.
• Words that have only plurals (scissors, trousers, pincers) in the South American version are also used in the only one: tijeraz - tiera (scissors), bombachas - bombacha (trousers) and tenazas - tenaza (tongs). If the noun ends with the letters -ey, then according to the rules of the Spanish language, their plural is formed by adding the ending "-es", while in Latin America the ending is simplified: buey (bull) - bueyes / bueys, or rey (king) - reyes / reys.

In addressing people, the Spaniards use the pronoun "you" - vosotros, in Latin America they address strangers - ustedes. And the pronoun "you" sounds like "vos" in the countries of South America and like "tu" - in Europe.

As a conclusion

The result of the comparison is the understanding that the Spanish language is lively and spoken, therefore it develops, breathes and absorbs new words, concepts and phrases. It depends on the national, territorial, cultural characteristics of the people who speak it. All differences are the result of a natural process of evolution and in no way affect the understanding of the representatives of different countries of the Spanish dialect.

If you decide to learn a language, then you do not need to know these features and memorize them in order to travel to any country in Latin America. The classic version of Spanish is enough, you will be able to communicate with the locals, and the presence of "your" words is typical for each language, Russian is no exception. In each region of our country, there are several dozen phrases and concepts used only within a small territory, but this does not prevent us from understanding each other, even living in different regions of the Russian Federation.

We have already printed, according to the number of people who speak them. But not only is this interesting, it is also interesting to know the number of countries and territories where they are spoken.

We present a list of the ten most spoken languages ​​in the world by the number of countries in which they are used.

1. English - 59 countries

Earlier, the British Empire included a huge number of colonies, and English became the most widely spoken in the world. Along with the UK and the United States, the following countries speak English: Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Canada, Dominica, Zambia, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu , Zambia and Zimbabwe.

2. French - 29 countries

The French also, at one time, colonized a number of countries on the African continent. The French language is widely spoken in countries such as Andorra, Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Republic of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Haiti, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Switzerland, Togo and Vanuatu, naturally in France itself.

3. Arabic - 25 countries

The Arab world covers most of Western Asia and North Africa. Arabic is spoken in Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Zambia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

4. Spanish - 24 countries

There was a time when Spain ruled half the world, all of Central and South America, with the exception of Brazil. Spanish is still spoken in the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Belize, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Gibraltar, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, Uruguay and Venezuela.

5. Russian - 12 countries

Thanks to the existence of the Soviet Union, apart from Russia itself, the Russian language is understood, and sometimes even spoken as a native language in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Russian is the most spoken of the Slavic languages ​​and is considered the largest vernacular language in Europe.

6. Portuguese - 11 countries

Portugal was once a great power, along with Spain. Even before 1999, Macau, deep in the heart of Asia, was a Portuguese colony. Until now, Portuguese is often spoken in the following countries: Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Macau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Goa, Daman and Diu, and even in India ...

7. German - 7 countries

Germany is located in the center of Europe. Its central location, along with its economic strength and former military glory, was able to spread its language in countries such as Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In the South Tyrol region of Italy, it also speaks German. There is also a community in Belgium. who still speaks the language.

8. Italian - 6 countries

Italians have a beautiful language, and it is spoken even outside their native Italy. The Vatican, being a state located in Rome, obviously speaks the language, as well as other countries that can speak and understand Italian San Marino and Switzerland. The states of the former Yugoslavia Croatia and Slovenia have areas that also speak Italian.

9. Chinese - 4 countries

In terms of the number of people who speak the language, Chinese is the most widely used language in the world, and with a population of over a billion, it's obvious. It is also known as Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese. Its other names are Mandarin, Guoyu, Modern Standard Mandarin, and Mandarin Mandarin. It is widely spoken in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, and is also one of the four official languages ​​of Singapore. Chinese are also understood and spoken in Myanmar.

10. Dutch - 3 countries

Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by the majority of the population in the Netherlands. It is also used by about 60 percent of the population of neighboring Belgium and the former Dutch colony of Suriname in South America. Dutch is also spoken in the Caribbean and is widely used in countries such as Aruba, Curacao and Saint Martin, as well as in parts of Indonesia.

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With all due respect to a number of state and official languages ​​of Latin America, one should not forget that there are local dialects in almost every state of this region. They were formed with the active assimilation of immigrant communities into the local culture. Also, answering the question, what language in Latin America has been preserved for many centuries, it is necessary to point out the numerous Indian languages ​​and dialects, especially since many of them are of great interest to linguists and ethnographers.

Let us dwell, for example, on considering one of languages ​​of Latin America... This is the unique language of the Zapotec Indians living in the territory of modern Mexico. The uniqueness of the language lies not only in the fact that it has as many as three dialects per 450 thousand people who use it, but also in the fact that the ancient Zapotec writing has not yet been deciphered. At the same time, even representatives of the nationality itself cannot give an unambiguous answer to what exactly these or those symbols of the ancient language mean. Today the Zapotecs have switched to the Latin alphabet.

What is the language in Latin America most and least common among European? More than 233 million Hispanics speak Spanish. It is public in Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Chile and other countries of the continent. French is the least widespread language. It speaks to no more than 250,000 people in Guiana, also the island states of the Caribbean. Distribution of European languages ​​of Latin America shows which states and to what extent the continent was colonized over the course of three centuries. The second most used among European languages ​​of Latin America is Portuguese. However, it is only state-owned in Brazil. However, the population of Brazil is quite large, which is why more than 190 million people speak Portuguese in Latin America.

English is also considered the official language the language of Latin America such as Guyana and the Falkland Islands. By the way, the Falklands remain the site of a rather serious political conflict between Argentina and Great Britain. Here, in the early eighties, there were even active hostilities between the troops of the British Crown and the Argentine regular army, during which the Argentines suffered a serious defeat.

Another European language in Latin America is Dutch. It is spoken by about half a million people, most of whom live in the state of Suriname.

The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw active immigration flows from Europe to Latin America. This left its mark on the development of the language of Latin America. So in Argentina alone, over the past hundred years, a special language has appeared, which is a mixture of Spanish and Italian. This is due to the fact that several million ethnic Italians live in Argentina today, many of whom have assimilated with the local Hispanic population.

The Russian language is also not alien to Latin America, because a large number of descendants of immigrants from Russia who fled from the horrors of the revolution and civil war live here.

Also see:

The richest culture of Latin America

When it comes to the culture of Latin America, the first thing that comes to mind for a resident of other continents is various Indian rituals, the Brazilian carnival, the Argentinean rodeo and, of course, football, which can be called a real Latin American religion.

Indigenous peoples of South America

Considering the indigenous population of South America, it is worth noting that the Latin American continent is the region of the planet where the Indians are allowed not only to live and develop freely, but also to occupy responsible leading positions of state importance.

Latin

A collective term for countries that speak Romance languages ​​(Portuguese and Spanish), descended from Latin, in fact, hence the name. Latin America is often associated with Catholicism and has a strong Roman legal and cultural tradition. Latin America is often called Latin Europe in the West, just as there is Germanic Europe or Slavic Europe. The countries of South America began to be called Latin America in the 19th century, when a very strong influence of Roman Catholicism was discovered here, in this region the contribution of European Romance countries was most visible in terms of culture, language, religion, as well as at the genetic level. Most Hispanics are of Latin European descent, particularly from Italy, Spain, France and Portugal. North America, in contrast, is called Anglo-Saxon America, but the Americans themselves and the inhabitants of Latin America are called just Americans, Canada is simply Canada, and the inhabitants are Canadians.

Population of Latin America

Today the population of Latin America is estimated at more than 610 million people.

Ethnic groups

Latin America is the most diverse region in the world in terms of the presence of ethnic groups and races, the ethnic composition varies from country to country, the majority of the population of Latin America is mestizo, the descendants of marriages between Europeans and local Indians. In most countries, the Indian population predominates, in some countries it is white, there are countries where the majority of the population is black or mulatto. Nevertheless, about 80% of the population of Latin America has European roots.

Latin American countries

In addition to the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries of mainland America, the list of Latin American countries also includes the countries of the Caribbean region: Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba. Often countries in which French are spoken are also included in the countries of Latin America, the former and current colonies of France are French Guiana, Saint-Martin, Haiti, with the exception of Quebec, which is located in Canada.

Many countries in Latin America belong to North America, so the concepts of South America and Latin should not be confused. North America includes Mexico, most of the countries of Central and South America, the Caribbean, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico.

Countries where the majority of the population speaks English is traditionally not included in Latin America - Guyana, Belize, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica and others.

Latin America is picturesque and bizarre, despite its unfavorable climatic conditions for a white man, it is a popular tourist destination, there is the world's highest Angel Falls, the largest mountain lake Titicaca and the largest functioning volcano Cotopaxi, the longest Andes mountain system on Earth, the greatest Amazon river. There are many natural resources here, many countries live off the sale of oil and gas.

Languages ​​in Latin America

Most of the Latin American countries are Hispanic, with the largest country in the region speaking Portuguese, Brazil. In Suriname they speak Dutch, French in Guiana, English in Guyana, Belize, Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica.

60% of the population of Latin America considers Spanish as their first language, 34% Portuguese, 6% of the population speak other languages ​​such as Quechua, Maya, Guarani, Aymara, Nahuatl, English, French, Dutch and Italian. Portuguese is only spoken in Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese), the largest and most populous country in the region. Spanish is the official language of most of the rest of Latin America, as well as Cuba, Puerto Rico (where it is equal to English), and the Dominican Republic. French is spoken in Haiti and in the French overseas departments in Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guiana, the French overseas community of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, and French is also spoken in Panama. Dutch is the official language in Suriname, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles. Dutch is related to Germanic, so these territories are not necessarily considered to be part of Latin America.

Indian languages: Quechua, Guarani, Aymara, Nahuatl, Mayan lenguas, Mapu Dungun are widely spoken in Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay and Mexico, to a lesser extent in Panama, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina and Chile. In Latin American countries not listed above, the population of native speakers is generally negligible or absent, for example in Uruguay. Mexico is the only country that boasts a wider variety of indigenous languages ​​than any other Latin American country, with Nahuatl being the most spoken Native American language in Mexico.

In Peru, the Quechua is the official language, along with Spanish and any other language of the other indigenous peoples of the country where they are predominant. There is no official language in Ecuador, and Quechua is the recognized language of the indigenous people under the country's constitution, but Quechua is spoken by only a few groups in the highlands. In Bolivia, the Aymara, Quechua and Guarani Indian languages ​​have official status along with Spanish. Guarani, along with Spanish, is the official language of Paraguay, where the majority of the population is bilingual; in the Argentine province of Corrientes, only Spanish is official. In Nicaragua, Spanish is the official language, but on the country's Caribbean coast the official languages ​​are English and indigenous languages ​​such as Miskito, Sumo and Rama.

Colombia recognizes all the indigenous languages ​​spoken by the locals, but only 1% of the country's population is native speakers of these languages. Nahuatl is one of 62 native languages ​​of indigenous people in Mexico, which are officially recognized by the government as "national languages" along with Spanish.

Other European languages ​​that are spoken in Latin America are English, spoken by some groups in Puerto Rico, as well as in neighboring countries that are not considered Latin America, these are Belize and Guyana.

German is common in southern Brazil, southern Chile, parts of Argentina, Venezuela, and Paraguay.

Italian is spoken in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Uruguay.

Ukrainian and Polish in southern Brazil, southern Argentina.

Yiddish and Hebrew are common in the vicinity of Buenos Aires and São Paulo.

Japanese is common in Brazil and Peru, Korean in Brazil, Arabic in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, Chinese throughout South America.

In the Caribbean, Creole is spoken, including Haitian Creole, which is the predominant language of Haiti, primarily due to the mixing of French with West African languages, Native American, with influences from English, Portuguese and Spanish.

The Garifuna language is spoken along the Caribbean coast in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize.

Latin American countries

The largest country in Latin America by area is Brazil with an area of ​​8,515,767 square kilometers, followed by Argentina 2,780,400, Mexico 1,972,550, Peru 1285216, Colombia 1,141,748, the smallest region is the French overseas territory of Saint Martin with an area of ​​25 square kilometers.

If you look at the population, then again the largest state is Brazil 201032714 people, then Mexico 118395054, Colombia 47387109 and only in fourth place is Argentina 41660417.

Cities in Latin America

The largest proud in Latin America is the Mexican capital Mexico City 20631353 people, then Sao Paulo Brazil 19953698, Buenos Aires Argentina 13333912, Rio de Janeiro Brazil 11968886, Lima Peru 10231678, Bogota Colombia 8868395, Santiago Chile 7023767, Brazil 5504747 , Caracas Venezuela 5297026, Guadalajara Mexico 4593444.

Richest city in Latin America Buenos Aires with GDP per capita USD 26 129, further Caracas 24 000, Sao Paulo 23 704, Santiago 21393, Mexico City 19 940, Lima 17 340, Belo Horizonte 17 239, Guadalajara 16 855, Rio de Janeiro 16 282, Bogotá 15 891.

Religion in Latin America

90% of Hispanics are Christians, 70% of Hispanics consider themselves to be Latin Catholics. As we have noticed, Catholicism prevails in Latin America, in contrast to the Protestant North America with the USA and Canada.

Hispanics and migration

For example, about 10 million Mexicans live in the United States today, 29 million Americans today boast Mexican roots. 3.33 million Colombians live outside of their homeland today, while outside Brazil there are 2 million natives of this country. One and a half million Salvadorans live in the United States, and there are still so many de Dominicans, 1.3 million Cubans.

0.8 million Chileans live in Argentina, USA, Canada, Sweden and Australia.

Education, schools and literacy in Latin America

In Latin America today there are big problems with access to education, however, in recent years the situation has improved, most of the children are already attending school. Children who live in remote regions, as well as children of black families who may live in extreme poverty, do not have access to education. Only 75% of the poorest youth aged 13 to 17 attend school. Currently, more than half of low-income or rural children are unable to complete nine years of secondary school.

Crime and violence in Latin America

Latin America is synonymous with crime. Latin America and the Caribbean are the most dangerous regions of the modern world in terms of crime, it is in Latin America that the most dangerous cities in the world are located, which can be justified by the highest level of social inequality in the population's income. The problem with crime will not be solved until the social gap between rich and poor is smoothed. Therefore, crime prevention, an increase in the number of police and prisons will lead nowhere. The homicide rate in Latin America is the highest in the world. From the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, the homicide rate increased 50 percent. The main victims of such murders are young people, 69% of whom are between the ages of 15 and 19.

The most dangerous countries in Latin America

The most dangerous countries in Latin America are: Honduras 91.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, El Salvador 69.2, Venezuela 45.1, Belize 41.4, Guatemala 38.5, Puerto Rico 26.2, Dominican Republic 25, Mexico 23.7 and Ecuador 18.2.

For example, the world average is 6.9. In 1995, Colombia and El Salvador broke the world record for the crime rate - 139.1 murders per 100,000 inhabitants. Crime and violence in Latin America is the main threat to human health and takes more lives than AIDS or other infectious diseases.

Latin America Economy

nominal GDP of US $ 5,573,397 million. Human Development Index (HDI) in Latin America

All Latin American countries are classified as emerging economies. If we evaluate the countries of the region according to the Human Development Index (HDI), then the leader here is Chile with a coefficient of 0.819, followed by Argentina 0.811, Uruguay 0.792, Panama 0.780, Mexico 0.775, Costa Rica 0.773, Peru 0.741, Colombia 0.719, Dominican Republic 0.702, Bolivia 0.675, Paraguay 0.669, Guatemala 0.628, Honduras 0.617, Nicaragua 0.599, Haiti is an outsider of 0.456.

Poverty in Latin America

The poorest and richest countries in Latin America

If we assess countries in terms of poverty, then people feel best in Uruguay where only 3% of the population is below the poverty line, followed by Chile with a coefficient of 3.2, Argentina 3.7, Costa Rica 3.7, Cuba 4.6, Mexico 5.9, Venezuela 6.6, Panama 6.7, Colombia 7.6, Ecuador 7.9, Brazil 8.6, Haiti has the worst at 31.5. For example, 54.9% of the population lives in Haiti on less than $ 1.25 per day, in Guatemala 16.9, Nicaragua 15.8, Honduras 23.3, El Salvador 15.1

Malnutrition affects up to 47% of Haitians, 27% of Nicaraguans, 23% of Bolivians and 22% of Honduras.

Life expectancy in Latin America

Life expectancy is one of the most important indicators of quality of life. So from this point of view, it is best to live in Cuba, Costa Rica and Chile, where the indicator is 79 years. In Mexico and Uruguay 77, in Panama, Ecuador and Argentina 76, the lowest rate in Haiti 62 years.

The best countries in Latin or South America for life

So, the palm is shared by Chile and Uruguay, Chile has the highest human development index, GDP, life expectancy and the lowest crime rate for this region. Uruguay has the lowest income inequality, the lowest poverty, extreme poverty, and the highest peacefulness.

Panama has the highest level of real GDP growth. Cuba boasts success in education, has the lowest level of illiteracy of the local population, and people live in Cuba for a very long time, Costa Rica also boasts a relatively high life expectancy of its citizens.

Haiti has the worst performance, living in this country is scary. Nevertheless, surprisingly, Haiti has a very low crime rate, despite the extreme poverty of the population, the homicide rate is only 6.9 per 100,000 people per year, approximately the same crime rate in prosperous Uruguay. But it is already very dangerous in Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico.

The best country to live in Latin America

Popular countries Argentina and Brazil show average rates for the entire Latin American region. So, from our point of view, the best countries to live in are Chile and Uruguay, followed by Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil. Accidents in Cuba can be misrepresented.

Ecology in Latin America

The highest ecology in Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador. The lowest in Haiti are Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, Chile and Argentina.

Tourism in Latin America

Among the countries of Latin America, Mexico is doing well in terms of international trism, thanks to its close geographical location to the United States and a large number of archaeological sites, such a resort as Cancun is worth mentioning.

Mexico is visited by 22.3 million foreign tourists annually, the next pursuer is very far behind, this is Argentina with 5.2 million people, then Brazil 5.1, Puerto Rico with 3.6, Chile with 2.7, Colombia 2.38 , Dominican Republic 4.1, Panama 2.06.

Most visited cities and attractions in Latin America

The most visited cities and attractions in Latin America: Cancun, Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, Cartagena, Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco, Rio de Janeiro, El Salvador, Margarita Island, Sao Paulo, Salar de Uyuni , Punta del Este, Santo Domingo, Labadee, San Juan, Havana, Panama City, Iguazu Falls, Puerto Vallarta, Poas Volcano National Park, Punta Cana, Viña del Mar, Mexico City, Quito, Bogota , Santa Marta, San Andres, Buenos Aires, Lima, Maceio, Florianopolis, Cuzco, Ponce and Patagonia.

If we talk about the efficiency of tourism in Latin America, then the leader here is the Dominican Republic, where the largest receipts from the tourism sector from the country's GDP, but the receipts from tourism per capita are the highest in Uruguay. Very high income from tourism in Venezuela, but this is also due to the space local prices. A trip to Brazil, Panama, Dominican Republic is considered very expensive.

The most unattractive countries for tourism in Latin America are: Haiti, Paraguay, Venezuela, El Salvador - you can skip such countries on your trip to South America.