Los Países Hispanoparlantes Spanish-speaking countries

How many are there? There are 22 different countries that speak Spanish. They are in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, and Africa. Write in the country, capital, nationality, and tidbits on your note sheet.

Counting Continents By the United States’ definition, there are 7 continents. By the rest of the world’s definition there are 5 or 6 continents. The Americas are one continent and Antarctica doesn’t count. That’s why there are 5 Olympic rings representing the 5 continents.

#1 The United States el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Los Estados Unidos de América EE.UU. la capital: Washington, D.C. nacionalidad: American The darker the blue, the more Spanish speakers live there. We are the second-largest Spanish-speaking country behind Mexico with 45 million Spanish speakers! We do not have an official language.

Spanish-speakers by county

#2 Mexico el país: la capital: nacionalidad: México la capital: México, D.F. nacionalidad: Mexican Also made up of states, so it is the United States of Mexico. México, D.F. is the largest city in the western hemisphere. It was built over a lake, so some of the buildings in downtown sink a little every year. D.F. stands for Distrito Federal

Mexico City’s original layout

#3 Guatemala el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Ciudad de Guatemala nacionalidad: Guatemalan Has lots of ancient ruins from Aztecs and Mayas. Many of the names come from the native Aztec and Mayan languages.

Mayan ruins in Guatemala

#4 Honduras el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Tegucigalpa nacionalidad: Honduran Was the first country to be called a “Banana Republic” because it gets most of its income from exporting bananas. Also has lots of Mayan ruins.

Banana market in Honduras

#5 El Salvador el país: la capital: nacionalidad: San Salvador nacionalidad: Salvadoran Is tiny but has lots of volcanoes. Once went to war with Honduras over a soccer game.

Salvadorian Volcanoes

#6 Nicaragua el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Managua nacionalidad: Nicarugauan Contains Lake Nicaragua, which has fresh-water sharks! National sport is baseball.

Freshwater sharks!

#7 Costa Rica el país: la capital: nacionalidad: San José nacionalidad: Costa Rican Does not have an army! It is a relatively safe country that tries to stay out of international politics. Is a popular eco-tourist destination for cloud forests, volcanoes, and sea turtles.

Ziplining in a cloud forest

#8 Panamá el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Ciudad de Panamá nacionalidad: Panaman Gets 1/3 of income from the canal! Canal is the only way to cross a boat from the Atlantic to Pacific without going all the way around South America.

Panama Canal

#9 Cuba el país: la capital: nacionalidad: La Habana nacionalidad: Cuban Is an island only 90 miles from Florida, but Americans are not allowed to visit. Is under the communist rule of the Castro family, and the U.S. has an embargo… no trade, no travel.

American cars in Cuba

#10 La República Dominicana el país: La República Dominicana la capital: Santo Domingo nacionalidad: dominicano Shares an island with Haiti. Is the birthplace of Latin dancing like the merengue.

Salsa dancing in the Dominican

#11 Puerto Rico el país: la capital: nacionalidad: San Juán nacionalidad: Puerto Rican Is a tiny island that is actually part of the United States. Is not yet a state, so they don’t pay taxes… but they also don’t get government representation.

You can visit without a passport!

#12 Venezuela el país: La capital: nacionalidad: Caracas nacionalidad: Venezualan Has lots of shoreline on the north end of South America… and there’s lots of oil there! Famous for Angel Falls, the tallest waterfall in the world.

Angel Falls

#13 Colombia el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Bogotá nacionalidad: colombiano Gets most of its money from exporting oil and coffee. Also has a significant drug trade, so it is one of the least safe countries for travel.

Coffee on the hillside in Colombia

#14 Ecuador el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Quito nacionalidad: Ecuadoran Gets its name because it is right on the equator. Owns the Galapagos Islands, which are a national park and international tourist destination.

Famous animals on the Galapagos

#15 Perú el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Lima nacionalidad: Peruvian Is mostly mountainous – the Andes mountains – which is home to the potato and the tomato. Is famous for Machu Picchu, an ancient Incan mountain ruin.

Machu Picchu

#16 Bolivia el país: la capital: nacionalidad: La Paz nacionalidad: boliviano Is mostly mountains and has Lake Titicaca, the highest lake in the world. Has the world’s largest salt deposit!

Bolivian salt flats

#17 Chile el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Santiago nacionalidad: Chilean Is made up of districts numbered from 1 (in the north) to 11 (in the south). On the north end it has the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world.

A sculpture in the Atacama Desert

#18 Argentina El país: La capital: Nacionalidad: Buenos Aires Nacionalidad: Argentine Famous for cowboys, beef, grapes, and wine. Many families immigrated from Italy and Germany, so there is a lot of blonde hair and blue eyes.

Argentine tango

#19 Uruguay el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Montevideo nacionalidad: Uruguayan 88% of population are European immigrants from Spain and Italy! It’s a super healthy country – it has the highest birthrates and longest life expectancy in South America!

Diego Forlán, soccer legend

#20 Paraguay el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Asunción nacionalidad: Paraguayan Known for the Guaraní, the native group there. Has the largest hydroelectric plant in the world.

Massive hydroelectric plant

#21 España El país: La capital: Nacionalidad: Madrid Nacionalidad: Spanish Is the country that sent explorers to the new world, which is why so many Latin American countries speak Spanish. Has beautiful old cities and also deserts. Has lots of Arabic influence because it’s so close to Africa.

Beautiful European cities

#22 Guinea Ecuatorial el país: la capital: nacionalidad: Malabo nacionalidad: Guinean Is the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa. Populated by Spanish Jews who were exiled back in the 15th century.

Gorillas in Guinea