Spanish doubles its sub-Saharan African student base in twelve years
Some 3.5 million people are studying Spanish in sub-Saharan Africa, double the figure from 2014. Music, football, migration and the decline in French's prestige explain the advance. Senegal, Ivory Coast and Equatorial Guinea rank among the fastest-growing markets.
According to Instituto Cervantes data reported by El País English, the number of Spanish students in sub-Saharan Africa rose from 1.7 million in 2014 to 3.5 million in 2026. This is a rare example of language expansion that has doubled in twelve years. The annual growth rate runs at 7.4 percent.
Four key factors are cited in Spanish's advance: Latin American music streaming, the popularity of La Liga football, migration networks toward Spain, and the loss of French prestige in former colonies. In Senegal, Spanish has risen to become the second most-studied foreign language in secondary education after French.
The Cervantes Institute plans to open new centres in Dakar, Abidjan and Yaounde. The Spanish government has raised its language-expansion budget for the next three years to 180 million euros. Spanish firms see the growing language footprint as a commercial investment opportunity in the region.
Read next
Beirut mourners gather to remember Lebanese turtle conservationist Mona Khalil
Hundreds gathered in Beirut for a memorial service for internationally recognised turtle conservationist Mona Khalil, killed in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese village of Mansouri. Khalil had worked for 30 years through the Orange House Foundation to protect the Mediterranean sea turtle population. UNESCO and WWF have called for an international investigation into her death.
EU carbon tax expansion hits New Zealand's biggest steel and aluminium exporters
Australia's largest cocaine bust: 2.7 tonnes seized in Sydney bunker
Russia halts Crimea fuel sales after major Ukrainian strikes kill four
UK's Starmer weighs 'political realities' after Burnham by-election setback
