View source for Place:Hispanic America

{{Short description|Predominantly Spanish-speaking countries of North and South America}}
{{Multiple image
| direction = vertical
| width = 240
| image1 = Hispanic America (orthographic projection).svg
| caption1 = Map of countries that make up Hispanic America
}}

The region known as '''Hispanic America''' ({{lang-es|Hispanoamérica}} or {{lang|es|América Hispana}}) and historically as Spanish America ({{lang|es|América Española}}) is all the Spanish-speaking countries of the [[Earth:Americas|Americas]].<ref>All of the following dictionaries only list "Spanish America" as the name for this cultural region. None list "Hispanic America." All list the demonym for the people of the region discussed in this article as the sole definition, or one of the definitions, for "Spanish American". Some list "Hispanic," "Hispanic American" and "Hispano-American" as synonyms for "Spanish American." (All also include as a secondary definition for these last three terms, persons residing in the United States of Hispanic ancestry.) ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' (3rd ed.) (1992). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. {{ISBN|0-395-44895-6}}. ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'' (11th ed.) (2003). Springfield: Merriam-Webster. {{ISBN|0-87779-807-9}}. ''The Random House Dictionary of the English Language'' (2nd ed.) (1987). New York: Random House. {{ISBN|0-394-50050-4}}. ''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles'' (2007). New York: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-920687-2}}. ''Webster's New Dictionary and Thesaurus'' (2002). Cleveland: Wiley Publishing. {{ISBN|978-0-471-79932-0}}</ref><ref>"Hispanic America" is used in some older works such as Charles Edward Chapman's 1933 ''Colonial Hispanic America: A History'' and 1937 ''Republican Hispanic America: A History'' (both New York: The Macmillan Co.); or translated titles that faithfully reproduce ''Hispanoamérica'', such as Edmund Stephen Urbanski (1978), ''Hispanic America and its Civilization: Spanish Americans and Anglo-Americans'', Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. The Cambridge University Press textbook by two distinguished historians of early Latin America, James Lockhart and Stuart B. Schwartz is entitled, ''Early Latin America: A History of Colonial Spanish America and Brazil'' 1983.</ref> In all of these countries, [[Social:Spanish language|Spanish]] is the main language - sometimes sharing official status with one or more [[Social:Indigenous languages of the Americas|indigenous languages]] (such as Guaraní, Quechua, [[Social:Aymara language|Aymara]], or [[Social:Mayan languages|Mayan]]) or English (in Puerto Rico),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2098.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613004519/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2098.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 13, 2007|title=CIA – The World Factbook – Field Listing – Languages|access-date=2009-04-11}}</ref> and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003300/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2122.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 13, 2007|title=CIA – The World Factbook – Field Listing – Religions|access-date=2009-04-11}}</ref>

Hispanic America is sometimes grouped together with {{wipe|Brazil}} under the term "[[Place:Ibero-America|Ibero-America]]", meaning those countries in the Americas with cultural roots in the [[Place:Iberian Peninsula|Iberian Peninsula]].{{efn|The adjective "Ibero-American" usually refers only to countries of the Western Hemisphere, but in the title of the [[Organization:Organization of Ibero-American States|Organization of Ibero-American States]] it refers to Iberian ''and'' (Ibero-)American countries, plus Equatorial Guinea.}} Hispanic America also contrasts with Latin America, which includes not only Hispanic America, but also Brazil (the former [[Place:Portuguese America|Portuguese America]]) and the former French colonies in the Western Hemisphere (areas that are now in either the United States or Canada are usually excluded).<ref>[http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Latin+America "Latin America"] The Free Online Dictionary (''American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', 2000, 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003.)</ref>

==History==
The Spanish conquest of the Americas began in 1492, and ultimately was part of a larger historical process of world [[Philosophy:Discovery (observation)|discovery]], through which various European powers colonized a considerable amount of territory and peoples in the Americas, Asia, and Africa between the 15th and 20th centuries. Hispanic America became the main part of the vast [[Place:Spanish Empire|Spanish Empire]]. Napoleon's intervention in Spain in 1808 and the consequent chaos initiated the dismemberment of the Spanish Empire, as the Hispanic American territories began their struggle for emancipation. By 1830, the only remaining Spanish American territories were the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, until the 1898 Spanish–American War.<ref>Christopher Conway, ''Nineteenth-Century Spanish America: A Cultural History'' (Vanderbilt University Press 2015).</ref>

The 26th of July Movement, led by Fidel Castro, seized power in Cuba on 1 January 1959, overthrowing Fulgencio Batista's pro-US government. Castro nationalized Cuba's fruit resources, driving the United Fruit Company out, and his purchase of oil from the USSR led to a deterioration of relations with the US, leading to the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion by Cuban exiles, and in 1962 the Cuban Missile Crisis almost sparked [[Social:World War III#Cuban Missile Crisis: 15–29 October 1962|World War III]]. Castro's revolution was only the first of its kind in Hispanic America. Leftist governments rose to power across the region, so the United States resorted to backing coups, such as the 1954 overthrow of the popular Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala and the ouster of Juan Bosch in 1965 in the Dominican Republic, the latter of which led to the Dominican Civil War and the US occupation of the republic that year. The United States supported coups that installed dictators in {{wipe|Chile}}, Uruguay, and other countries, and they set up the School of the Americas to train future dictators like Leopoldo Galtieri of Argentina and Manuel Noriega of Panama. Some dictators' rules led to civil wars, such as the Nicaraguan Civil War, Salvadoran Civil War, and Guatemalan Civil War in the 1970s-1990s, and the United States backed governments that used [[Social:Death squad|death squad]]s to massacre villagers and priests accused of siding with leftists. These civil wars would end with the end of the [[History:Cold War|Cold War]], resulting in the communist guerrillas becoming legal political parties, and many of them would proceed to rule over the country, such as the Sandinistas of Nicaragua and FMLN of El Salvador.

==Demographics==
===Countries===
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|+

! Country
! Population<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=ZJ|title=Population, total {{!}} Data|website=data.worldbank.org|language=en-us|access-date=2017-07-11}}</ref>
! Area (km<sup>2</sup>)
! GDP (nominal [USD, billions])<ref>{{Cite web|title=Report for Selected Countries and Subjects|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2021/April/weo-report|access-date=2021-09-18|website=IMF|language=en}}</ref>
! GDP (nominal) per capita
! GDP (PPP)
! GDP (PPP) per capita
|-
| {{flagicon|Argentina}} {{wipe|Argentina}}
| style="text-align: right" |45,376,763
| style="text-align: right" | 2,780,400
| style="text-align: right" |418.15
| style="text-align: right" |9,121.56
| style="text-align: right" |1,015.01
| style="text-align: right" |22,141.44
|-
| {{flagicon|Bolivia}} Bolivia
| style="text-align: right" |11,673,029
| style="text-align: right" | 1,098,581
| style="text-align: right" |43.11
| style="text-align: right" |3,624.15
| style="text-align: right" |105.06
| style="text-align: right" |8,832.32
|-
| {{flagicon|Chile}} {{wipe|Chile}}
| style="text-align: right" |19,116,209
| style="text-align: right" | 756,950
| style="text-align: right" |307.94
| style="text-align: right" |15,617.13
| style="text-align: right" |491.53
| style="text-align: right" |24,928.25
|-
| {{flagicon|Colombia}} Colombia
| style="text-align: right" |50,882,884
| style="text-align: right" | 1,141,748
| style="text-align: right" |295.61
| style="text-align: right" |5,752.67
| style="text-align: right" |780.26
| style="text-align: right" |15,184.18
|-
| {{flagicon|Costa Rica}} Costa Rica
| style="text-align: right" |5,094,114
| style="text-align: right" | 51,000
| style="text-align: right" |61.18
| style="text-align: right" |11,805.84
| style="text-align: right" |107.09
| style="text-align: right" |20,666.67
|-
| {{flagicon|Cuba}} Cuba
| style="text-align: right" |11,326,616
| style="text-align: right" | 110,861
| style="text-align: right" | 93.79<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cuba/|title=The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency|website=www.cia.gov|language=en|access-date=2017-07-11}}</ref>
| style="text-align: right" |8,270.00
| style="text-align: right" |134.80
| style="text-align: right" |12,300.00
|-
| {{flagicon|Dominican Republic}} Dominican Republic
| style="text-align: right" |10,847,904
| style="text-align: right" |48,730
| style="text-align: right" |83.92
| style="text-align: right" |7,951.35
| style="text-align: right" |208.96
| style="text-align: right" |19,799.14
|-
| {{flagicon|Ecuador}} Ecuador
| style="text-align: right" |17,643,060
| style="text-align: right" | 256,370
| style="text-align: right" |100.59
| style="text-align: right" |5,665.18
| style="text-align: right" |201.19
| style="text-align: right" |11,330.60
|-
| {{flagicon|El Salvador}} El Salvador
| style="text-align: right" |6,486,201
| style="text-align: right" | 21,040
| style="text-align: right" |26.28
| style="text-align: right" |4,031.27
| style="text-align: right" |57.95
| style="text-align: right" |8,890.78
|-
| {{flagicon|Guatemala}} Guatemala
| style="text-align: right" |16,858,333
| style="text-align: right" | 108,890
| style="text-align: right" |81.40
| style="text-align: right" | 4,439.46
| style="text-align: right" |158.57
| style="text-align: right" |8,648.04
|-
| {{flagicon|Honduras}} Honduras
| style="text-align: right" |9,904,608
| style="text-align: right" | 112,492
| style="text-align: right" | 26.16
| style="text-align: right" |2,585.97
| style="text-align: right" |57.65
| style="text-align: right" |5,698.47
|-
| {{flagicon|Mexico}} Mexico
| style="text-align: right" |128,932,753
| style="text-align: right" | 1,972,550
| style="text-align: right" |1,192.48
| style="text-align: right" |9,246.01
| style="text-align: right" |2,613.80
| style="text-align: right" |20,266.32
|-
| {{flagicon|Nicaragua}} Nicaragua
| style="text-align: right" |6,624,554
| style="text-align: right" | 129,494
| style="text-align: right" |12.28
| style="text-align: right" |1,876.90
| style="text-align: right" |36.96
| style="text-align: right" |5,648.20
|-
| {{flagicon|Panama}} Panama
| style="text-align: right" |4,314,768
| style="text-align: right" | 75,571
| style="text-align: right" |59.38
| style="text-align: right" |13,689.51
| style="text-align: right" |131.81
| style="text-align: right" |30,388.36
|-
| {{flagicon|Paraguay}} Paraguay
| style="text-align: right" |7,132,530
| style="text-align: right" | 406,752
| style="text-align: right" |37.84
| style="text-align: right" |5,145.63
| style="text-align: right" |98.93
| style="text-align: right" |13,454.20
|-
| {{flagicon|Peru}} Peru
| style="text-align: right" |32,971,846
| style="text-align: right" | 1,285,220
| style="text-align: right" |225.92
| style="text-align: right" |6,678.27
| style="text-align: right" |439.26
| style="text-align: right" |12,984.88
|-
| {{nowrap|{{flagicon|Puerto Rico}} Puerto Rico{{refn|group=sn|Note: Puerto Rico is a territory of the {{flagicon|United States}} {{wipe|United States}}.}}}}
| style="text-align: right" |3,194,034
| style="text-align: right" | 9,104
| style="text-align: right" |100.68
| style="text-align: right" |32,232.71
| style="text-align: right" |112.27
| style="text-align: right" |35,942.78
|-
| {{flagicon|Uruguay}} Uruguay
| style="text-align: right" |3,473,727
| style="text-align: right" | 176,215
| style="text-align: right" |55.46
| style="text-align: right" |15,653.11
| style="text-align: right" |83.17
| style="text-align: right" |23,474.28
|-
| {{flagicon|Venezuela}} Venezuela
| style="text-align: right" |28,435,943
| style="text-align: right" | 916,445
| style="text-align: right" |42.53
| style="text-align: right" |1,541.70
| style="text-align: right" |144.74
| style="text-align: right" |5,178.27
|-
! style="text-align: left" | Total
! style="text-align: right" | '''420,289,876'''
! style="text-align: right" | '''11,458,413'''
! style="text-align: right" | '''3,264.70'''
! style="text-align: right" |'''7,767.73'''
! style="text-align: right" |'''6,979.01'''
! style="text-align: right" |'''16,605.23'''
|}
{{reflist|group=sn}}

===Largest cities===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|- align="left"
!City !!Country !!Population !!Metro
|-
|[[Place:Mexico City|Mexico City]] ||{{flag|Mexico}} ||9,209,944 ||21,804,515
|-
|[[Place:Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires]] ||{{flag|Argentina}} ||3,054,300 ||12,806,866
|-
|[[Place:Bogotá|Bogotá]] ||{{flag|Colombia}} ||7,963,734 ||12,545,272
|-
|[[Place:Lima|Lima]] ||{{flag|Peru}} ||8,894,000 ||9,569,468
|-
|[[Place:Santiago|Santiago]] ||{{flag|Chile}} ||5,428,590 ||7,112,000
|-
|Guadalajara ||{{flag|Mexico}} ||1,385,621 ||5,286,642
|-
|[[Place:Caracas|Caracas]] ||{{flag|Venezuela}} ||3,273,863 ||5,239,364
|-
|[[Place:Guatemala City|Guatemala City]] ||{{flag|Guatemala}} ||2,149,188 ||4,500,000
|-
|Monterrey ||{{flag|Mexico}} ||1,133,814 ||4,106,054
|-
|Medellín ||{{flag|Colombia}} ||2,636,101 ||3,731,447
|-
|[[Place:Quito|Quito]] ||{{flag|Ecuador}} ||2,011,388 ||3,156,182
|-
|[[Place:Guayaquil|Guayaquil]] ||{{flag|Ecuador}} ||2,698,077 ||3,113,725
|-
|[[Place:Havana|Havana]] ||{{flag|Cuba}} ||2,350,000 ||3,073,000
|-
|Maracaibo ||{{flag|Venezuela}} ||2,201,727 ||2,928,043
|-
|[[Place:Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]] ||{{flag|Dominican Republic}} ||965,040<ref name="2010-DR-Census">{{Cite web|url=https://censo2010.one.gob.do/|title=Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2010 :: Welcome|website=censo2010.one.gob.do}}</ref> ||2,908,607<ref name=ExpansionUrbana>{{cite book|title=Expansión Urbana de las ciudades capitales de RD: 1988-2010|url=http://www.one.gob.do/Multimedia/Download?ObjId=5645|publisher=Oficina Nacional de Estadística|date=1 May 2015|access-date=25 January 2016|location=Santo Domingo|language=es|isbn=978-9945-8984-3-9|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160714132107/http://www.one.gob.do/Multimedia/Download?ObjId=5645|archive-date=14 July 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|-
|Puebla ||{{flag|Mexico}} ||1,399,519 ||2,728,790
|-
|[[Place:Asunción|Asunción]] ||{{flag|Paraguay}} ||525,294 ||2,698,401
|-
|Cali ||{{flag|Colombia}} ||2,068,386 ||2,530,796
|-
|[[Place:San Juan, Puerto Rico|San Juan]] ||{{flag|Puerto Rico}}{{refn|group=sn|Note: Puerto Rico is a territory of the {{flag|United States}}.}} ||434,374 ||2,509,007
|-
|[[Place:San Salvador|San Salvador]] ||{{flag|El Salvador}} ||540,090 ||2,223,092
|-
|[[Place:San José, Costa Rica|San José]] ||{{flag|Costa Rica}} ||1,543,000 ||2,158,898
|-
|Toluca ||{{flag|Mexico}} ||820,000 ||1,936,422
|-
|[[Place:Montevideo|Montevideo]] ||{{flag|Uruguay}} ||1,325,968 ||1,868,335
|-
|[[Place:Managua|Managua]] ||{{flag|Nicaragua}} ||1,380,300 ||1,825,000
|-
|Barranquilla ||{{flag|Colombia}} ||1,148,506 ||1,798,143
|-
|Santa Cruz ||{{flag|Bolivia}} ||1,594,926 ||1,774,998
|-
|Valencia ||{{flag|Venezuela}} ||894,204 ||1,770,000
|-
|Tijuana ||{{flag|Mexico}} ||1,286,157 ||1,751,302
|-
|[[Place:Tegucigalpa|Tegucigalpa]] ||{{flag|Honduras}} ||1,230,000 ||1,600,000
|-
|[[Place:La Paz|La Paz]] ||{{flag|Bolivia}} ||872,480 ||1,590,000
|-
|[[Place:Panama City|Panama City]] ||{{flag|Panama}} ||990,641 ||1,500,000
|-
|Barquisimeto ||{{flag|Venezuela}} ||1,116,000 ||1,500,000
|-
|León ||{{flag|Mexico}} ||1,278,087 ||1,488,000
|-
|Córdoba ||{{flag|Argentina}} ||1,309,536 ||1,452,000
|-
|Ciudad Juárez ||{{flag|Mexico}} ||1,301,452 ||1,343,000
|-
|San Pedro Sula ||{{flag|Honduras}} ||1,250,000 ||1,300,000
|-
|Maracay ||{{flag|Venezuela}} ||1,007,000 ||1,300,000
|-
|Rosario ||{{flag|Argentina}} ||908,163 ||1,203,000
|-
|Torreón ||{{flag|Mexico}} ||548,723 ||1,144,000
|-
|Bucaramanga ||{{flag|Colombia}} ||516,512 ||1,055,331
|}
{{reflist|group=sn}}

===Ethnology===

The population of the Hispanic America is made up of the descendants of two large ethnic groups and their [[Social:Miscegenation|combinations]]:



• The Indigenous peoples of the Americas, descendants of Incas, [[Social:Aztec Empire|Aztecs]], Mayan and others.

• Those of European ancestry, mainly Spanish, and Italian.



Unlike in the United States, there were no anti-miscegenation policies in Latin America. Though still a racially stratified society there were no significant barriers to gene flow between the three populations. As a result, admixture profiles are a reflection of the colonial populations of Africans, Europeans and Amerindians. The pattern is also sex biased in that the African and Amerindian maternal lines are found in significantly higher proportions than African or Amerindian Y chromosomal lines. This is an indication that the primary mating pattern was that of European males with Amerindian or African females. According to the study, half the White populations of the Latin American countries studied have some degree of either Native American or African admixture (MtDNA or [[Biology:Y chromosome|Y chromosome]]). In countries such as {{wipe|Chile}} and Colombia almost the entire white population was shown to have some non-European admixture.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Martínez Marignac|first=Verónica L.|author2=Bianchi Néstor O.|author3=Bertoni Bernardo|author4=Parra Esteban J.|year=2004|title=Characterization of Admixture in an Urban Sample from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Using Uniparentally and Biparentally Inherited Genetic Markers|journal=Human Biology| volume=76|issue=4|pages=543–57|url=http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/human_biology/v076/76.4marignac.html| doi=10.1353/hub.2004.0058|pmid=15754971|s2cid=13708018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gonçalves|first=V. F.|author2=Prosdocimi F.|author3=Santos L. S.|author4=Ortega J. M.|author5=Pena S. D. J.|date=9 May 2007|title=Sex-biased gene flow in African Americans but not in American Caucasians |journal=Genetics and Molecular Research|volume=6|issue=2|pages=256–61|issn=1676-5680|url=http://www.funpecrp.com.br/gmr/year2007/vol2-6/gmr0330_full_text.htm|access-date=13 July 2008|pmid=17573655}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Alves-Silva | first1 = Juliana| last2 = da Silva Santos | first2 = Magda| last3 = Guimarães | first3 = Pedro E. M.| last4 = Ferreira | first4 = Alessandro C. S.| last5 = Bandelt | first5 = Hans-Jürgen | last6 = Pena | first6 = Sérgio D. J.| last7 = Prado | first7 = Vania Ferreira| doi = 10.1086/303004 | title = The Ancestry of Brazilian mtDNA Lineages | journal = The American Journal of Human Genetics| volume = 67 | issue = 2 | pages = 444–461 | year = 2000 | pmid = 10873790| pmc = 1287189| display-authors=6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Salzano|first=Francisco M. |author2=Cátira Bortolini, Maria |title=The Evolution and Genetics of Latin American Populations|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge|year=2002|series=Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology|volume=28|page=512|isbn=978-0-521-65275-9}}</ref>

Frank Moya Pons, a Dominican historian documented that Spanish colonists intermarried with Taíno women, and, over time, these mestizo descendants intermarried with Africans, creating a tri-racial Creole culture. 1514 census records reveal that 40% of Spanish men in the colony of Santo Domingo had Taíno wives.<ref>Ferbel, Dr. P. J. [http://www.kacike.org/FerbelEnglish.html "Not Everyone Who Speaks Spanish is from Spain: Taíno Survival in the 21st Century Dominican Republic".] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100529100634/http://www.kacike.org/FerbelEnglish.html |date=29 May 2010 }} ''Kacikie: Journal of Caribbean Amerindian History and Anthropology.'' . Retrieved 24 September 2009.</ref> 

The most common combinations are:

• Mestizos, those of mixed ancestry.


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{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right"
|+ '''Ethnic distribution, in 2005'''<ref name=Lizcano>{{cite journal|last=Lizcano Fernández |first=Francisco |date=May–August 2005 |title=Composición Étnica de las Tres Áreas Culturales del Continente Americano al Comienzo del Siglo XXI |journal=Convergencia |volume=38 |pages=185–232; table on p. 218 |publisher=Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades |location=Mexico |issn=1405-1435 |url=http://convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf |language=es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920172933/http://convergencia.uaemex.mx/rev38/38pdf/LIZCANO.pdf |archive-date=2008-09-20 }}</ref> - '''Population estimates, as of 2020'''<ref name=":0" />
|- style="background:#e8e8e8;"
! Country
! Population{{UN_Population|ref}}
! Mestizos
! Whites
! Others
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Argentina}}
|45,376,763|| 31.0% || '''65.0%'''|| 4.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Bolivia}}
|11,673,029|| ''' 50.0%''' || 1.0% || style="background:#E8E8E8" |49.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Chile}}
|19,116,209|| '''50.0%'''  || 45.0%|| 5.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Colombia}}
|50,882,884|| '''50.0%'''|| 35.0%|| 15.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Costa Rica}}
|5,094,114|| 30.0% || '''55.0%'''|| 15.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Cuba}}
|11,326,616|| 25.0% || '''60.0%'''||  |15.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Dominican Republic}}
|10,847,904|| '''65.0%'''|| 24.0% || 11.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Ecuador}}
|17,643,060|| '''76.0%'''|| 8.0% || 16.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|El Salvador}}
| 6,486,201 
| | '''86.0%'''|| 13.0% || 1.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Guatemala}}
| 16,858,333 || '''59.0%'''|| 2.0% || 39.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Honduras}}
| 9,904,608 || '''90.0%'''|| 2.0% || 8.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Mexico}}
| 128,932,753 || '''51.0%'''|| 40.0%|| 9.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Nicaragua}}
| 6,624,554 || '''70.0%'''|| 16.0% || 14.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Panama}}
| 4,314,768 || '''69.0%'''|| 16.0% || 15.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Paraguay}}
| 7,132,530 || style="background:#E8E8E8" |'''95.0%'''|| 4.0% || 1.0% 
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Peru}}
| 32,971,846 ||''' 51.0% '''|| 3.0% || 46.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Uruguay}}
| 3,473,727 || 11.0% || style="background:#E8E8E8" | '''75.0%'''|| 14.0%
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| {{flag|Venezuela}}
| 28,435,943 || '''53.0%'''|| 32.0% || 15.0% 
|- class="sortbottom"  style="text-align:right; background:#f2f2f2;"
| style="text-align:left;"| '''Total'''
| '''420,289,876'''|| '''50.0%'''|| '''33.0%'''|| '''17.0%'''
|}
{{reflist|group=sn}}

===Languages===
[[Image:Map-Most Widely Spoken Native Languages in Latin America.png|thumb|200px|'''{{color|blue|Quechua}}''', '''{{color|#f9dc38|Guarani}}''', '''{{color|#ff9922|Aymara}}''', '''{{color|#cc0000|Nahuatl}}''', '''{{color|#006600|Mayan languages}}''', '''Mapudungun'''.]]

Spanish is the official language in most Hispanic American countries, and it is spoken by the vast majority of the population. Native American languages are widely spoken in {{wipe|Chile}}, Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay and Mexico, and, to a lesser degree, in Panama, Ecuador, Colombia,and Venezuela. In some Hispanic American countries, the population of speakers of indigenous languages tends to be very small or even non-existent (e.g. Uruguay). Mexico contains the largest variety of indigenous languages; there, the most spoken native language is Nahuatl.

In Peru, Quechua is an official language, alongside Spanish and any other indigenous language in the areas where they predominate. In Ecuador, while holding no official status, the closely related Quichua is a recognized language of the indigenous people under the country's constitution; however, it is only spoken by a few groups in the country's highlands. In Bolivia, [[Social:Aymara language|Aymara]], Quechua and Guaraní hold official status alongside Spanish. Guaraní, along with Spanish, is an official language of Paraguay, and is spoken by a majority of the population (who are, for the most part, bilingual), and it is co-official with Spanish in the Argentine province of Corrientes. In Nicaragua, Spanish is the official language, but on the country's Caribbean coast English and indigenous languages such as Miskito, Sumo, and Rama also hold official status. Colombia recognizes all indigenous languages spoken within its territory as official, though fewer than 1% of its population are native speakers of these languages. [[Social:Nahuatl|Nahuatl]] is one of the 62 native languages spoken by indigenous people in Mexico, which are officially recognized by the government as "national languages" along with Spanish.

Other European languages spoken in Hispanic America include: English, by some groups in Puerto Rico and descendants of British settlers in Argentina and Chile; German, in southern {{wipe|Chile}} and portions of Argentina, Venezuela, and Paraguay; Italian, in Argentina, Venezuela, and Uruguay; Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian in Argentina; and [[Social:Welsh language|Welsh]], in southern Argentina.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1163503 |title=Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date=2008-07-22 |access-date=2013-04-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.1stclassargentina.com/tours/WelshImmigration.html|title=The Welsh Immigration to Argentina|work=1stclassargentina.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Jeremy Howat |url=http://www.argbrit.org/Patagonia/patagonia_entry.htm |title=Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia |publisher=Argbrit.org |access-date=2013-04-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patagonline.com/gaiman-trelew |title=Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia |publisher=Patagonline.com |access-date=2013-04-23}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.andesceltig.com/ |title=Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia |publisher=Andesceltig.com |date=2009-09-29 |access-date=2013-04-23 |archive-date=2017-09-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917174822/http://andesceltig.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glaniad.com/ |title=Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia |publisher=Glaniad.com |access-date=2013-04-23 |archive-date=2016-08-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160808130811/http://www.glaniad.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Yiddish and [[Social:Hebrew language|Hebrew]] can be heard around Buenos Aires. Non-European or Asian languages include [[Social:Japanese language|Japanese]] in Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay; [[Social:Korean language|Korean]] in Argentina and Paraguay; [[Social:Arabic language|Arabic]] in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, and Chile; and [[Social:Chinese language|Chinese]] throughout South America.

In several nations, especially in the Caribbean region, creole languages are spoken. Creole languages of mainland Latin America, similarly, are derived from European languages and various African tongues.

The Garifuna language is spoken along the Caribbean coast in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize mostly by the Garifuna people a mixed race Zambo people who were the result of mixing between Indigenous Caribbeans and escaped Black slaves. Primarily an [[Social:Arawakan languages|Arawakan language]], it has influences from Caribbean and European languages.

==Culture==
===Cuisine===
Hispanic cuisine as the term is applied in the [[Earth:Western Hemisphere|Western Hemisphere]], is a misnomer. What is  usually considered Hispanic cuisine in the United States is mostly Mexican and Central American cuisine. Mexican cuisine is composed of mainly indigenous—Aztec and Mayan—and Spanish influences.{{Citation needed|date=May 2013}}

Mexican cuisine is considered [[Social:Intangible cultural heritage|intangible cultural heritage]] by UNESCO and can be found all over the United States.

In the United States, with its growing Hispanic population, food staples from Mexican cuisine and the cuisine from other Hispanic countries have become widely available. Over the years, the blending of these cuisines has produced unique American forms such as Tex-Mex cuisine. This cuisine, which originated in Texas, is based on maize products, heavily spiced ground beef, cheese and tomato sauces with chilies. This cuisine is widely available not just in the United States but across other countries, where American exports are found. In Florida, Cuban food is widely available. All of these Hispanic foods in the United States have evolved in character as they have been commercially americanized by large restaurant chains and food companies.

The cuisine of Spain has many regional varieties, with Mediterranean flavors based on  [[Biology:Olive oil|olive oil]], garlic, and [[Biology:Tomato|tomato]]es and due to its long Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, has been graced with a great variety and availability of seafood.  In the inland communities of Spain, there is a long tradition of cured meat of different kinds, in addition to an abundance of dishes such as roasts and stews, based on beef, pork, lamb, and poultry. The European and Arab heritage of Spain is reflected in its food, along with cosmopolitan influences beginning in the many new ingredients brought in from the New World since the 16th century, e.g. tomatoes, potatoes, or chocolate, and the more modern tastes introduced from Europe since the 19th century, especially through French and Italian dishes. It is only in the last ten years {{When|date=January 2014}} that Hispanic American dishes have been introduced in Spain. In the United States and Canada, the number of Hispanic restaurants has become a growing trend, following the ''tapas''-style restaurants fashion that first appeared in North America in the 1990s.

Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican cuisines, on the other hand, tend to use a lot of pork and can depend heavily on starchy [[Biology:Root vegetable|root vegetable]]s, plantain, and [[Biology:Rice|rice]]. The most prominent influences on their Spanish culinary traditions were introduced by African slaves, and to a lesser degree, French influence from Haiti and later Chinese immigrants. The use of spicy chile peppers of varying degrees of strength used as flavour enhancers in Mexican tradition is practically unknown in traditional Spanish–Caribbean dishes. The cuisine of Haiti, a country with a Francophone majority, is very similar to its regional neighbors in terms of influences and ingredients used.

The Argentine diet is heavily influenced by the country's position as one of the world's largest beef and wine producers, and by the impact that European immigration had on its national culture. Grilled meats are a staple of most meals as are pastas, potatoes, rice, paella and a variety of vegetables (Argentina is a huge exporter of agricultural products). Italian influence is also seen in the form of pizza and [[Engineering:Ice cream|ice cream]], both of which are integral components of national cuisine.
 
Uruguayan cuisine is similar to that of Argentina, though seafood is much more dominant in this coastal nation. As another one of the world's largest producers, wine is as much a staple drink to Uruguayans as beer is to Germans.

In Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and {{wipe|Chile}}, potato dishes are typical since the potato is originally from this region. Beef and [[Biology:Chicken|chicken]] are common sources of meat. In the Highlands is the ''cuy'', a South American name for [[Biology:Guinea pig|guinea pig]], a common meat. Given the coastal location, both countries have extensive fishing fleets, which provide a wealth of seafood options, including the signature South American dish, ceviche. While potato is an important ingredient in the Highlands, Rice is the main side dish on the coast.

This diversity in staples and cuisine is also evident in the differing regional cuisines within the national borders of the individual countries.

===Symbols===
====Flag====
[[File:Flag of the Hispanicity.svg|thumb|right|200px|Flag of Hispanic Heritage. Motto: ''Justicia, Paz, Unión y Fraternidad'' ("Justice, Peace, Union and Fraternity").<ref name=flag>{{cite web|editor=Raeside, Rob|title=Flag of the Race|date=1999-10-11|work=Flags of the World|url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/int-raza.html|access-date=2006-12-23}}</ref>]]

While relatively unknown, there is a flag representing the countries of Spanish America, its people, history and shared cultural legacy.

It was created in October 1933 by Ángel Camblor, captain of the Uruguayan army. It was adopted by all the states of Spanish America during the Pan-American Conference of the same year in [[Place:Montevideo|Montevideo]], Uruguay.<ref name="flag" />

The white background stands for peace, the [[Inti]] sun god of Inca mythology symbolizes the light shining on the Americas, and the three crosses represent Christopher Columbus' [[Engineering:Caravel|caravel]]s, the ''Niña'', ''[[Engineering:Pinta (ship)|Pinta]]'', and ''[[Engineering:Santa María (ship)|Santa María]]'', used in his first voyage from Spain to the [[Earth:New World|New World]] in 1492. The [[Lilac (color)#Deep lilac|deep lilac]] color of the crosses evokes the color of the [[Biology:Lion|lion]] on the coat of arms of the [[History:Middle Ages|medieval]] [[Place:Crown of Castile|Crown of Castile]].<ref>Image of the [[:Image:Estandarte de la Corona de Castilla.png|standard of the Crown of Castile]]</ref>

===Religion===
The Spanish and the Portuguese took the Roman Catholic faith to their colonies in the Americas, Africa, and Asia; Roman Catholicism remains the predominant religion amongst most Hispanic Americans.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-christians/|title=Christians|date=December 18, 2012}}</ref> Membership in [[Religion:Protestantism|Protestant]] denominations is increasing, particularly in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and other countries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2014/11/13/religion-in-latin-america/|title=Religion in Latin America|first=Benjamin|last=Wormald|date=November 13, 2014}}</ref> In particular, [[Religion:Pentecostalism|Pentecostalism]] has experienced massive growth.<ref>{{Cite book|title=An introduction to Pentecostalism : global charismatic Christianity|last=Allan.|first=Anderson|date=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0521825733|location=Cambridge, U.K.|oclc=53919445}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=La mutación religiosa de América Latina : para una sociología del cambio social en la modernidad periférica|last=Pierre.|first=Bastian, Jean|date=1997|publisher=Fondo de Cultura Económica|isbn=9681650212|edition= 1st|location=México|oclc=38448929}}</ref> This movement is increasingly attracting Latin America's middle classes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Koehrsen|first=Jens|date=2017-09-01|title=When Sects Become Middle Class: Impression Management among Middle-Class Pentecostals in Argentina|journal=Sociology of Religion|language=en|volume=78|issue=3|pages=318–339|doi=10.1093/socrel/srx030|issn=1069-4404|doi-access=free}}</ref> Anglicanism also has a long and growing presence in Latin America.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! width="170 px" style="background:Lavender; color:Black"| Countries
! Population Total
! width="170 px" style="background:Lavender; color:Black" | Christians %
! Christian Population
! width="170 px" style="background:Lavender; color:Black" | Unaffiliated %
! Unaffiliated Population
! width="170 px" style="background:Lavender; color:Black"| Other religions %
! Other religions Population
!Source
|-
|{{flag|Argentina}}
|43,830,000||85.4%
|37,420,000
||12.1%
|5,320,000
||2.5%
|1,090,000
|<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/2020/percent/all/|title=Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050|website=www.pewforum.org|date=2 April 2015|access-date=2020-10-18|archive-date=2019-12-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221014350/https://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/2020/percent/all/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|{{flag|Bolivia}}
|11,830,000||94.0%
|11,120,000
||4.1%
|480,000
||1.9%
|230,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Chile}}
|18,540,000||88.3%
|16,380,000
||9.7%
|1,800,000
||2.0%
|360,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Colombia}}
|52,160,000||92.3%
|48,150,000
||6.7%
|3,510,000
||1.0%
|500,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Costa Rica}}
|5,270,000
|90.8%
|4,780,000
|8.0%
|420,000
|1.2%
|70,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Cuba}}
|11,230,000
|58.9%
|6,610,000
|23.2%
|2,600,000
|17.9%
|2,020,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Dominican Republic}}
|11,280,000
|88.0%
|9,930,000
|10.9%
|1,230,000
|1.1%
|120,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Ecuador}}
|16,480,000||94.0%
|15,490,000
||5.6%
|920,000
||0.4%
|70,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|El Salvador}}
|6,670,000
|88.0%
|5,870,000
|11.2%
|740,000
|0.8%
|60,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Guatemala}}
|18,210,000
|95.3%
|17,360,000
|3.9%
|720,000
|0.8%
|130,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Honduras}}
|9,090,000
|87.5%
|7,950,000
|10.5%
|950,000
|2.0%
|190,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Mexico}}
|126,010,000
|94.1%
|118,570,000
|5.7%
|7,240,000
|0.2%
|200,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Nicaragua}}
|6,690,000
|85.3%
|5,710,000
|13.0%
|870,000
|1.7%
|110,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Panama}}
|4,020,000
|92.7%
|3,720,000
|5.0%
|200,000
|2.3%
|100,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Paraguay}}
|7,630,000||96.9%
|7,390,000
||1.1%
|90,000
||2.0%
|150,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Peru}}
|32,920,000||95.4%
|31,420,000
||3.1%
|1,010,000
||1.5%
|490,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{nowrap|{{flag|Puerto Rico}}{{refn|group=sn|Note: Puerto Rico is a territory of the {{flag|United States}}.}}}}
|3,790,000
|90.5%
|3,660,000
|7.3%
|80,000
|2.2%
|40,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Uruguay}}
|3,490,000||57.0%
|1,990,000
||41.5%
|1,450,000
||1.5%
|50,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|-
|{{flag|Venezuela}}
|33,010,000||89.5%
|29,540,000
||9.7%
|3,220,000
||0.8%
|250,000
|<ref name="auto"/>
|}
{{reflist|group=sn}}

==See also==
{{col-list|colwidth=22em|
* Hispanic
* Hispanic and Latino Americans {{small|(Hispanic, Latino)}}
* ''Hispanidad''
* Hispanism and Pan-Hispanism
* [[Place:Hispanophone|Hispanophone]]
* [[Place:Ibero-America|Ibero-America]]
* Latin America {{small|(Latin Americans)}}
* [[Social:Spanish language|Spanish language]]
* [[Social:Spanish language in the Americas|Spanish language in the Americas]]
* Spanish language in the Philippines
* {{wipe|Philippines}}
* Equatorial Guinea
* Spanish-language literature
}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Regions of the world}}

[[Category:Regions of the Americas]]

{{Sourceattribution|Hispanic America}}