Ibero-America

Map of Ibero-America as a whole as well as Spain and Portugal

Ibero-America (also "Spanish and Portuguese Speaking Commonwealth of Independent States") is a term which started to be used in the second half of the 19th century to refer collectively to the countries in America which were formerly colonies of Spain or Portugal. Spain and Portugal are themselves included in some definitions, such as that of the Organization of Ibero-American States, which also includes Equatorial Guinea in Central Africa.

Ibero- is a prefix which denotes the Iberian Peninsula in Europe, consisting of Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Gibraltar. Ibero-America is formed by all Spanish-speaking countries in America in addition to Brazil which is Portuguese-speaking, but excludes the French speaking countries Haiti, French Guyana, Martinique and Guadeloupe.

The exclusion of the French-speaking regions differentiates Ibero-America from Latin America, as well as the inclusion of the European states of the Iberian peninsula if they are included in the definition.

The term includes neither the United States (except for Puerto Rico), nor any of the fifty states, even though a large part of its current territory was colonized by Spain and was under Spanish or Mexican rule longer than it has been under the U.S. (See History of Florida, History of Texas, Mexican Cession, and Gadsden Purchase.) While English is the most widely spoken language by far, the U.S. has not designated an official language (though some states have done so), and Spanish-speakers compose the second-largest language community nationwide.

Urged by King Juan Carlos of Spain, since the 1990s, the Ibero-American countries, including those in Europe, have begun to coordinate their efforts through summits held every two years.

Countries and Population in Europe and America

• Spanish-speaking : (Over 400 million speakers)

Argentina 38,747,000

Bolivia 9,182,000

Chile 16,295,000

Colombia 45,600,000

Costa Rica 4,401,000

Cuba 11,269,000

Dominican Republic 8,895,000

Ecuador 13,228,000

El Salvador 6,881,000

Honduras 7,205,000

Guatemala 12,599,000

Mexico 107,029,000

Nicaragua 5,487,000

Panama 3,232,000

Paraguay 6,158,000

Peru 27,968,000

Puerto Rico 3,955,000

Spain 44,708,000

Uruguay 3,463,000

Venezuela 26,749,000

• Portuguese-speaking : (About 200 million speakers)

Brazil 186,405,000

Portugal 10,495,000

• Catalan-speaking :

Andorra 69,150 (in addition to about 7.5 million Catalan speakers from Spain, who are included in the Spanish population of this article)

See also

• Americas (terminology)
• Organization of Ibero-American States
• Latin America
• Hispanic America
• Spanish colonization of the Americas
• Organización de Televisión Iberoamericana (OTI)

External links

• (Spanish) Digital News about Ibero-America (La Insignia)
• (Spanish) Digital History of Ibero-America from the 14th to the 18th century
• (Spanish) Cultural Magazine about Ibero-America (Pensar Iberoamerica)
• (Spanish) Official Web-site for one of the most important festivals devoted to Ibero-America (El Ojo de Iberoamerica)
• (Spanish) Ibero-America's Secretariat General Official Web-site (SEGIB)
• (Spanish) Official Web-site for the Organization of Ibero-American States OEI
• (Spanish) Official Web-site for the Organization of Ibero-American Youth (OIJ)

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