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The united languages of America: A look at Canada’s biggest trading partner

America, the world’s biggest English-speaking market, projects a monolingual image to the world. But did you know that non-English-speaking households have nearly tripled in number in the last three decades?

In 2020, some 22% of Americans used a language other than English at home, or about 71 million people—almost twice the population of Canada!

Huge spending power

Ethnic communities have been growing by leaps and bounds. The Hispanic population grew every decade by more than 50% between 1970 and 2000, and has continued to rise by more than 25% in the two decades since. In 2022, it was estimated at over 63 million people.

In California, the Hispanic community actually surpassed the non-Hispanic White population in 2014 and continues to grow. The Latino population in Texas followed suit in 2021 and now accounts for more than 40% of the entire state. Eleven other states have over half a million Spanish speakers. The Hispanic market is truly a driving force of the U.S. economy.

Between 2010 and 2020, U.S. consumer spending power rose by 55%, but the buying power of the Hispanic community rocketed up by 87%. It was estimated at $1.9 trillion in 2020, more than the GDP of Italy and only slightly less than France’s.

What does this mean for you?

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