Learn Spanish in Barcelona

Barcelona beats Madrid as #1 city to learn Spanish in Spain

Barcelona has overtaken Madrid to become the most popular city to learn Spanish in Spain, according to a recent report.

The Spanish Federation of Associations of Spanish Schools for Foreigners (FEDELE) revealed that 13,349 students studied at foreign language schools in Barcelona in 2023.

This was marginally more than the 13,217 students studying at foreign language schools in Madrid.

It was the first time that Barcelona received more students than Madrid.

The report itself was the annual FEDELE Industry Report (Informe Sectorial FEDELE). FEDELE is the largest association of Spanish schools in Spain, with over 103 members across the country.

Where do Spanish language students come from?

According to the report, most foreign language students come from Italy.

The ranking is as follows:

1. Italy
2. Germany
3. United Kingdom
4. France
5. United States of America
6. The Netherlands
7. Russian Federation
8. Poland
9. Austria
10. Morocco

However, the weight of students studying Spanish from Italy may be influenced by school-age exchange students.

Almost 29% of foreign students in Spain were in the age range 12-18 years.

The skew of nationalities changes where mature students – aged 19 and over – is taken into account.

According to Speakeasy BCN, one of the most popular Spanish language schools in Barcelona, the majority of enquiries came from the United States.

Speakeasy BCN revealed analytics data from them website with Barcelona.com from 2023.

The ranking (and percentage) of website enquiries per foreign country were as follows:

1. United States (23%)
2. United Kingdom (12%)
3. Germany (3%)
4. China (3%)*
5. Canada (3%)
6. Russia (3%)*
7. Taiwan (3%)*
8. France (2%)
9. Japan (2%)
10. Sweden (2%)*

The number of enquiries and bookings originating from Italy was around 1% of the total – however, Speakeasy BCN admitted that it’s website is currently available in Spanish, English, Swedish, Mandarin and Russian in reflection of the majority of its mature student population.

That said, online bookings are a significant source of bookings for language schools like Speakeasy BCN.

The FEDELE study found that, after word-of-mouth referrals, search engines and SEO were the top source of student bookings making up 14% of the total.

*Speakeasy BCN mentioned that students from China, Russia, Taiwan and Sweden often book Spanish courses in Barcelona via agencies or their own universities. So the number of online enquiries may not reflect the actual split of nationalities at the school. 

Why do international students choose Barcelona?

According to the FEDELE industry study, a majority 34% of international students chose a Spanish language course with additional cultural activities.

Among the top 5 most popular Spanish courses chosen by foreign students were:

1. Spanish language and cultural activities (34%)
2. Spanish for school-age learners and summer camps (12%)
3. Private Spanish classes (12%)
4. Spanish for university access (11%)
5. Online Spanish courses (7%)

The cultural component in particular could be a reason why more foreign language students choose Barcelona in 2023.

In fact, Barcelona.com is a travel guide dedicated to everything about Barcelona.

As we explain in our page about the Sagrada Família, this monument is the most visited tourist attraction in all of Spain with over 4.5 million visitors per year. 

Other popular attractions include:

• Barcelona’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, such as the works of Antoni Gaudí
• Art museums like the Picasso Museum and the Joan Miró foundation
• The ancient Gothic Quarter – Barcelona is one of the few cities in Western Europe with an in-tact medieval quarter which wasn’t bombed or destroyed in WWI or WWII.
• The Camp Nou stadium, the home of Barcelona
• Gastronomy and street markets like the famous La Boquería
• And so much more!

To read more about Barcelona check out our city guide.