Quechua speaking countries
Quechua is the official language in Bolivia and Peru and is spoken in 5 more countries as monther tongue by a part of the population. The Quechua language (native name: Runa Simi, Kichwa) has its roots in the Quechuan language family.With a share of around 21%, it is most widespread in Bolivia. A total of about 8.1 m people worldwide speak Quechua as their mother tongue.
| Country | Region | Official language | Distribution | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peru | South America | yes | 13.0 % | 4,286,000 |
| Bolivia | South America | yes | 21.2 % | 2,475,000 |
| Ecuador | South America | no | 4.1 % | 723,000 |
| Brazil | South America | no | 0.1 % | 213,000 |
| Argentina | South America | no | 0.4 % | 182,000 |
| Chile | South America | no | 0.8 % | 153,000 |
| Colombia | South America | no | 0.1 % | 51,000 |
Unless otherwise described in the text, this page is about native speakers - not the total number of speakers. How many people understand or speak Quechua as a subsequently learned language is not the subject of this page. Countries where native speakers make up only a few thousand or even a few hundred people, or countries with a percentage well below 1%, are maybe not listed here.