Q 01/05

A politician from which country first printed the term 'Latin America' in 1856, in Paris?

A) France

B) Mexico

C) Chile

D) Brazil

Answer · why

C) Chile

Francisco Bilbao coined it; Napoleon III's France then embraced the label to justify its intervention in Mexico.

Q 02/05

Roughly what share of Latin Americans speak Spanish as a first language?

A) About 70%

B) About 80%

C) About 90%

D) About 60%

Answer · why

D) About 60%

Portuguese, almost all of it in Brazil, accounts for another 30%, and indigenous and other languages for the rest.

Q 03/05

Which is Latin America's largest country and the only one where Portuguese is the main language?

A) Brazil

B) Mexico

C) Argentina

D) Colombia

Answer · why

A) Brazil

Its size is why the region is 'Latin' rather than simply 'Hispanic' America.

Q 04/05

According to a 2014 Pew survey, what share of Latin Americans are Catholic?

A) 79%

B) 69%

C) 89%

D) 59%

Answer · why

B) 69%

Protestants were 19% overall, but 26% in Brazil and over 40% in much of Central America.

Q 05/05

Which language of the Inca Empire is official in Peru alongside Spanish?

A) Nahuatl

B) Guaraní

C) Quechua

D) Aymara

Answer · why

C) Quechua

Bolivia gives Aymara, Quechua and Guaraní all official status; Paraguay's Guaraní is spoken by most of the population.