Nahuatl speakers over 5 years of age in the ten states with most speakers (2000 census data)

Nahuatl speakers over 5 years of age in the ten states with most speakers (2000 census data). Absolute and relative numbers. Percentages given are in comparison to the total population of the corresponding state.

The 1990s saw the onset of diametric changes in official Mexican government policies towards indigenous and linguistic rights. Developments of accords in the international rights arena[cn 4] combined with domestic pressures (such as social and political agitation by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and indigenous social movements) led to legislative reforms and the creation of decentralized government agencies like National Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples (CDI) and Instituto Nacional de Lenguas Indígenas (INALI) with responsibilities for the promotion and protection of indigenous communities and languages.[58] In particular, the federal Ley General de Derechos Lingüísticos de los Pueblos Indígenas ["General Law on the Language Rights of the Indigenous Peoples", promulgated 13 March 2003] recognizes all the country's indigenous languages, including Nahuatl, as "national languages" and gives indigenous people the right to use them in all spheres of public and private life. In Article 11, it grants access to compulsory, bilingual and intercultural education.[59] Nonetheless, progress towards institutionalizing Nahuatl and securing linguistic rights for its speakers has been slow.[47]

Reference 1: Totals and Percentages.

Reference 2: Federal District, Guerrero, Hidalgo, State of Mexico, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tlaxcala, Veracruz, Rest of Mexico and Total:.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nahuatl_language