![](https://web.archive.org/web/20220608203308im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/49/Map-Francophone_World.svg/360px-Map-Francophone_World.svg.png)
French is an official language in 29 independent nations. The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official or de facto language.
Only official language
Countries
List of countries where French is the only official language :
Benin
Burkina Faso
Congo
DR Congo, the most populated French-speaking country in the world.
Côte d'Ivoire
France (Metropolitan France and Overseas France)
Gabon
Guinea
Mali
Monaco
Niger
Senegal
Togo
Non-sovereign entities
Co-official use
Sovereign states
In many countries, French is used as a co-official language alongside one or more other languages. List of countries where French is a co-official language :
Belgium
Burundi
Cameroon
Canada
Chad
Central African Republic
Comoros
Djibouti
Equatorial Guinea
Haiti
Luxembourg
Madagascar
Rwanda
Seychelles
Switzerland
Vanuatu
National subdivisions
Aosta Valley
Bern
Brussels
Fribourg
Jersey
New Brunswick
Northwest Territories
Nunavut
Ontario
Puducherry
Valais
Wallonia
Yukon
Officially recognized status
List of countries and dependencies that grant certain constitutional rights to the French language :
Intergovernmental organizations
French is an official language, mostly in conjunction with English, of 36 international organisations. These include :
Francophonie
United Nations
International Olympic Committee
European Union
African Union
NATO
World Trade Organization
Council of Europe
Countries
This table shows the populations of the countries, not the number of French speakers.
No. | Country | Continent | Population[1] |
---|---|---|---|
1. | ![]() |
Africa | 105,044,646 |
2. | ![]() |
Europe | 68,051,000 |
3. | ![]() |
North America | 38,653,740 |
4. | ![]() |
Africa | 24,235,400 |
5. | ![]() |
Africa | 23,345,200 |
6. | ![]() |
Africa | 22,701,600 |
7. | ![]() |
Africa | 19,899,100 |
8. | ![]() |
Africa | 18,105,600 |
9. | ![]() |
Africa | 17,599,700 |
10. | ![]() |
Africa | 15,129,300 |
11. | ![]() |
Africa | 14,037,500 |
12. | ![]() |
Africa | 12,608,600 |
13. | ![]() |
Africa | 11,607,700 |
14. | ![]() |
Europe | 11,358,357 |
15. | ![]() |
Africa | 11,178,900 |
16. | ![]() |
Africa | 10,879,800 |
17. | ![]() |
Caribbean | 10,711,100 |
18. | ![]() |
Europe | 8,510,000 |
19. | ![]() |
Africa | 7,304,600 |
20. | ![]() |
Africa | 4,900,300 |
21. | ![]() |
Africa | 4,620,300 |
22. | ![]() |
Africa | 1,725,300 |
23. | ![]() |
Africa | 1,221,490 |
24. | ![]() |
Africa | 887,861 |
25. | ![]() |
Africa | 795,601 |
26. | ![]() |
Europe | 602,900 |
27. | ![]() |
Oceania | 264,652 |
28. | ![]() |
Africa | 92,900 |
29. | ![]() |
Europe | 38,731 |
Total | All countries | World | c. 507,160,000 |
Dependent entities
Nr. | Entity | Continent | Population | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | ![]() |
Oceania | 284,060 | Overseas collectivity of France |
2. | ![]() |
Oceania | 267,000 | Collectivity of France with special status |
3. | ![]() |
Europe | 128,000 | Autonomous region of Italy |
4. | ![]() |
North America | 37,264 | Overseas collectivity of France |
5. | ![]() |
Oceania | 15,289 | Overseas collectivity of France |
6. | ![]() |
North America | 9,131 | Overseas collectivity of France |
7. | ![]() |
North America | 5,888 | Overseas collectivity of France |
8. | ![]() |
North America | 0 | Minor territory of France directly held by the government |
9. | ![]() |
Africa and Antarctica | 0 | Overseas collectivity of France |
Note: Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Mayotte are classified as overseas regions of France and are thus not a part of this list.
Minority in other countries
Regions | Country | Status |
---|---|---|
Europe | ![]() |
spoken, not official |
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co-official with Dutch and German | |
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minority | |
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minority | |
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significant minority | |
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minority | |
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official | |
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significant minority | |
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minority | |
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minority | |
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rarely spoken; co-official in the Aosta Valley | |
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co-official with Luxembourgish and German | |
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official | |
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minority, from immigration from DRC | |
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minority | |
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minority | |
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minority | |
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minority in Basque Country and Catalonia | |
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co-official with German, Italian, and Romansh | |
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minority in London, Southern England, South East England, Scotland and Wales (as spoken by Huguenots); official in Channel Islands | |
Africa | ![]() |
unofficial, but widely used |
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official | |
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official | |
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co-official with Kirundi | |
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co-official with English | |
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co-official with Sango | |
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co-official with Arabic | |
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co-official with Arabic and Comorian | |
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official | |
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official | |
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official | |
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co-official with Arabic | |
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co-official with Spanish and Portuguese | |
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official | |
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minority language; majority in Bono Region, Oti Region, Upper East Region, Upper West Region, Western North Region, Western Region and the rest of Western Togoland | |
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official | |
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co-official with Malagasy | |
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official | |
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de facto | |
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de facto | |
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de facto | |
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official | |
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minority language; majority in Adamawa State, Cross River State and Taraba State | |
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official | |
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co-official with English, Kinyarwanda and Swahili | |
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official; Wolof most widely spoken | |
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co-official with English and Seychellois Creole | |
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official | |
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unofficial, but widely used | |
Asia | ![]() |
minority |
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minority | |
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administrative language | |
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unofficial, but spoken by the majority | |
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in Puducherry, co-official with Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam, spoken in Chandannagar with Bengali | |
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minority | |
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minority | |
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minority | |
North America | ![]() |
co-official with English; majority in Quebec, minority in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia |
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official | |
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co-official with Haitian Creole | |
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minority | |
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official | |
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official | |
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official | |
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official | |
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minority language, spoken mainly in Louisiana, Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire[2] | |
Oceania | ![]() |
official |
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official | |
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co-official with English and Bislama | |
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official | |
South America | ![]() |
minority |
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minority, significantly in RJ/ES and other coastal states; see French, Belgian and Swiss Brazilians | |
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minority | |
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official | |
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minority |
See also
- Geographical distribution of French speakers
- Francophonie
- List of international organisations which have French as an official language
References
- ^ "Google Public Data Explorer". World Bank. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
- ^ [1] Johnson, Fern L. "Speaking culturally: language diversity in the United States," Table 1.5: "Speakers age 5 years and older of top 25 languages other than English." Sage Publications, Inc., 1999. Page 12. ISBN 978-0-8039-5912-5. Retrieved 5 August 2011