All areas of the world that were ever part of the British Empire. The names of current British Overseas Territories are underlined in red.
The following is a list of countries and territories where English is an official language—that is, a language used in citizen interactions with government officials. As of 2020[update], there were 59 sovereign states and 27 non-sovereign entities where English was an official language. Many administrative divisions have declared English an official language at the local or regional level.
The United States and New Zealand, where the overwhelming majority of native English speakers reside, do not have English as an official language de jure, but English is considered their de facto official language because it dominates in these countries.
Countries where English is a predominant language conventionally spoken by both the government and main population, despite it having no de jure official status at national level
Countries where English is a de facto working language in government or education, but it is not recognized as de jure official, nor a primary language spoken by the main population
^1 The population figures are based on the sources in List of countries by population, with information as of 23 January 2009 (UN estimates, et al.), and refer to the population of the country and not necessarily to the number of inhabitants that speak English in the country in question.
^"Rwanda's Constitution of 2003 with Amendments through 2015"(PDF). constituteproject.org. Comparative Constitutions Project. p. 5-6. Retrieved 16 October 2022. Article 8. National language and official languages The National language is Ikinyarwanda. The official languages are Ikinyarwanda, English and French
^"Primary Schools". Government of St Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis. Archived from the original on 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
^New Zealand Government (21 December 2007). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Fifth Periodic Report of the Government of New Zealand(PDF) (Report). p. 89. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015. In addition to the Māori language, New Zealand Sign Language is also an official language of New Zealand. The New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 permits the use of NZSL in legal proceedings, facilitates competency standards for its interpretation and guides government departments in its promotion and use. English, the medium for teaching and learning in most schools, is a de facto official language by virtue of its widespread use. For these reasons, these three languages have special mention in the New Zealand Curriculum.
^"[T]eaching of English continued in primary, secondary and tertiary level not because it was the official language but it became the language of trade and commerce. Over the years, the prominence of English continued to rise. ... English language is dominantly present in every side of our national life while on the other hand in our constitution it is clearly declared that the language of the country is Bengali. In fact, nothing is said about the status of English language in our constitution. On one hand, economic activities in the private companies are carried out in English while there is a government law (Bengali procholon ain1987) that government offices must use Bengali in their official works. So from the government point of view Bengali is the national-official language of Bangladesh and English is the most important foreign language. But in reality English is the second language of the country and in many places English is more important than Bengali in Bangladesh." https://www.scribd.com/doc/53272796/Sucess-of-English-language-in-Bangladesh-rec
^English has been the primary language of instruction for five decades in Bhutan, at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels.
Dendup, Tashi and Angkana Onthanee. 2020. "Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning on English Communicative Ability of 4th Grade Students in Bhutan." International Journal of Instruction, v13 n1(Jan) p255-266. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1239314.pdf
^Spolsky, Bernard (1999). Round Table on Language and Linguistics. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. pp. 169–70. ISBN0-87840-132-6. In 1948, the newly independent state of Israel took over the old British regulations that had set English, Arabic, and Hebrew as official languages for Mandatory Palestine but, as mentioned, dropped English from the list. In spite of this, official language use has maintained a de facto role for English, after Hebrew but before Arabic.
^Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot, Hava (2004). "Part I: Language and Discourse". In Diskin Ravid, Dorit; Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot, Hava (eds.). Perspectives on Language and Development: Essays in Honor of Ruth A. Berman. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 90. ISBN1-4020-7911-7. English is not considered official but it plays a dominant role in the educational and public life of Israeli society. [...] It is the language most widely used in commerce, business, formal papers, academia, and public interactions, public signs, road directions, names of buildings, etc. English behaves 'as if' it were the second and official language in Israel.
^Shohamy, Elana (2006). Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches. Routledge. pp. 72?73. ISBN0-415-32864-0. In terms of English, there is no connection between the declared policies and statements and de facto practices. While English is not declared anywhere as an official language, the reality is that it has a very high and unique status in Israel. It is the main language of the academy, commerce, business, and the public space.
^" English, though without official status, is widely spoken throughout the country and is the de facto language of commerce and banking, as well as a co-official status in the education sector; almost all university-level classes are held in English and almost all public schools teach English along with Standard Arabic." de Gruyter, Walter (2006). Sociolinguistics: An International Handbook of the Science of Language and Society. Ulrich Ammon. p. 1921. ISBN9783110184181. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
^" English is widely spoken. It is used in business and is a compulsory second language in schools." "Kuwait Guide". Commisceo Global. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
^"Other languages spoken in Maldives include English, which is also recognized as the second main language. Initially, Dhivehi was used as the medium of teaching in schools, but the need to promote higher education led to the conversion of syllabus in English. Now, English is widely spoken by the locals of Maldives." "Maldives Languages". Retrieved Feb 2, 2017.
^Lintner, Bertil (2003), "Myanmar/Burma", in MacKerras, Colin, Ethnicity in Asia, Routledge, ISBN0-415-25816-2
^Kharusi, N. S.; Salman, A. (September 2011). The English Transliteration of Place Names in Oman.
^English is a "De facto national working language, used in government." Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2013. "Sri Lanka." Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Seventeenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online edition: https://www.ethnologue.com/country/LK Accessed 30 March 2014.
^Under the constitution of 1978, Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages of Sri Lanka, but English is "the link language." Any person is entitled "to receive communications from, and to communicate and transact business with, any official in his official capacity" in English, to receive an English translation of "any official register, record, publication or other document," and "to communicate and transact business in English." English translations must be made for "all laws and subordinate legislation," "all Orders, Proclamations, rules, by-laws, regulations and notifications." "THE CONSTITUTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA: Chapter IV". 1978. Archived from the original on 2003-02-03. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
