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List of countries and territories where French is an official language

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Countries with French as an official language:
  Only official language[a]
  Co-official language[b]

French is an official de jure language in 26 independent nations and 10 subnational territories, making it one of the most geographically widespread languages after English and tied with Arabic. Overall, it is also used as a de jure or de facto official, secondary, or cultural language in about 50 states and territories.[1] It is the 22nd most natively spoken language in the world,[2] and the 6th most spoken by total number of speakers;[3] this disparity reflects the fact that in most countries French serves primarily as a lingua franca or administrative language rather than as a native tongue, which is widespread in only five countries and territories[c].[1][5] The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official language.

Sole official language

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Countries

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List of countries where French is the only official language:

Country Continent
Benin Africa
Congo, Democratic Republic of Africa
Congo, Republic of Africa
France and Overseas France Europe, Africa, Oceania, the Americas
Gabon Africa
Guinea Africa
Ivory Coast Africa
Monaco Europe
Senegal Africa
Togo Africa

Non-sovereign entities

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Region Country
Geneva  Switzerland
Jura
Neuchâtel
Vaud
Quebec Canada

Co-official use

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Sovereign states

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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:

Country Alongside
Belgium Dutch, German
Burundi Kirundi, English
Cameroon English
Canada English
Central African Republic Sango
Chad Arabic
Comoros Comorian, Arabic
Djibouti Arabic
Equatorial Guinea Spanish, Portuguese
Haiti Haitian Creole
Luxembourg Luxembourgish, German
Madagascar Malagasy
Rwanda Kinyarwanda, English, Swahili
Seychelles English, Seychellois Creole
 Switzerland German, Italian, Romansh
Vanuatu Bislama, English

National subdivisions

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Region Country Alongside
Aosta Valley, Aosta Italy Italian
Brussels Belgium Dutch
Wallonia German
Bern  Switzerland
Fribourg
Valais
New Brunswick Canada English
Yukon
Northwest Territories English and several indigenous languages
Nunavut Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English
Puducherry India Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, English
Sark United Kingdom English

Officially recognized status

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Although a non-official minority language, French is granted certain rights in the following countries and territories:

Intergovernmental organizations

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The Francophonie flag flying at the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa

French is an official language, mostly in conjunction with English, of 36 international organizations. These include:

Countries

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This table shows the total populations of the countries, not the number of French speakers – most of these countries have a majority that do not speak French.

No. Country Continent Population[10]
1. Democratic Republic of the Congo Africa 115,403,027
2. France Europe 68,374,591
3. Canada North America 38,794,813
4 Cameroon Africa 30,966,105
5. Côte d'Ivoire Africa 29,981,758
6. Madagascar Africa 29,452,714
7. Chad Africa 19,093,595
8. Senegal Africa 18,847,519
9. Benin Africa 14,697,052
10. Guinea Africa 13,986,179
11. Rwanda Africa 13,623,302
12. Burundi Africa 13,590,102
13. Belgium Europe 11,977,634
14. Haiti North America 11,753,943
15. Togo Africa 8,917,994
16.  Switzerland Europe 8,860,574
17. Republic of the Congo Africa 6,097,665
18. Central African Republic Africa 5,650,957
19. Gabon Africa 2,455,105
20. Equatorial Guinea Africa 1,795,834
21. Djibouti Africa 994,974
22. Comoros Africa 900,141
23. Luxembourg Europe 671,254
24. Vanuatu Oceania 318,007
25. Seychelles Africa 98,187
26. Monaco Europe 31,813
Total All countries World c. 467,334,839

Dependent entities

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Nr. Entity Continent Population[10] Status
1. New Caledonia Oceania 304,167 Collectivity of France with special status
2. French Polynesia Oceania 303,540 Overseas collectivity of France
3. Saint Martin North America 32,996
4. Wallis and Futuna Oceania 15,964
5. Saint Barthélemy North America 7,0899
6. Saint Pierre and Miquelon North America 5,132
7. French Southern and Antarctic Lands Africa, Antarctica 100
8. Clipperton Island North America 0

Note: Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Mayotte are classified as overseas departments and regions of France and are thus not a part of this list. While not de jure official, the U.S. states of Louisiana and Maine recognize the usage of French in law, governance, and commerce and allow state services and publicly funded education in the language, rendering it de facto official alongside English.[11][8]

Non-official but significant language

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While French is not an official language in these countries, it is widely used in administration and many professional sectors, as well as being highly influential as a cultural language in the local society and has certain privileges in the education system.

Country Continent Population (2023)[12] Usage of French
Algeria Africa 44,758,398 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language[13]
Burkina Faso Africa 22,489,126 Administrative, commercial, educational[14]
Cambodia Asia 16,891,245 Administrative (particularly judicial and diplomacy), cultural, some educational[15][16]
Laos Asia 7,852,377 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational[17]
Lebanon Asia 5,331,203 De jure second language[6]
Mali Africa 21,359,722 Administrative, commercial, educational[18][19]
Mauritania Africa 4,244,878 De facto second official language, educational[20]
Mauritius Africa 1,309,448 Administrative (de facto official), cultural, educational[9]
Morocco Africa 37,067,420 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language[21][22]
Niger Africa 26,342,784 Administrative, commercial, educational[23]
Tunisia Africa 11,976,182 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language[24]
Vietnam Asia 99,460,000 Administrative (diplomatic), cultural, some educational, working language in medicine, science, and law[25][26]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The world's languages, in 7 maps and charts". The Washington Post. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. ^ Statistics, in Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2025). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (28th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
  3. ^ "What are the top 200 most spoken languages?". Ethnologue. 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  4. ^ "Census in Brief: English, French and official language minorities in Canada". www12.statcan.gc.ca. 2017-08-02. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  5. ^ "How many people speak French and where is French spoken". Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b Axel Tschentscher, LL.M. "Article 11 of the Lebanese Constitution". Servat.unibe.ch. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  7. ^ French's Legal Status In Louisiana, Conseil pour le développement du Français en Louisiane (CODOFIL)
  8. ^ a b "Ici on parle français", Report of the Commission to Study the Development of Maine's Franco-American Resources, Maine State Legislature Law and Legislative Reference Library, December 1997
  9. ^ a b Article 49 in the Constitution of Mauritius. ilo.org
  10. ^ a b "Field Listing - Population". CIA World Factbook. Archived from the original on January 4, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  11. ^ Ward, Roger K. The French Language in Louisiana Law and Legal Education: A Requiem, Louisiana Law Review, 1997
  12. ^ World Population 2023, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency
  13. ^ "Le dénombrement des francophones" (PDF). Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2013. () p. 9 "Nous y agrégeons néanmoins quelques données disponibles pour des pays n'appartenant pas à l'OIF mais dont nous savons, comme pour l'Algérie (11,2 millions en 20081
  14. ^ "Burkina Faso - Ibrahim Traoré promulgue la loi révisant la Constitution". LibreExpress. 27 January 2024.
  15. ^ Aménagement linguistique dans le monde - Cambodge, Université Laval (in French)
  16. ^ Richardson, Michael (16 October 1993). "French Declines in Indochina, as English Booms". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  17. ^ Aménagement linguistique dans le monde - Laos, Université Laval (in French)
  18. ^ Mali's new constitution adopted after court validation, Radio France Internationale, 22 July 2023.
  19. ^ "Journal Officiel de la République du Mali Secretariat du Général du Governement - Decret DECRET N°2023-0401/PT-RM du 22 Juillet 2023 pourtant promulgation de la Constitution" (PDF). sgg-mali.ml. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Mauritania". Ethnologue.
  21. ^ "Morocco". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 14 July 2023. Archived from the original on January 9, 2021.
  22. ^ "Présentation du Maroc". Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (in French).
  23. ^ Okafor, Chinedu (8 April 2025). "Niger downgrades French as it distances from its colonial past with a new official language". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  24. ^ Samy Ghorbal, «Le français a-t-il encore un avenir ? », Jeune Afrique, 27 April 2008, pp. 77-78
  25. ^ Duc Tri-Quê Anh. Promouvoir l’enseignement du français au Vietnam, Le Courrier du Vietnam, 7 March 2022. (in French)
  26. ^ Kirkpatrick, Andy and Anthony J. Liddicoat, The Routledge International Handbook of Language Education Policy in Asia., Routledge, 2019, p. 192

Notes

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  1. ^ Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Gabon, Guinea, Monaco, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Togo
  2. ^ Belgium, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Switzerland, Vanuatu
  3. ^ French is spoken as a mother tongue by the majority of the population, in descending order, in France, Canada (Quebec), Belgium (Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region), western Switzerland (Romandy) and Monaco.[4]
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