List of countries and territories where French is an official language

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[edit]
Countries[edit]
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[edit]
French Community, Belgium
Geneva, Switzerland
Jura, Switzerland
Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Québec, Canada
Vaud, Switzerland
Co-official use[edit]
Sovereign states[edit]
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[edit]
Aosta Valley
Bern
Brussels
Fribourg
Jersey
New Brunswick
Northwest Territories
Nunavut
Ontario
Quebec
Puducherry[1]
Valais
Wallonia
Yukon
Officially recognized status[edit]
List of countries and dependencies that grant certain constitutional rights to the French language :
Intergovernmental organizations[edit]
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[edit]
This table shows the total populations of the countries, not the number of French speakers (some of these countries such as Canada have a majority that do not speak French).
No. | Country | Continent | Population[2] |
---|---|---|---|
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[3] | |
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 | |
![]() |
minority | |
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official | |
![]() |
minority |
See also[edit]
- Geographical distribution of French speakers
- Francophonie
- List of international organisations which have French as an official language
References[edit]
- ^ Animesh Rai (2020). The Legacy of French Rule in India (1674-1954): An investigation of a process of Creolization. Institut français de Pondichéry. ISBN 9791036549892.
- ^ "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