List of countries and territories where French is an official language: Difference between revisions

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{{legend|#00ff00|Regions where French is a minority language{{what|date=February 2022}}}}–>

{{legend|#00ff00|Regions where French is a minority language{{what|date=February 2022}}}}–>

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[[French language|French]] is an official ”de jure” language in 26 independent nations and 14 territories, the second most number of countries after [[List of official languages|English]] and tied with [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. It is the 22nd [[List of languages by number of native speakers|most natively spoken language]] in the world,<ref name=e28>[https://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/ Statistics], in {{e28}}</ref> the 5th [[List of languages by total number of speakers|most spoken by total number of speakers]], and the second [[List of official languages|most geographically widespread language]], with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language, the second most number of countries after [[List of official languages|English]] and Arabic.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/04/23/the-worlds-languages-in-7-maps-and-charts/|title= The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]]|date=18 April 2022|access-date =19 April 2022}}</ref> In 2017 it was the second most studied language in the world with about 120 million learners.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How many people speak French and where is French spoken |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-french-and-where-is-french-spoken |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121234924/https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-french-and-where-is-french-spoken |archive-date=21 November 2017 |access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official or ”de facto” language.

[[French language|French]] is an official ”de jure” language in 26 independent nations and 14 territories, the second most number of countries after [[List of official languages|English]] and tied with [[Arabic language|Arabic]]. It is the 22nd [[List of languages by number of native speakers|most natively spoken language]] in the world,<ref name=e28>[https://www.ethnologue.com/statistics/ Statistics], in {{e28}}</ref> the [[List of languages by total number of speakers|most spoken by total number of speakers]], and the second [[List of official languages|most geographically widespread language]], with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language, the second most number of countries after [[List of official languages|English]] and Arabic.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/04/23/the-worlds-languages-in-7-maps-and-charts/|title= The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts|newspaper= [[The Washington Post]]|date=18 April 2022|access-date =19 April 2022}}</ref> In 2017 it was the second most studied language in the world with about 120 million learners.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How many people speak French and where is French spoken |url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-french-and-where-is-french-spoken |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121234924/https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-french-and-where-is-french-spoken |archive-date=21 November 2017 |access-date=21 November 2017}}</ref> The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official or ”de facto” language.

==Sole official language==

==Sole official language==

Revision as of 11:36, 17 October 2025

  Regions where French is a majority native language

  Regions where French is an official or administrative language but not a majority native language

  Regions where French is an unofficial secondary language

French is an official de jure language in 26 independent nations and 14 territories, the second most number of countries after English and tied with Arabic. It is the 22nd most natively spoken language in the world,[1] the 6th most spoken by total number of speakers,[2] and the second most geographically widespread language, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language, the second most number of countries after English and Arabic.[3] In 2017 it was the second most studied language in the world with about 120 million learners.[4] The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official or de facto language.

Sole official language

Countries

List of countries where French is the only official language:

Non-sovereign entities

Co-official use

Countries in the world with French as an official language.

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:

Country Alongside
Belgium Dutch, German
Burundi Kirundi, English, Swahili
Cameroon English
Canada English
Chad Arabic
Central African Republic Sango
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

Officially recognized status

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

Intergovernmental organizations

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

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[9]
1. Democratic Republic of Congo Africa 115,403,027
2. France Europe 68,374,591
3. Algeria Africa 44,758,398
4. Canada North America 38,794,813
5. Morocco Africa 37,067,420
6 Cameroon Africa 30,966,105
7. Côte d’Ivoire Africa 29,981,758
8. Madagascar Africa 29,452,714
9. Niger Africa 26,342,784
10. Burkina Faso Africa 22,489,126
11. Mali Africa 21,359,722
12. Chad Africa 19,093,595
13. Senegal Africa 18,847,519
14. Benin Africa 14,697,052
15. Guinea Africa 13,986,179
16. Rwanda Africa 13,623,302
17. Burundi Africa 13,590,102
18. Belgium Europe 11,977,634
19. Tunisia Africa 11,976,182
20. Haiti Caribbean 11,753,943
21. Togo Africa 8,917,994
22. Switzerland Europe 8,860,574
23. Congo Africa 6,097,665
24. Central African Republic Africa 5,650,957
25. Mauritania Africa 4,244,878
26. Gabon Africa 2,455,105
27. Equatorial Guinea Africa 1,795,834
28. Mauritius Africa 1,309,448
29. Djibouti Africa 994,974
30. Comoros Africa 900,141
31. Luxembourg Europe 671,254
32. Vanuatu Oceania 318,007
33. Seychelles Africa 98,187
34. Monaco Europe 31,813
Total All countries World c. 636,882,797

Dependent entities

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.[10][7]

Non-official but significant language

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)[11] Usage of French
Algeria Africa 44,758,398 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language[12]
Burkina Faso Africa 22,489,126 Administrative (de facto official), educational[13][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][16]
Lebanon Asia 5,331,203 De jure second language[5]
Mali Africa 21,359,722 Administrative (de facto official), 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[8]
Morocco Africa 37,067,420 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language[21][22]
Niger Africa 26,342,784 Administrative[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

References

  1. ^ Statistics, in Eberhard, David M.; Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D., eds. (2025). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (28th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
  2. ^ “What are the top 200 most spoken languages?”. Ethnologue. 2025. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  3. ^ “The world’s languages, in 7 maps and charts”. The Washington Post. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  4. ^ “How many people speak French and where is French spoken”. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  5. ^ a b Axel Tschentscher, LL.M. “Article 11 of the Lebanese Constitution”. Servat.unibe.ch. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  6. ^ French’s Legal Status In Louisiana, Conseil pour le développement du Français en Louisiane (CODOFIL)
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ a b Article 49 in the Constitution of Mauritius. ilo.org
  9. ^ a b “Field Listing – Population”. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
  10. ^ Ward, Roger K. The French Language in Louisiana Law and Legal Education: A Requiem, Louisiana Law Review, 1997
  11. ^ World Population 2023, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency
  12. ^ “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
  13. ^ “Burkina Faso – Ibrahim Traoré promulgue la loi révisant la Constitution”. LibreExpress. 27 January 2024.
  14. ^ “DÉCRET N° 2024-0040/PRES-TRANS promulguant la loi constitutionnelle n° 045-2023/ALT du 30 décembre 2023 portant révision de la Constitution” (PDF). minute.bf. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  15. ^ Aménagement linguistique dans le monde – Cambodge, Université Laval (in French)
  16. ^ a b 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.
  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

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