French is an official language in 27 independent nations. The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official or de facto language.

Countries in the world with French as an official language.

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  Countries where French is the only official language
  Countries where French is a co-official language

Only official language

Countries

List of countries where French is the only official language:

Co-official use

Countries

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:

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 organisations. 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[1]
1.Democratic Republic of CongoAfrica105,044,646
2.FranceEurope68,051,000
3.CanadaNorth America38,653,740
4.MadagascarAfrica24,235,400
5.CameroonAfrica23,345,200
6.Côte d'IvoireAfrica22,701,600
7.NigerAfrica19,899,100
8.Burkina FasoAfrica18,105,600
9.SenegalAfrica15,129,300
10.ChadAfrica14,037,500
11.GuineaAfrica12,608,600
12.RwandaAfrica11,607,700
13.BelgiumEurope11,358,357
14.BurundiAfrica11,178,900
15.BeninAfrica10,879,800
16.HaitiCaribbean10,711,100
17.SwitzerlandEurope8,510,000
18.TogoAfrica7,304,600
19.Central African RepublicAfrica4,900,300
20.CongoAfrica4,620,300
21.GabonAfrica1,725,300
22.Equatorial GuineaAfrica1,221,490
23.DjiboutiAfrica887,861
24.ComorosAfrica795,601
25.LuxembourgEurope602,900
26.VanuatuOceania264,652
27.SeychellesAfrica92,900
28.MonacoEurope38,731
29.IndiaSouth Asia89,731
TotalAll countriesWorldc. 490,444,060

Dependent entities

Nr. Entity Continent Population Status
1.French PolynesiaOceania284,060Overseas collectivity and overseas country of France.
2.New CaledoniaOceania267,000Collectivity of France with special status
3.Aosta ValleyEurope128,000Autonomous region of Italy
4.Saint-MartinNorth America37,264Overseas collectivity of France
5.Wallis and FutunaOceania15,289Overseas collectivity of France
6.Saint-BarthélemyNorth America9,131Overseas collectivity of France
7.Saint-Pierre and MiquelonNorth America5,888Overseas 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. 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.[2][3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Google Public Data Explorer". World Bank. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  2. ↑ Ward, Roger K. The French Language in Louisiana Law and Legal Education: A Requiem, Louisiana Law Review, 1997
  3. ↑ "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
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