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List of countries and territories where French is an official language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  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 language in 27 independent nations. French is also the second most geographically widespread language in the world after English, with about 60 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language.[1] The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official or de facto language.

Sole official language

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Countries

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List of countries where French is the only official language:

Non-sovereign entities

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Co-official use

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Countries in the world with French as an official language.

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:

National subdivisions

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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 organisations. These include:

Countries

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French is the second most geographically widespread language in the world, with about 50 countries or territories where French is an official or de jure language..

Rank Country/territory French-speaking
population[6][a]		 Land area (km2) Land area (sq mi)
1  Democratic Republic of the Congo 119,925,000 2,344,858 905,354
2  France 68,394,000 551,695 213,011
3  Algeria 47,904,000 2,381,741 919,595
4  Morocco 42,457,000 446,550 172,410
5  Cameroon 34,491,000 475,650 183,650
6  Côte d'Ivoire 27,325,000 322,462 124,503
7  Madagascar 25,729,000 587,041 226,658
8  Burkina Faso 24,404,000 274,200 105,900
9  Tunisia 23,321,000 163,610 63,170
10  Mali 21,703,000 1,240,192 478,841
11  Chad 22,249,000 1,284,000 495,800
12  Niger 21,363,000 1,267,000 489,200
13  Rwanda 19,793,000 26,338 10,169
14  Senegal 14,640,000 196,712 75,951
15  Benin 14,306,000 114,763 44,310
16  Burundi 11,074,000 25,680 9,915
17  Canada 11,061,000 9,984,670 3,855,100
18  Haiti 9,906,000 27,750 10,710
19  Togo 9,554,000 56,785 21,925
20  Belgium 8,815,000 30,528 11,787
21  Congo 6,518,000 342,000 132,000
22  Central African Republic 5,435,000 622,984 240,535
23  Guinea 4,777,000 245,857 94,926
24   Switzerland 3,889,000 41,291 15,943
25  Gabon 2,519,000 267,668 103,347
26  Lebanon 2,540,000 10,452 4,036
27  United States
Louisiana New England 		2,179,000 9,525,067 3,677,647
28  Mauritius 926,000 2,040 788
29  Réunion 799,000 2,511 970
30  Vietnam 693,000 331,340 127,930
31  Mauritania 656,000 1,030,700 397,960
32  Luxembourg 642,000 2,586 998
33  Djibouti 508,000 23,200 8,960
34  Cambodia 463,000 181,035 69,898
35  Guadeloupe 336,000 1,628 629
36  Martinique 303,000 1,128 436
37  New Caledonia 288,000 18,575 7,172
38  French Polynesia 278,000 4,167 1,609
39  Comoros 237,000 1,861 719
40  Laos 204,000 236,800 91,430
41  French Guiana 195,000 84,000 32,433
42  Mayotte 180,000 374 144
43  Vanuatu 100,000 12,189 4,706
44  Seychelles 53,000 457 176
45  Monaco 39,000 2 0.7
46 Saint Martin 33,000 53 20
47  India
Puducherry
 10,000 483 186
48  Wallis and Futuna 9,000 142 55
49  Saint Barthélemy 8,000 20 8
50  Saint Pierre and Miquelon 6,000 230 89
Total 446,271,000 19,103,017 7,375,547

Dependent entities

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Nr. Entity Continent Population Status
1. French Polynesia Oceania 284,060 Overseas collectivity of France
2. New Caledonia Oceania 267,000 Collectivity of France with special status
3. Saint Martin North America 37,264 Overseas collectivity of France
4. Wallis and Futuna Oceania 15,289 Overseas collectivity of France
5. Saint Barthélemy North America 9,131 Overseas collectivity of France
6. Saint Pierre and Miquelon North America 5,888 Overseas collectivity of France
7. French Southern and Antarctic Lands Africa, Antarctica 100 Overseas collectivity of France
8. Clipperton Island North America 0 Overseas collectivity of France

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.[7][5]

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)[8] Usage of French
Algeria Africa 44,758,398 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language[9]
Burkina Faso Africa 22,489,126 Administrative, educational[10][11]
Cambodia Asia 16,891,245 Administrative (particularly judicial and diplomacy), cultural, some educational[12][13]
Laos Asia 7,852,377 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational[14][13]
Lebanon Asia 5,331,203 De jure second language[2]
Mali Africa 21,359,722 Administrative (de facto official), educational[15][16]
Mauritania Africa 4,244,878 De facto second official language, educational[17]
Mauritius Africa 1,309,448 Administrative (de facto official), cultural, educational[3]
Morocco Africa 37,067,420 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language[18][19]
Tunisia Africa 11,976,182 Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language[20]
Vietnam Asia 99,460,000 Administrative (diplomatic), cultural, some educational, working language in medicine, science, and law[21][22]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Note: Excludes partial speakers and learners.

References

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  1. ^ "The world's languages, in 7 maps and charts". The Washington Post. 18 April 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  2. ^ a b Axel Tschentscher, LL.M. "Article 11 of the Lebanese Constitution". Servat.unibe.ch. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b Article 49 in the Constitution of Mauritius. ilo.org
  4. ^ French's Legal Status In Louisiana, Conseil pour le développement du Français en Louisiane (CODOFIL)
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ La langue française dans le monde, 2022, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF),
  7. ^ Ward, Roger K. The French Language in Louisiana Law and Legal Education: A Requiem, Louisiana Law Review, 1997
  8. ^ World Population 2023, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency
  9. ^ "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
  10. ^ "Burkina Faso - Ibrahim Traoré promulgue la loi révisant la Constitution". LibreExpress. 27 January 2024.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ Aménagement linguistique dans le monde - Cambodge, Université Laval (in French)
  13. ^ a b Richardson, Michael (16 October 1993). "French Declines in Indochina, as English Booms". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  14. ^ Aménagement linguistique dans le monde - Laos, Université Laval (in French)
  15. ^ Mali's new constitution adopted after court validation, Radio France Internationale, 22 July 2023.
  16. ^ "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.
  17. ^ "Mauritania". Ethnologue.
  18. ^ "Morocco". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 14 July 2023.
  19. ^ "Présentation du Maroc". Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (in French).
  20. ^ Samy Ghorbal, «Le français a-t-il encore un avenir ? », Jeune Afrique, 27 April 2008, pp. 77-78
  21. ^ Duc Tri-Quê Anh. Promouvoir l’enseignement du français au Vietnam, Le Courrier du Vietnam, 7 March 2022. (in French)
  22. ^ Kirkpatrick, Andy and Anthony J. Liddicoat, The Routledge International Handbook of Language Education Policy in Asia., Routledge, 2019, p. 192
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