List of countries and territories where French is an official language

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  Regions where French is the main language
  Regions where it is an official language but not a majority native language
  Regions where it is a second language
  Regions where it is a minority 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.

Countries[change | change source]

This table shows the populations of the countries, not the number of French speakers.

Nr Country Continent Population[1]
1.  DR Congo Africa 84,004,989
2.  France Europe 67,401,000
3.  Canada North America 36,879,800
4.  Madagascar Africa 24,235,400
5.  Cameroon Africa 23,345,200
6.  Ivory Coast Africa 22,701,600
7.  Niger Africa 19,899,100
8.  Burkina Faso Africa 18,105,600
9.  Mali Africa 17,599,700
10.  Senegal Africa 15,129,300
11.  Chad Africa 14,037,500
12.  Guinea Africa 12,608,600
13.  Rwanda Africa 11,607,700
14.  Belgium Europe 11,358,357
15.  Burundi Africa 11,178,900
16.  Benin Africa 10,879,800
17.  Haiti Caribbean 10,711,100
18.  Switzerland Europe 8,510,000
19.  Togo Africa 7,304,600
20.  Central African Republic Africa 4,900,300
21.  Congo Africa 4,620,300
22.  Gabon Africa 1,725,300
24.  Equatorial Guinea Africa 1,221,490
25.  Djibouti Africa 887,861
23.  Comoros Africa 795,601
26.  Luxembourg Europe 602,900
27.  Vanuatu Oceania 264,652
28.  Seychelles Africa 92,900
29.  Monaco Europe 38,731
Total All countries World c. 443 million

Dependent entities[change | change source]

Nr. Entity Continent Population Status
1.  Réunion Africa 777,000 Overseas Department of France
2.  Guadeloupe North America 360,188 Overseas Department of France
3.  Martinique North America 326,488 Overseas Department of France
4.  Mayotte Africa 318,044 Overseas Department of France
5.  French Guiana South America 301,200 Overseas Department of France
6.  French Polynesia Oceania 267,000 Overseas Collectivity of France
7.  New Caledonia Oceania 224,824 Collectivity of France with special status
8.  Aosta Valley Europe 128,000 Autonomous Region of Italy
9.  Jersey Europe 91,533 British Crown dependency
10.  Saint-Martin North America 29,376 Overseas Collectivity of France
11.  Wallis and Futuna Oceania 16,448 Overseas Collectivity of France
12.  Saint-Barthélemy North America 7,492 Overseas Collectivity of France
13.  Saint-Pierre and Miquelon North America 7,044 Overseas Collectivity of France
14.  Clipperton North America 0 Minor territory of France directly held by the government
15.  French Southern and Antarctic Lands Africa and Antarctica 216 Overseas Collectivity of France

Note: Louisiana, Maine and Quebec are classified as integral parts of the United States and Canada and are thus not a part of this list.

References[change | change source]

  1. "Google Public Data Explorer". World Bank. Retrieved 16 November 2016.