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French Speaking Countries 2023 | Francophone Countries

French is a spoken and written language that originated in what is now the country of France and is currently the fifth-most-spoken language in the world behind English, Mandarin Chinese, Hindu, and Spanish. French is one of six working languages of the United Nations (along with Arabic, Chinese, English, Russian, and Spanish), one of three procedural languages of the European Union (along English and German), and the sole language used during deliberations in the EU's Court of Justice of the European Union.

Which countries speak French?

French is an official language in 29 countries, and is the sole official language in 13 of the 29. In the remaining 16 countries, French shares official status with one or more other languages, which may include German, Dutch, English, Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Swahili, Creole, or additional local languages.

Countries in Which French is the Sole Official Language:

BeninGabonMaliRepublic of the Congo
Burkina FasoGuineaMonacoSenegal
DR CongoIvory CoastNigerTogo
France

Countries in Which French is a Co-Official Language:

BelgiumCentral African RepublicEquatorial GuineaRwanda
BurundiChadHaitiSeychelles
CameroonComorosLuxembourgSwitzerland
CanadaDjiboutiMadagascarVanuatu

Ironically, the most populous country in which French is an official language is not France, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa, followed by France and Canada. French is also the official language of several (mostly French) dependent territories, the most populous of which is French Polynesia (population 267,000). Finally, French is recognized as a cultural language in the US states Maine and Louisiana, where it may be used for education, commerce, and government services.

Non-Country Territories in Which French is an Official Language:

French GuianaMayotteSaint Barthelemy
French PolynesiaNew Brunswick*Saint Martin
GuadeloupeNew CaledoniaSaint Pierre and Miquelon
Jersey*ReunionWallis and Futuna
Martinique

Note: Regions marked with * are administered by Canada (New Brunswick) or the UK (Jersey) and utilize French as a Co-Official language. All other regions are administered by France and use French as the sole official language.

Linguistically, French is an Indo-European Romance language with roots tracing back to the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French speaking people and countries are often referred to as Francophones in both French and English. According to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the Earth is home to approximately 321 million Francophones. Similar estimates indicate that French is used by at least 76 million native speakers as well as 235 million fluent daily speakers and another 77-110 users for whom French is a secondary language.

Additional Countries in Which French is Spoken by At Least 10% of the Population:

Country/TerritoryFrancophonesCountry/TerritoryFrancophones
Algeria32.86%Mauritania13.38%
Andorra70.13%Mauritius13.38%
Austria12.86%Morocco35.63%
Cape Verde10.74%Netherlands19.21%
Gambia20.02%Portugal25.12%
Germany14.66%Romania11.99%
Guinea-Bissau15.37%Sao Tome and Principe20.18%
Ireland12.67%Spain11.71%
Italy19.58%Tunisia52.47%
Lebanon38.00%United Kingdom16.47%
Malta13.06%

Download Table Data

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Country
Status
Sole or Co-Official
BelgiumcountryCo-Official
BenincountrySole
Burkina FasocountrySole
BurundicountryCo-Official
CamerooncountryCo-Official
CanadacountryCo-Official
Central African RepubliccountryCo-Official
ChadcountryCo-Official
ComoroscountryCo-Official
DjibouticountryCo-Official
DR CongocountrySole
Equatorial GuineacountryCo-Official
FrancecountrySole
French GuianaFrench overseas regionSole
French PolynesiaFrench territorySole
GaboncountrySole
GuadeloupeFrench overseas regionSole
GuineacountrySole
HaiticountryCo-Official
Ivory CoastcountrySole
JerseyUK crown dependencyCo-Official
LuxembourgcountryCo-Official
MadagascarcountryCo-Official
MalicountrySole
MartiniqueFrench overseas regionSole
MayotteFrench overseas regionSole
MonacocountrySole
New CaledoniaFrench territorySole
NigercountrySole
Republic of the CongocountrySole
ReunionFrench overseas regionSole
RwandacountryCo-Official
Saint BarthelemyFrench territorySole
Saint MartinFrench territorySole
Saint Pierre and MiquelonFrench territorySole
SenegalcountrySole
SeychellescountryCo-Official
SwitzerlandcountryCo-Official
TogocountrySole
VanuatucountryCo-Official
Wallis and FutunaFrench territorySole
showing: 41 rows

How many countries speak French?

French is the official language of 13 countries, but there are also 16 countries where the language is the co-official language, as well as several territories where French is an official language.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources