French Speaking Countries 2025
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30%
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60%
70%
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90%
100%
5 Countries with the Most French Speakers
Country | Country Status | French Language Status | % French Speakers↓ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | French territory | Sole Official | 100% |
 | French Polynesia | French territory | Sole Official | 99.5% |
 | Saint Martin | French territory | Sole Official | 98.5% |
 | Monaco | country | Sole Official | 97.5% |
 | France | country | Sole Official | 96.9% |
 | Luxembourg | country | Co-Official | 92.1% |
 | Saint Barthelemy | French territory | Sole Official | 90% |
 | Reunion | French overseas region | Sole Official | 87.8% |
 | Guadeloupe | French overseas region | Sole Official | 87.5% |
 | Martinique | French overseas region | Sole Official | 83.1% |
 | Wallis and Futuna | French territory | Sole Official | 77.9% |
 | Belgium | country | Co-Official | 75.6% |
 | Mauritius | country | Not Offical | 72.6% |
 | Andorra | country | Not Offical | 70.1% |
 | Switzerland | country | Co-Official | 67.1% |
 | Cameroon | country | Co-Official | 67% |
 | New Caledonia | French territory | Sole Official | 66.6% |
 | French Guiana | French overseas region | Sole Official | 66.2% |
 | Gabon | country | Sole Official | 65.1% |
 | Republic of the Congo | country | Sole Official | 60.7% |
 | Seychelles | country | Co-Official | 53.5% |
 | Tunisia | country | Not Offical | 52.5% |
 | Mayotte | French overseas region | Sole Official | 51.8% |
 | DR Congo | country | Sole Official | 51.4% |
 | Djibouti | country | Co-Official | 50% |
 | Haiti | country | Co-Official | 42% |
 | Togo | country | Sole Official | 40.9% |
 | Lebanon | country | Not Offical | 38% |
 | Morocco | country | Not Offical | 35.6% |
 | Benin | country | Sole Official | 33.7% |
 | Ivory Coast | country | Sole Official | 33.6% |
 | Algeria | country | Not Offical | 32.9% |
 | Vanuatu | country | Co-Official | 31.1% |
 | Equatorial Guinea | country | Co-Official | 28.9% |
 | Canada | country | Co-Official | 28.6% |
 | Central African Republic | country | Co-Official | 28.6% |
 | Guinea | country | Sole Official | 27.2% |
 | Madagascar | country | Co-Official | 26.5% |
 | Senegal | country | Sole Official | 26.3% |
 | Comoros | country | Co-Official | 26.1% |
 | Portugal | country | Not Offical | 25.1% |
 | Burkina Faso | country | Working | 24.5% |
 | Sao Tome and Principe | country | Not Offical | 20.2% |
 | Gambia | country | Not Offical | 20% |
 | Italy | country | Not Offical | 19.6% |
 | Netherlands | country | Not Offical | 19.2% |
 | Mali | country | Working | 17.2% |
 | United Kingdom | country | Not Offical | 16.5% |
 | Germany | country | Not Offical | 14.7% |
 | Mauritania | country | Not Offical | 13.4% |
 | Malta | country | Not Offical | 13.1% |
 | Niger | country | Sole Official | 12.9% |
 | Chad | country | Co-Official | 12.9% |
 | Austria | country | Not Offical | 12.9% |
 | Ireland | country | Not Offical | 12.7% |
 | Romania | country | Not Offical | 12% |
 | Spain | country | Not Offical | 11.7% |
 | Cape Verde | country | Not Offical | 10.7% |
 | Burundi | country | Co-Official | 8.5% |
 | Rwanda | country | Co-Official | 5.8% |
 | Vietnam | country | Working | |
 | Cambodia | country | Not Offical | |
 | Laos | country | Not Offical | |
 | Jersey | UK crown dependency | Co-Official |
- In some countries, such as Burkina Faso, French is “working language” that is used on government documents and in other official capacity, but may not be widely spoken. English and French are the two most common working languages globally.
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, Hindi, 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
Countries in Which French is a Co-Official Language
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.
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.
