French is an official de jure language in 26 independent nations and 10 subnational territories, making it one of the most geographically widespread languages after English and tied with Arabic. Overall, it is also used as a de jure or de facto official, secondary, or cultural language in about 50 states and territories. It is the 22nd most natively spoken language in the world, and the 6th most spoken by total number of speakers; this disparity reflects the fact that in most countries French serves primarily as a lingua franca or administrative language rather than as a native tongue, which is widespread in only five countries and territories. The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official language.
Sole official language
Countries
List of countries where French is the only official language:
| Country | Continent |
|---|---|
| Benin | Africa |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of | Africa |
| Congo, Republic of | Africa |
| France and Overseas France | Europe, Africa, Oceania, North America, South America |
| Gabon | Africa |
| Guinea | Africa |
| Ivory Coast | Africa |
| Monaco | Europe |
| Senegal | Africa |
| Togo | Africa |
Non-sovereign entities
| Region | Country |
|---|---|
| Canton of Geneva | Switzerland |
| Canton of Jura | |
| Canton of Neuchâtel | |
| Vaud | |
| Quebec | Canada |
Co-official use
Sovereign states
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:
| Country | Alongside |
|---|---|
| Belgium | Dutch, German |
| Burundi | Kirundi, English, Swahili |
| Cameroon | English |
| Canada | English |
| Chad | Arabic |
| Central African Republic | Sango |
| Comoros | Comorian, Arabic |
| Djibouti | Arabic |
| Equatorial Guinea | Spanish, Portuguese |
| Haiti | Haitian Creole |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourgish, German |
| Madagascar | Malagasy |
| Rwanda | Kinyarwanda, English, Swahili |
| Seychelles | English, Seychellois Creole |
| Switzerland | German, Italian, Romansh |
| Vanuatu | Bislama, English |
National subdivisions
| Region | Country | Alongside |
|---|---|---|
| Aosta Valley, Aosta | Italy | Italian |
| Brussels | Belgium | Dutch |
| Wallonia | German | |
| Canton of Bern | Switzerland | |
| Canton of Fribourg | ||
| Valais | ||
| New Brunswick | Canada | English |
| Yukon | ||
| Northwest Territories | English and several indigenous languages | |
| Nunavut | Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English | |
| Puducherry | India | Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, English |
| Sark | United Kingdom | English |
Officially recognized status
Although a non-official minority language, French is granted certain rights in the following countries and territories:
- Lebanon
- Louisiana (United States)
- Maine (United States)
- Mauritius
Intergovernmental organizations
French is an official language, mostly in conjunction with English, of 36 international organizations. These include:
- African Union
- Council of Europe
- European Union
- International Olympic Committee
- NATO
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Organisation internationale de la Francophonie
- United Nations
- World Trade Organization
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. | Democratic Republic of Congo | Africa | 115,403,027 |
| 2. | France | Europe | 68,374,591 |
| 3. | Canada | North America | 38,794,813 |
| 4 | Cameroon | Africa | 30,966,105 |
| 5. | Côte d'Ivoire | Africa | 29,981,758 |
| 6. | Madagascar | Africa | 29,452,714 |
| 7. | Chad | Africa | 19,093,595 |
| 8. | Senegal | Africa | 18,847,519 |
| 9. | Benin | Africa | 14,697,052 |
| 10. | Guinea | Africa | 13,986,179 |
| 11. | Rwanda | Africa | 13,623,302 |
| 12. | Burundi | Africa | 13,590,102 |
| 13. | Belgium | Europe | 11,977,634 |
| 14. | Haiti | Caribbean | 11,753,943 |
| 15. | Togo | Africa | 8,917,994 |
| 16. | Switzerland | Europe | 8,860,574 |
| 17. | Congo | Africa | 6,097,665 |
| 18. | Central African Republic | Africa | 5,650,957 |
| 19. | Gabon | Africa | 2,455,105 |
| 20. | Equatorial Guinea | Africa | 1,795,834 |
| 21. | Djibouti | Africa | 994,974 |
| 22. | Comoros | Africa | 900,141 |
| 23. | Luxembourg | Europe | 671,254 |
| 24. | Vanuatu | Oceania | 318,007 |
| 25. | Seychelles | Africa | 98,187 |
| 26. | Monaco | Europe | 31,813 |
| Total | All countries | World | c. 467,334,839 |
Dependent entities
| Nr. | Entity | Continent | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | New Caledonia | Oceania | 304,167 | Collectivity of France with special status |
| 2. | French Polynesia | Oceania | 303,540 | Overseas collectivity of France |
| 3. | Saint Martin | North America | 32,996 | |
| 4. | Wallis and Futuna | Oceania | 15,964 | |
| 5. | Saint Barthélemy | North America | 7,0899 | |
| 6. | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | North America | 5,132 | |
| 7. | French Southern and Antarctic Lands | Africa, Antarctica | 100 | |
| 8. | Clipperton Island | North America | 0 |
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.
Non-official but significant language
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) | Usage of French |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | Africa | 44,758,398 | Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language |
| Burkina Faso | Africa | 22,489,126 | Administrative, commercial, educational; removed as an official language in 2024 |
| Cambodia | Asia | 16,891,245 | Administrative (particularly judicial and diplomacy), cultural, some educational; nowadays it has declined, with about 3% of the population fluent. |
| Laos | Asia | 7,852,377 | Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational; nowadays it has declined, with about 3% of the population fluent. |
| Lebanon | Asia | 5,331,203 | De jure second language |
| Mali | Africa | 21,359,722 | Administrative, commercial, educational; removed as an official language in 2023 |
| Mauritania | Africa | 4,244,878 | De facto second official language, educational |
| Mauritius | Africa | 1,309,448 | Administrative (de facto official), cultural, educational |
| Morocco | Africa | 37,067,420 | Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language |
| Niger | Africa | 26,342,784 | Administrative, commercial, educational; removed as an official language in 2025 |
| Tunisia | Africa | 11,976,182 | Administrative, commercial, cultural, educational, de facto official language |
| Vietnam | Asia | 99,460,000 | Administrative (diplomatic), cultural, some educational, working language in medicine, science, and law; nowadays it has declined, with less than 1% of the population fluent. |
See also
- Francophonie
- Geographical distribution of French speakers
- List of international organisations which have French as an official language
- French-based creole languages
- Geolinguistics
- Language geography
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