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.
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 |
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.