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Francophone countries
A francophone country is a country where French is the main or official language.
French became an international language in the Middle Ages with the influence of the Kingdom of France. And in the 18th century, it became the languages of European courts and diplomacy. It was only in the 20th century that it loses its place as the language of the diplomacy to the detriment of English as a result of the extend of the British Empire and the rise of the English-speaking United States.
Table of contents
France, DOM and TOM
French is the official language of France, which is composed of 27 regions. 22 of them are situated in Europe and 5 are overseas territories. The 5 overseas territories are called Département d’Outre Mer (DOM) and are the following:
- Guadeloupe (North America)
- Martinique (North America)
- French Guyana (South America)
- Reunion (Africa)
- Mayotte (Africa)
France has also Overseas Territories called Territoires D’outre Mer (TOM):
- St. Pierre & Miquelon (North America)
- St. Barthelemy (North America)
- St. Martin (North America)
- French Polynesia (Oceania)
- New Caledonia (Oceania)
- Wallis & Futuna (Oceania)
Other French speaking countries (official language)
In addition to France and its DOM and TOM, French is the Official language of 28 countries:
- Belgium
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Congo (Republic of the Congo)
- Djibouti
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Guinea
- Haiti
- Ivory Coast
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Monaco
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Switzerland
- Togo
- Vanuatu
Other French speaking countries (common but not official language)
Further, there are some countries where French is commonly used, but it is not an official language:
French speakers in the world
The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) estimate in 2014 that worldwide 212 million peoples use French daily and 62 million have learnt it as foreign language. The overall number of speakers is rising, despite a decline in the number of learners in Europe. This is due to the use of French in high-fertility African countries (54.7% of the French speakers are living in Africa).
Francophone countries world maps
French speaking countries in Europe
| Country | French speakers | % of the total population |
|---|---|---|
| Albania | 61,580 | 2.10% |
| Andorra | 53,959 | 70.12% |
| Austria | 1,131,644 | 12.93% |
| Belgium (Official language) | 8,678,247 | 75.47% |
| Bosnia-Herzegovina | 28,048 | 0.80% |
| Bulgaria | 163,835 | 2.33% |
| Croatia | 97,495 | 2.34% |
| Cyprus | 77,995 | 6.56% |
| Czech Republic | 235,160 | 2.21% |
| Denmark | 431,634 | 7.50% |
| Estonia | 18,948 | 1.45% |
| Finland | 435,601 | 7.86% |
| France (Metropolitan) (Official language) | 63,678,077 | 97.16% |
| Germany | 12,242,129 | 14.88% |
| Greece | 802,802 | 7.21% |
| Hungary | 114,328 | 1.18% |
| Ireland | 598,339 | 12.46% |
| Italy | 11,519,521 | 19.43% |
| Latvia | 21,575 | 1.12% |
| Lithuania | 68,186 | 2.37% |
| Luxembourg (Official language) | 543,104 | 92.00% |
| Macedonia | 42,737 | 2.05% |
| Malta | 56,908 | 13.17% |
| Moldova | 54,958 | 1.36% |
| Monaco (Official language) | 37,695 | 96.91% |
| Montenegro | 12,899 | 2.05% |
| Netherlands | 3,228,985 | 18.90% |
| Norway | 162,933 | 3.04% |
| Poland | 948,612 | 2.49% |
| Portugal | 2,591,538 | 25.18% |
| Romania | 2,336,689 | 11.93% |
| Russia | 619,048 | 0.43% |
| Serbia | 250,727 | 3.60% |
| Slovakia | 114,028 | 2.09% |
| Slovenia | 49,970 | 2.40% |
| Spain | 5,443,391 | 11.73% |
| Sweden | 825,409 | 8.27% |
| Switzerland (Official language) | 5,734,276 | 67.11% |
| United Kingdom | 10,930,735 | 16.42% |
Francophone countries in Africa
| Country | French speakers | % of the total population |
|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 13,803,847 | 32.86% |
| Benin (Official language) | 3,820,813 | 33.27% |
| Burkina Faso (Official language) | 4,752,162 | 24.06% |
| Burundi (Official language) | 939,657 | 8.38% |
| Cameroon (Official language) | 10,006,474 | 40.55% |
| Cape Verde | 59,926 | 10.83% |
| Central African Republic (Official language) | 1,343,435 | 28.36% |
| Chad (Official language) | 1,957,478 | 12.75% |
| Comoros (Official language) | 216,174 | 25.97% |
| Congo (Official language) | 3,182,255 | 58.93% |
| DR Congo (Official language) | 42,533,172 | 50.63% |
| Côte d’Ivoire (Official language) | 8,259,265 | 33.16% |
| Djibouti (Official language) | 485,704 | 50% |
| Egypt | 3,000,000 | 3.02% |
| Equatorial Guinea (Official language) | 379,847 | 28.91% |
| Gabon (Official language) | 1,367,502 | 66.14% |
| Ghana | 243,868 | 0.83% |
| Guinea (Official language) | 3,318,661 | 25.43% |
| Guinea-Bissau | 293,338 | 15.38% |
| Madagascar (Official language) | 5,252,562 | 20% |
| Mali (Official language) | 3,236,698 | 16.94% |
| Mauritania | 603,787 | 13.30% |
| Mauritius | 921,431 | 72.65% |
| Morocco | 12,729,432 | 35.17% |
| Mozambique | 91,586 | 0.3% |
| Niger (Official language) | 2,839,671 | 12.73% |
| Rwanda (Official language) | 724,243 | 5.79% |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 42,181 | 20.20% |
| Senegal (Official language) | 4,214,619 | 25.87% |
| Seychelles (Official language) | 50,475 | 53% |
| Togo (Official language) | 3,217,071 | 40.26% |
| Tunisia | 6,081,277 | 52.16% |
French speaking countries in Asia
| Country | French speakers | % of the total population |
|---|---|---|
| Armenia | 9,976 | 0.34% |
| Cambodia | 438,635 | 2.70% |
| Georgia | 16,410 | 0.42% |
| Israel | 500,000 | 5.92% |
| Laos | 190,000 | 2.73% |
| Lebanon | 2,314,924 | 37.99% |
| Qatar | 114,531 | 4.25% |
| Thailand | 567,302 | 0.82% |
| United Arab Emirates | 250,000 | 2.62% |
| Vietnam | 675,438 | 0.70% |
French speaking countries in North America
| Country | French speakers | % of the total population |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Official language) | 10,981,937 | 29.47% |
| Dominica | 7,000 | 10% |
| Dominican Republic | 156,715 | 1.44% |
| Haiti (Official language) | 4,667,437 | 42% |
| Mexico | 30,000 | 0.02% |
| Saint Lucia | 2,911 | 1.62% |
| United States of America | 2,126,923 | 0.65% |
French speaking countries in South America
French speaking countries in Oceania
| Country | French speakers | % of the total population |
|---|---|---|
| Vanuatu (Official language) | 88,850 | 31.50% |
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Recommended books
sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_distribution_of_French_speakers
Estimation des populations francophones dans le monde en 2018 (PDF) (in French). ODSEF. 2018. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
La langue française dans le monde 2014 (PDF) (in French). Nathan. 2014. ISBN 978-2-09-882654-0. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015.