French-Speaking Countries

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Pays francophones

Though it’s named for the roughly hexagonally shaped country that we all know and love in Western Europe, the French language extends far beyond the borders of France, in myriad and frankly confusing ways. This page covers the basics but I think the full story could easily become a dissertation.

Official Language

French is an official language in a total of 29 countries: the single official language in 13 and one of two or more in another 16:

Belgium	la Belgique	one of three
Benin	le Bénin	official
Burkina Faso	le Burkina Faso	official
Burundi	le Burundi	one of three
Cameroon	le Cameroun	one of two
Canada	le Canada	one of two
Central African Republic	la Centrafique	one of two
Chad	le Tchad	one of two
Comoros	les Comores	one of three
Congo (formerly Zaire)	la Rép. démocratique du Congo	official
Djibouti	le Djibouti	one of two
Equatorial Guinea	la Guinée équatoriale	one of three
France*	la France	official
Gabon	le Gabon	official
Guinea	la Guinée	official
Haiti	le Haïti	one of two
Ivory Coast	la Côte d’Ivoire	official
Luxembourg	le Luxembourg	one of three
Madagascar	le Madagascar	one of two
Mali	le Mali	official
Monaco	Monaco	official
Niger	le Niger	official
Republic of Congo	la République du Congo	official
Rwanda	le Rwanda	one of four
Senegal	le Sénégal	official
Seychelles	les Seychelles	one of three
Switzerland	la Suisse	one of four
Togo	le Togo	official
Vanuatu	la Vanuatu	one of three

* France itself isn’t limited to Europe either – it also includes a dozen overseas departments and territories (les DOM-TOM). See the list at the end of 7 Names for France.

Regional Importance

Specific regions in some multilingual countries are more francophone than others:

• Belgium: Wallonia region
• Canada: Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Québec provinces
• Switzerland: Genève, Jura, Neuchâtel, Vaud districts

French is also found in certain areas of otherwise non-francophone countries, sometimes with an official status:

• Channel Islands: Guernsey, Jersey
• India: Pondicherry
• Italy: Valle d’Aosta
• United States: Connecticut, Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

Francophile Countries

Another 50+ countries are connected to France and therefore French historically, and use the language for specific domains (e.g., administration, commerce, law), have significant French-speaking populations, and/or promote the French language to their citizens. Most are therefore members or observers of la Francophonie:

1. Albania
2. Algeria**
3. Andorra
4. Argentina
5. Armenia
6. Austria
7. Bosnia-Herzegovina
8. Bulgaria
9. Cambodia
10. Cape Verde
11. Costa Rica
12. Croatia
13. Cyprus
14. Czech Republic
15. Dominican Republic
16. Egypt
17. Estonia
18. Gambia
19. Georgia
20. Greece
21. Guinea-Bissau
22. Hungary
23. Ireland
24. Kosovo
25. Laos
26. Latvia
27. Lebanon
28. Lithuania
29. Malta
30. Mauritania
31. Mauritius
32. Mexico
33. Moldovia
34. Montenegro
35. Morocco
36. Mozambique
37. North Macedonia
38. Poland
39. Qatar
40. Romania
41. São Tomé and Príncipe
42. Serbia
43. Slovakia
44. Slovenia
45. South Korea
46. Thailand
47. Tunisia
48. Ukraine
49. United Arab Emirates
50. Uruguay
51. Vatican City**
52. Venezuela**
53. Vietnam

** Not a member of La Francophonie. This is particularly noteworthy for Algeria, which is second only to France in the number of native French speakers.

French Creoles

Many Caribbean islands use a variety of Antillean Creole French as a lingua franca. These dialects have varying amounts of French and English influence but are, in general, mutually comprehensible. This includes French islands (Guadeloupe, Martinique) as well as some English-speaking islands:

• Dominica
• Grenada
• Saint Lucia
• Trinidad and Tobago

Antillean Creole is also related to and mutually intelligible with Haitian Creole.

 Related features

• Countries and continents in French
• Beginning French Lessons
• Learn French: Homestay Immersion Program
• Map of La Francophonie
• Quiz: Are You a Francophile?

 Listening practice

• 20 mars : Journée de la Francophonie
• Le français dans le monde
• Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie

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