List_of_territorial_entities_where_French_is_an_official_language

List of countries and territories where French is an official language

List of countries and territories where French is an official language

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French is an official language in 27 independent nations. The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official or de facto language.

  Regions where French is a majority native language
  Regions where French is an official or administrative language but not a majority native language
  Regions where French is an unofficial secondary language

Only official language

Countries

List of countries where French is the only official language:

Non-sovereign entities

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:

Countries in the world with French as an official language.

National subdivisions

Officially recognized status

Although a non-official minority language, French is granted certain rights in the following countries and territories:

Intergovernmental organizations

The Francophonie flag flying at the Parliament of Canada in Ottawa

French is an official language, mostly in conjunction with English, of 36 international organisations. These include:

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.

More information No., Country ...

Dependent entities

More information Nr., Entity ...

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.[6][4]

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.

More information Country, Continent ...

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Axel Tschentscher, LL.M. "Article 11 of the Lebanese Constitution". Servat.unibe.ch. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  2. [2]
    Article 49 in the Constitution of Mauritius. ilo.org
  3. [3]
    French's Legal Status In Louisiana, Conseil pour le développement du Français en Louisiane (CODOFIL)
  4. [4]
    "Ici on parle français", Report of the Commission to Study the Development of Maine's Franco-American Resources, Maine State Legislature Law and Legislative Reference Library, December 1997
  5. [5]
    "Google Public Data Explorer". World Bank. Retrieved 16 November 2016.
  6. [6]
    Ward, Roger K. The French Language in Louisiana Law and Legal Education: A Requiem, Louisiana Law Review, 1997
  7. [7]
    World Population 2023, The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency
  8. [8]
    "Le dénombrement des francophones" (PDF). Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2013. () p. 9 "Nous y agrégeons néanmoins quelques données disponibles pour des pays n'appartenant pas à l'OIF mais dont nous savons, comme pour l'Algérie (11,2 millions en 20081
  9. [9]
    "Burkina Faso - Ibrahim Traoré promulgue la loi révisant la Constitution". LibreExpress. 27 January 2024.
  10. [10]
    "DÉCRET N° 2024-0040/PRES-TRANS promulguant la loi constitutionnelle n° 045-2023/ALT du 30 décembre 2023 portant révision de la Constitution" (PDF). minute.bf. 22 January 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  11. [11]
    Aménagement linguistique dans le monde - Cambodge, Université Laval (in French)
  12. [12]
    Richardson, Michael (16 October 1993). "French Declines in Indochina, as English Booms". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  13. [13]
    Aménagement linguistique dans le monde - Laos, Université Laval (in French)
  14. [14]
    Richardson, Michael (16 October 1993). "French Declines in Indochina, as English Booms". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 2018-11-18.
  15. [15]
    Mali's new constitution adopted after court validation, Radio France Internationale, 22 July 2023.
  16. [16]
    "Journal Officiel de la République du Mali Secretariat du Général du Governement - Decret DECRET N°2023-0401/PT-RM du 22 Juillet 2023 pourtant promulgation de la Constitution" (PDF). sgg-mali.ml. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  17. [17]
    "Mauritania". Ethnologue.
  18. [18]
    "Morocco". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 14 July 2023.
  19. [19]
    "Présentation du Maroc". Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères (in French).
  20. [20]
    Samy Ghorbal, «Le français a-t-il encore un avenir ? », Jeune Afrique, 27 April 2008, pp. 77-78
  21. [21]
    Duc Tri-Quê Anh. Promouvoir l’enseignement du français au Vietnam, Le Courrier du Vietnam, 7 March 2022. (in French)
  22. [22]
    Kirkpatrick, Andy and Anthony J. Liddicoat, The Routledge International Handbook of Language Education Policy in Asia., Routledge, 2019, p. 192
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