List of countries and territories where French is an official language


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:
CountryContinent
Benin

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:
CountryAlongside
Belgium

National subdivisions

Officially recognized status

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

  • Intergovernmental organizations

French is an official language, mostly in conjunction with English, of 36 international organizations. These include:
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.CountryContinentPopulation
1.Democratic Republic of the Congo

Dependent entities

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.
CountryContinentPopulation Usage of French
Algeria