Language · Indo-European
French
français – its own name
Official or co-official in 35 countries. Listed in 59 countries.
- Speakers (estimate)
- c. 333 million
- sum over countries per CLDR, including second-language users
- Script
- Latin
Where it is spoken
- Official 17
- Co-official 18
- Regional 1
- Widely used 17
- Minority 6
Official
- France 97% 66 million
- DR Congo 51% 59 million
- Côte d’Ivoire 34% 10 million
- Burkina Faso 25% 5.8 million
- Benin 34% 5.0 million
- Senegal 26% 4.9 million
- Guinea 27% 3.8 million
- Republic of the Congo 61% 3.7 million
- Togo 41% 3.7 million
- Niger 13% 3.4 million
- Gabon 63% 1.5 million
- New Caledonia 99% 301 thousand
- Monaco 97% 31 thousand
- St. Martin 84% 28 thousand
- Wallis & Futuna 83% 13 thousand
- St. Barthélemy 85% 6.0 thousand
- St. Pierre & Miquelon 100% 5.1 thousand
Co-official
- Cameroon 68% 21 million
-
Canada
29%
11 million
The sole official language of Quebec; equal with English in New Brunswick; also official in the territories.
- Burundi 59% 8.0 million
- Madagascar 27% 8.0 million
- Haiti 42% 4.9 million
-
Belgium
38%
4.6 million
Official in Wallonia and Brussels.
-
Switzerland
39%
3.5 million
Official in Geneva, Vaud, Neuchâtel and Jura, and alongside German in Bern, Fribourg and Valais.
- Chad 13% 2.5 million
- Central African Republic 29% 1.6 million
- Mauritius 73% 957 thousand (de facto)
- Rwanda 5.8% 790 thousand
- Luxembourg 92% 618 thousand
- Equatorial Guinea 29% 521 thousand
- Djibouti 50% 497 thousand
- French Polynesia 98% 297 thousand
- Comoros 26% 234 thousand
- Vanuatu 31% 99 thousand
- Seychelles 53% 52 thousand
Regional
-
Italy
20%
12 million
Co-official in the Aosta Valley.
Widely used
-
Algeria
33%
16 million
No official status, but widely used in administration, business and education.
- Germany 18% 15 million
-
Morocco
36%
13 million
No official status, but widely used in administration and business.
- United Kingdom 17% 12 million
-
Tunisia
53%
6.4 million
No official status, but widely used in administration and education.
-
Mali
17%
3.7 million
A working language, not an official one, since 2023.
- Netherlands 19% 3.4 million
- Romania 12% 2.2 million
- Lebanon 38% 2.0 million
- Portugal 15% 1.5 million
- Austria 13% 1.2 million
- Ireland 13% 680 thousand
- Mauritania 13% 563 thousand
- Guinea-Bissau 15% 320 thousand
- Malta 13% 61 thousand
- São Tomé & Príncipe 20% 45 thousand
- French Southern Territories 100% 140