Countries that Speak French

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If you are looking for the names of the countries that speak French, you need to read the article below, which focuses on this particular topic.

French and English are the only two languages, which are spoken in almost all the continents. It is a Roman language, and hence, it is one of the oldest languages in the world. It is the official language of 29 countries and millions of people either take it as their second or their third language.

French communities are in around 56 countries. Its widespread started in the 15th century. Before that, it was considered as a sophisticated and polite language and was used by the elite class. In the 17th century, it was known as the language of diplomacy and international relations.

Hence, people all over the world started using it. But, it was very soon overshadowed by the English language and then, English became the language of international communication. In this article, you will see a list of the different countries that speak French, as of today.

National Language

The countries which consider French as their national language are known as a La Frencophonie in French, which means community of French speaking countries. Following is the list of such countries.

Belgium Benin Burkina-Faso Burundi Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of Congo Djibouti France

Gabon Guinea Haiti Ivory Coast Luxembourg Madagascar Monaco Niger Republic of Congo Rwanda Senegal Seychelles Switzerland Togo Vanuatu

Countries in Europe

The continent of Europe constitutes France where you can find the largest number of people speaking French. Europe has many nations which have French as their national language and it is also the official language of European Union. Legal status in France Switzerland Monaco and Andorra Belgium Italy Luxembourg

Countries in Africa

It is said that half of the French speaking population reside in Africa. There is a huge list of African counties where French is an official language. Although French being the official language for these countries, there are other local languages too, which are widely spoken including English and Dutch

Democratic Republic of the Congo Madagascar Cameroon Coite d'Ivoire Burkina Faso Niger Senegal Mali Algeria Guinea Rwanda Chad Burundi

Benin Togo Central African Republic Republic of the Congo Gabon Comoros Equatorial Guinea Djbouti Seychelles

Countries in Asia

There are very few French speaking countries in Asia. Mostly it is found as the second or third language. It is usually taught in schools, but is not considered to be the top most priority. Lebanon Syria Algeria Israel Southeast Asia (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam) India (Pondicherry)

Countries in America

Maximum people who speak French in America are in Canada. French is considered as an official language in Canada with English. Around 25% people speak French in Canada. Apart from it, there are some other countries too which either have French as their second or third language. The ones in South America and North America are as follows

Canada French Guiana Guadeloupe Haiti Martinique

Countries in the Pacific

The countries in the Pacific are under the territory of France, hence, they find it as their official language. Apart from this Vanuatu comes under the sovereign republic. French Polynesia New Caledonia Vanuatu Iles de Hoorn (Wallis & Futuna)

Other Countries

This is a category which have the names of the countries that do not mark French as their first, second, or third language but you can hear French in some regions. Albania (Europe) Bulgaria (Europe) Cape Verde (Archipelago off west coast of Africa) Dominica (Caribbean) Egypt (Africa) Greece (Europe) Guinea-Bissau (Africa) Lebanon (Middle East)

Morocco (Africa) Macedonia (Europe) Mauritania (Africa) Mauritius (Island off African coast) Moldova (Europe) Romania (Europe) Saint-Lucia (Caribbean) Sao-Tomé et Principe (Island off African coast) Tunisia (Africa)

You must have understood by now that there are several French speaking people widely spread across the world. Thus, it is a very important language and a highly useful one to be learned. Till then, Au revoir (Goodbye in French) and Bonne journée (Have a good day).