15 French-Speaking Countries in Africa, Europe, and the Americas

The birthplace of standard French and home to Parisian French, France has the most French speakers globally. French is the sole official language and is deeply tied to linguistic identity, education, and media. It’s also a working language of the European Union and United Nations.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has the largest French-speaking population in the world, after France.

French serves as the administrative language, despite the presence of many Indigenous languages. It’s the main medium for education, government, and business.

In Canada, about one-fifth of the population speaks French—mostly in Quebec, where Canadian French is dominant.

French is a co-official language nationwide. Many in Canada speak French as either a first or second language, and the country actively promotes learning French.

Belgium is one of numerous French-speaking European countries and plays a key role in EU affairs.

Belgian French is one of three official languages in Belgium, alongside Dutch and German. French is mostly spoken in Wallonia and parts of Brussels.

French is one of four official languages in Switzerland. About 20 percent of the population speaks it, mainly in the western region.

The country reflects high linguistic diversity and values French's status in education, media, and government.

As one of the francophone African countries, Ivory Coast uses French as its official language. It’s commonly used in schools, politics and media, coexisting with dozens of native languages.

In Senegal, French is both the official language and a cultural language that connects different ethnic groups. African French here blends standard French with local dialects and slang.

This Indian Ocean island nation recognizes French as a co-official language alongside Malagasy. It was once a French colony, and French remains prominent in government and education.

Haiti uses French and Haitian Creole as its official languages.

While most people speak Creole at home, French dominates formal settings and remains key to cultural exchange and education.

Cameroon recognizes both French and English as official languages, a legacy of colonial history. French is more commonly spoken, especially in the majority francophone regions. It’s also a lingua franca in business and politics.

In this Central African nation, French is an official language used widely in formal contexts such as education, public administration, and written communication.

Like many African francophone countries, it blends with local speech and culture.

Though small, Luxembourg has three official languages: Luxembourgish, German, and French. French is dominant in administration and legal matters.

After shifting toward English in recent decades, Rwanda still recognizes French as an official language and uses it in some media and official contexts (such as in legal affairs).

However, only a small fraction of Rwandans speak French, as English has largely replaced it in education and government.

French was the sole official language of Niger until 2023, when a new charter declared Hausa the national language and relegated French to a working language.

Only about 13 percent of Niger’s population can speak French, while the vast majority use Hausa, which limits French’s role as a lingua franca in the country.

Located in South America, French Guiana is not a country but a French territory. Still, French is the only language used officially, and the region is part of the European Union.

We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.