French-speaking countries include not only countries in which Voltaire is recognized as official, but also those in which most of the inhabitants speak French. There are nine such countries in the world. In addition, there are countries where the French language is official only in certain regions. The article provides a complete list of French-speaking countries.
Official language
The language spoken and written by Balzac has a privileged status in the following states:
- Wallis and Futuna.
- Burkina Faso.
- Benin.
- Cote D'ivoire.
- Mali
- Mayotte.
- Senegal.
- Jersey.
This is not a complete list. The list of French-speaking countries of the world above should also include France and French Polynesia, as well as the states, which are briefly described below.
Wallis and Futuna
This country is a few islands located in the South Pacific. They are located between New Zealand and Hawaii. The capital of this French-speaking country is Mata-Utu. The population is 12 thousand people.
Burkina Faso
The state until 1984 had a different name - Upper Volta. It is located in the western part of the Black Continent. The capital is Ouagadougou. More than 17 million people live in this French-speaking country in Africa.
Benin
The country's population is 8.5 million people. Benin, like Burkina Faso, is located in West Africa. It is noteworthy that this country has two capitals. Porto Novo - official. Cotonou - financial.
Gabon
The official name of this French-speaking country located in Central Africa is the Republic of Gabon. The capital of the state is Libreville. 1.8 million people live here. Not everyone speaks French. Gabon has many languages and dialects. However, the same can be said of other French-speaking countries.
Guiana
The country has the status of the overseas department of France. Located in northeastern South America. The capital is Cayenne. 280,000 people live in Guiana. Despite the small population, there are a number of spoken languages, for example, Caribbean, Emerylon, Palikur.
Guadeloupe, Mayotte, Martinique, Reunion also belong to the overseas departments of France.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Until 1960, the state was a Belgian colony. This is a French-speaking country in Central Africa. The capital is Kinshasa. In terms of population, the state takes 19th place in the world. 77 million people live here.
Cote d'Ivoire
Until 1960, the country was a French colony. It is located in West Africa. The capital is Yamoussoukro. 23 million people live in Côte d'Ivoire (86th place in the world).
Monaco
This dwarf state is located in southern Europe and belongs to the most densely populated countries in the world. 37 thousand people live here. The capital of Monaco is the city of the same name.
Niger
In this French-speaking country located in western Africa, 23 million people live. In terms of population, it occupies 63rd place in the world. The capital of the state is Niamey.
New caledonia
The overseas community, which is part of France, is a large island and several small ones located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The capital is Noumea. The population of New Caledonia, according to 2016, is 275 thousand people.
Other overseas communities in France are Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
Senegal
A French-speaking country is located in western Africa. The capital is Dakar. Senegal has 13 million people. French is spoken by no more than three million.
Guernsey and Jersey
Guernsey is an island with the capital St. Peter Port. The population of 62 thousand people. The state has two official languages - French and English.
Jersey is also an island. In addition to French, the official languages are English, Norman and Jersey dialect. The capital is St. Helier.
Togo
The country is in West Africa. Borders on Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso. Togo has a population of 7 million. The capital is Lome.
Other French speaking countries
Algeria, Andorra, Lebanon, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia are all states in which a significant part of the population speaks French.
Algeria is located in northern Africa. 40 million people live in this country. The official languages are Arabic and Berber. Algeria borders on Morocco, Mali and Mauritania.
Andorra is a dwarf state in which 85 thousand people live. The official language of this country is Catalan. It is spoken by a third of the country's population. In addition to French, Spanish is also spoken in this country .
In Lebanon, the official language is Arabic. The country is located in the Middle East, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. The capital is Beirut.
Switzerland is a European state with eight million inhabitants. This country has no capital. But the government, as before, is in Bern. Swiss speak French, German, Italian. Residents of some regions - in Romansh. French-speaking Swiss make up 18% of the population.
Belgium has 11 million people. There are three official languages in this small country. Most speak Dutch. French can be heard in the Brussels and Walloon regions. German - in Liege.
Other countries in which French is one of the official languages: Canada, Burundi, Vanuatu, Haiti, Djibouti, Cameroon, Comoros, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Seychelles, Rwanda, Chad, CAR, Equatorial Guinea.