French-speaking countries include not only countries in which the Voltaire language is recognized as official, but also those in which most of the inhabitants speak French. There are nine such states in the world. In addition, there are countries where French is the official language 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.
- Ivory Coast.
- 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 that are briefly described below.
Wallis and Futuna
This country consists of several islands located in the South Pacific Ocean. They are located between New Zealand and Hawaii. The capital of this French-speakingcountry - Mata Utu. Population - 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 African country.
Benin
The population of the country 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 Gabonese Republic. 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 about other French-speaking countries.
Guiana
The country has the status of an overseas department of France. It is located in the northeastern part of South America. The capital is Cayenne. Guiana is home to 280,000 people. Despite the small population, there are a number of spoken languages, such as Caribbean, Emeryllon, Palikur.
France's overseas departments also include Guadeloupe, Mayotte, Martinique, Reunion.
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Until 1960, the state was a Belgian colony. This French-speaking country is located in Central Africa. The capital is Kinshasa. In terms of population, the state ranks 19th inthe world. 77 million people live here.
Ivory Coast
Until 1960, the country was a French colony. It is located in West Africa. The capital is Yamoussoukro. Côte d'Ivoire is home to 23 million people (86th in the world).
Monaco
This dwarf state is located in the south of Europe and is one of 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
This French-speaking country in western Africa is home to 23 million people. In terms of population, it ranks 63rd 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 smaller 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 of France - Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Senegal
French-speaking country located in the western part of Africa. The capital is Dakar. Senegal is home to 13 million people. No more than three million people speak French.
Guernsey and Jersey
Guernsey is an island with Saint Peter Port as its capital. The population is 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 andJersey dialect. The capital is Saint Helier.
Togo
The country is located in West Africa. It borders with Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso. The population of Togo is 7 million people. The capital is Lome.
Other French speaking countries
Algeria, Andorra, Lebanon, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Tunisia - these 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 shares borders with Morocco, Mali and Mauritania.
Andorra is a tiny state with 85 thousand people. 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 widely spoken in this country.
In Lebanon, the official language is Arabic. The country is located in the Middle East, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The capital is Beirut.
Switzerland is a European state with a population of eight million people. This country has no capital. But the government, as before, is in Bern. The Swiss speak French, German, Italian. Inhabitants of some regions - in Romansh. French-speaking Swiss make up 18% of the population.
11 million people live in Belgium. This small country has three official languages. Most speak Dutch. French speech 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.
