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French is also the second most geographically widespread language in the world after English, with about 60 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. [1] The following is a list of sovereign states and territories where French is an official or de facto language.
Derived from the numbers of school attendees, [7] it was estimated in 1986 that roughly 21% of the population spoke French, a number considerably lower than those who speak Bambara. [8] French is more understood in urban centres, with 1976 figures showing a 36.7% "Francophone" rate in urban areas, but only an 8.2% rate in rural areas.
French spoken as a foreign language by ~11% of the population as of 2014 Madagascar: 1970–1977, 1989: officially bilingual, French included: Former French colony Mali: 1970: French: Former French colony. Mali's membership was suspended in March 2012 due to a coup, [11] and again in 2020. Mauritania: 1980: Arabic
French is still a lingua franca in most Western and Central African countries and an official language of many, a remnant of French and Belgian colonialism. These African countries and others are members of the Francophonie. French is the official language of the Universal Postal Union, with English added as a working language in 1994. [46
Distribution of the French language in Europe. Spoken by 12% of the EU population, French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, after German; it is also the third most widely known language of the Union, after English and German (33% of the EU population report to know how to speak English, whilst 22% of ...
French is an administrative language and is commonly but unofficially used in the Maghreb states, Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia.As of 2023, an estimated 350 million African people spread across 34 African countries can speak French either as a first or second language, mostly as a secondary language, making Africa the continent with the most French speakers in the world. [2]
Manitoba has a particular French Language Services Policy [73] and bilingual in capital city Winnipeg, as well as a special law on recognition of seven indigenous languages. [74] Nova Scotia has a governmental agency for Scots Gaelic language and culture affairs. [75] French is regionally spoken, with a special law on French-language services. [76]
Knowledge of French in the European Union and candidate countries [54] Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. [22] [55]