No language evokes a sense of mystique quite like French. Thanks to colonization, the language has been inflicted upon humanity far and wide, infiltrating literature, film, diplomacy, culinary circles, and many other aspects of the global scene. But where exactly is French spoken? And how many speakers are there?
Prerequisite Knowledge
Languages are constantly morphing. In fact, the Latin (brought by the Romans) from which French was derived barely exists anymore. This changing nature of language can make answering the above questions difficult. If French mixes with a regional language, is it still French? Is the resultant pidgin or creole a dialect or its own language? That’s one for the linguists to debate.
Also making the questions murky is the fact that relationships with a language can differ in different places. As an example, French is spoken by essentially everyone in France. In contrast, Canada exhibits a wide range, all the way from fluent speakers to partial speakers to people who can barely say bonjour. The same concept occurs in places like Switzerland and many African countries. Determining what qualifies as a speaker is thus not always straightforward. As such, some of the numbers provided below are approximate.
The Numbers
French is an official language in 27 countries: Belgium, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Guinea, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Monaco, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, and Vanuatu.
That amounts to five continents. (French Guiana in South America is part of France, making the total five.) French is also spoken to varying extents in several other countries, albeit not with official status. This fact brings into the mix a sixth continent, namely Asia, thanks to the residual effects of colonization in places like Lebanon and Vietnam.
Depending on the source used and the definition of French, the number of global speakers is probably around 320 million, making it the fifth most-spoken language worldwide.
The largest French-speaking city in the world is obviously…Kinshasa? Yes, that’s the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. With a metropolitan population of around 17 million, Kinshasa finds itself ahead of Paris, which takes the number two spot. Number three is Abidjan (Ivory Coast), and a variety of other African cities are slowly pushing Montreal down the ranks. (Thanks to the upstate New York location of ComposeMD, a French immersion experience involves a short drive and a passport.)
With the anticipated population growth in Africa, French is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. Some estimates suggest that Africa will have 2.4 billion residents by 2050, translating into a worldwide total of French speakers in the range of 750 million (probably an overestimate). So if you’re searching for a second or third language, keep this one on your radar, as practice opportunities won’t be hard to find.
(This article was updated on July 31, 2024.)
2 Responses
I never would have guessed that Africa has the largest French speaking population. Good trivia fact, maybe a jeopardy question some day.
Yes, when people think Africa, they don’t immediately think French. But Africa’s growth will drive the growth of French. And we would love to be a part of helping the next Ken Jennings!