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Countries that Speak French

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French is a widely-spoken worldwide language, spoken by about 77 million as a first language, by 50 million as a second language and by 200 million as a foreign language. The community of official French-speaking nations is referred to as La Francophonie. Many African countries speak French because they were colonized by Belgium. There are dozens of different varieties of the French language.

Belgium:

In the region of Wallonia, French is the official language. In the Brussels region, it is the official language alongside Dutch. French speakers make up 40% of the country’s population, and Dutch speakers make up 60%, but three quarters of the Belgian population speak it.

Canada:

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Though Canada is federally bilingual, Quebec is the only French-speaking official province of Canada. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province, but there are French minorities in many other areas.

France:

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Where it all started, the French obviously speak French as a first language, and it is used in education, government and legal contracts. It is illegal to use foreign words in advertisements, as the French seek to preserve their language.

Gabon:

About 80% of the population speak French in Gabon, and it is a unifying matter for the country. France is also the main cultural and commercial influence.

Guinea:

This country used to be called French Guinea. Along with French, Pular, Maninka, Susu, Insula, Kissi, Kpelle and Loma are also spoken.

Haiti:

The upper classes of Haiti speak French, but most of the population speaks Haitian Creole, which is also French-inspired.

Luxembourg:

French is the official language of Luxembourg, along with French and Luxembourgish. Students often study in French.

Madagascar:

French is spoken in Madagascar, along with Malagsy, a Malayo-Polynesian language.

Niger:

French is the official language, along with Hausa, Fulfude, Kanuri and Zarma.

Rwanda:

French, English and Kinyarwanda are official languages.

Senegal:

French is the official language, but there are many regionally recognized languages, but most people also speak their ethnic languages, such as Wolof, Soninke, Seereer-Sin and Fula.

Switzerland:

French is the official language of this wealthy country, along with German and Italian.

Other countries that speak French as an official language include: Benin, Burkina-Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, Ivory Coast, Mali, Manaco, Republic of Congo, Seychelles, Togo and Vanuatu.

Some countries where French is spoken and understood include: Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Dominica, Egypt, Laos, Lebanon, Morocco, Moldova, Romania, Saint Lucia, Tunisia and Vietnam.

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