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The French Speaking World

Map from www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/.../ index.html

French-speaking countries and regions (from Wikipedia)

La Francophonie, or the Francophonie, is an international organization of polities and governments with French as the mother or customary language, 

wherein a significant proportion of people are francophones (French speakers) or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.

The official list of members is available at the Francophonie website.

Mauritania's membership was suspended on August 26, 2008, pending democratic elections, after a military coup d'état.^[9]

Country	Joined	Language	Notes
Albania	1999	Albanian	approximately 30% of young Albanians choose French as their first foreign language[10]
Andorra	2004	Catalan	Neighbouring France. The French President is co-Prince of Andorra. Read further: Languages of Andorra
Belgium	1970	officially trilingual, French included	French is the native language of about 40% of the population [11] and spoken as an additional languages by 48%[2]. Belgium's French community is also a member separately. See also: Languages of Belgium and Belgian French
* French Community of Belgium	1980	French official language	a community of Belgium with its two components Wallonia (excepting the German speaking Community and Brussels-Capital Region [its French-Speaking majority])
Benin	1970	French	former French colony
Bulgaria	1993	Bulgarian	French is spoken by 9% as additional language, and is taught as a main foreign language in about 25% of primary schools.[12]
Burkina Faso	1970	French	former French colony
Burundi	1970	French	former Belgian UN-protectorate
Cambodia	1993	Khmer	former French colony, part of former French Indochina
Cameroon	1991	officially bilingual, French included	over 90% of country was a French colony
Canada	1970	Officially bilingual, French included	the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick are participating governments; much of Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes formed part of New France, the North American portion of the first French colonial empire.[13]
*  New Brunswick	1977	officially bilingual, French included	considered a "participating government," this province of Canada is officially bilingual English-French and home to the largest community of Acadians.
*  Quebec	1971	French	considered a "participating government," this province of Canada has French as its sole official language and is home to 85% of Canada's native francophones.
Cape Verde	1996	Portuguese	Former Portuguese colony with many neighboring French-speaking countries.
Central African Republic	1973	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Chad	1970	French	former French colony
Comoros	1977	officially trilingual, French included	former French colony
Democratic Republic of the Congo	1977	French	former Belgian colony. See also: Languages of the DRC
Republic of the Congo	1981	French	former French colony
Côte d'Ivoire	1970	French	former French colonySee also: Languages of Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti	1977	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Dominica	1979	English	French and then British colony; Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population.
Egypt	1983	Arabic	traditional Francophone elite
Equatorial Guinea	1989	officially bilingual, French included	Former Spanish colony surrounded by French-speaking countries; member of the CFA.
Republic of Macedonia	2001	Macedonian	French is taught as a second language in many Macedonian schools throughout the country.
France	1970	French
Gabon	1970	French	former French colony
Greece	2004	Greek	French is understood and spoken by 8% of the population
Guinea	1981	French	former French colony
Guinea-Bissau	1979	Portuguese	country surrounded by French-speaking countries. Former Portuguese colony
Haiti	1970	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Laos	1991	Lao	former French colony
Lebanon	1973	Arabic; French is an administrative language	Under a French mandate from 1920-1943, historical Crusader ties, French language used in schools and universities, and is understood by the majority of the population.
Luxembourg	1970	Officially trilingual, French included
Madagascar	1970-1977, 1989	officially trilingual, French included	former French colony
Mali	1970	French	former French colony
Mauritania	1980	Arabic	former French colony, French is an administrative language
Mauritius	1970	English; Creole is the mother tongue of the general population.	Dutch, French, and then British colony; French is widely used by the media.
Moldova	1996	Romanian	close ties with Romania
Monaco	1970	French	former French protectorate
Morocco	1981	Arabic	former French protectorate; French is commonly used
Niger	1970	French	former French colony
Romania	1993	Romanian	French is understood and spoken by 24% of the population [3]. Historic cultural ties with France, especially during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Rwanda	1970	officially trilingual, French included	former Belgian UN-protectorate
Saint Lucia	1981	English	Former French and British colony. Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population.
São Tomé and Príncipe	1999	Portuguese	Former Portuguese colony, neighboring French-speaking countries.
Senegal	1970	French	former French colony, part of former French West Africa
Seychelles	1976	officially trilingual, French included	former French colony (first empire), later British colony, French is commonly used
Switzerland	1996	Officially quadrilingual, French included	French is the native language of about 20% of all Swiss.
Togo	1970	French	former French colony
Tunisia	1970	Arabic	former French protectorate; French is commonly used
Vanuatu	1979	officially trilingual	former French and British condominium
Vietnam	1970	Vietnamese	former French colony

[edit] Associate Member

Country	Joined	Language	Notes
Armenia	2008	Armenian	Historical French-Armenian ties, including the Armenian national movement and the French-Armenian Agreement of 1916. A significant part of the Armenian diaspora lives in France. See further: Languages of Armenia
Cyprus	2006	Greek, Turkish	French is understood and spoken by 12% of the population; Historical ties through the Lusignan rule of the Kingdom of Cyprus during the Middle Ages.
Ghana	2006	English	The country surrounded by French-speaking countries. See further: Languages of Ghana

[edit] Observers

Country	Joined	Language	Notes
Austria	2004	German	French is spoken by 10% as additional language.See further: Languages of Austria.
Croatia	2004	Croatian	French is understood and spoken by 4% of the population, and the county was the Illyrian Provinces during Napoleonic rule from 1809 to 1813.
Czech Republic	1999	Czech	French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population.
Georgia	2004	Georgian	Like Armenia, Georgia had a connection with the French kingdoms in the Middle Ages.[citation needed]
Hungary	2004	Hungarian	French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population.See further: Languages of Hungary.
Latvia	2008	Latvian
Lithuania	1999	Lithuanian	French is understood and spoken by 1% of the population.
Mozambique	2006	Portuguese	former Portuguese colony.See further: Languages of Mozambique.
Poland	1996	Polish	Poland has historic ties to France; French is understood and spoken by 3% of the population, and many Polish emigrants settled in France in the 20th century.
Serbia	2006	Serbian	French is taught in one-third of schools.See further: Languages of Serbia.
Slovakia	2002	Slovak	French is spoken by 2% as additional language
Slovenia	1999	Slovene	French is spoken by 4% as additional language.
Thailand	2008	Thai
Ukraine	2006	Ukrainian	See further: Languages of Ukraine.

[edit] Significant Non-members

Some countries or regions are not members of the OIF ("La Francophonie"), but are French-speaking or have significant French history 

and so are considered part of the francophone world ("La francophonie").

Country	Language	Notes
Algeria	Arabic, Berber, French	Although French is widely spoken in the country, Algeria is not a member of the OIF. The Algerian government has implemented various reforms in recent decades to improve the status of Classical Arabic relative to French, with some success. Algeria was a part of France until 1962. See further: languages of Algeria
Guernsey	English, French, Guernésiais, Sercquiais	French is an official language of the Guernsey, but English is the widely predominant language.
India * Puducherry	French, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam	A Union Territory of India, French is an official language although indigenous languages are more commonly used.
Italy * Aosta Valley	Italian, French, Franco-Provençal	An autonomous Region of Italy. French and Italian are official languages; Franco-Provençal is a protected language.
Israel	Hebrew, Arabic	French is spoken by 10% of the population. Israel has applied to join the OIF, but has been rejected by Chad, Lebanon and Mauritania.[citation needed]See further: languages of Israel
Jersey	English, French, Jèrriais	French is an official language of the Jersey, but English is the widely predominant language.See further: languages of Jersey
United States * Louisiana * Maine * New Hampshire * Vermont	English, French (see also Cajun French), Louisiana Creole French	While it has no official language, the American state of Louisiana has English and French as de facto "official" languages. Many northern areas of New England were destinations for many French-Canadian immigrants in the mid to late 19th century and early 20th century and still contain many French-speakers.

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