What are the Main French Speaking Countries? People who are fluent in French are commonly referred to as "Francophones". With a population of 67 million, France has the largest number of French speakers in the world. It is also the country of origin of the language, and the country most commonly associated with French.
Unsurprisingly, France boasts the highest number of native French speakers, although it's not the most populous country to have French as an official language. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a population of 77 million, compared to 62 million in France.
Nonetheless, French is still widely spoken in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Lebanon because of France's colonial legacy. It is considered an educational, diplomatic, and commercial language. Alongside French, English is a popular second language alternative in Lebanon.
Where do most French people live outside of France?
In the Western Hemisphere, the main communities of French ancestry are found in the United States, Canada and Argentina. Sizeable groups are also found in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, South Africa, Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia.
The modern French are the descendants of mixtures including Romans, Celts, Iberians, Ligurians and Greeks in southern France, Germanic peoples arriving at the end of the Roman Empire such as the Franks and the Burgundians, and some Vikings who mixed with the Normans and settled mostly in Normandy in the 9th century.
Perhaps much of the Riviera's appeal to the rich and famous is that the south of France has always been the playground of Europe's aristocracy. The legacy of these families—many of whom still own vast estates and vineyards across the country—helped shape the area's architecture and atmosphere.
French arrived in Africa during the colonial era and it left a strong mark. In many parts of the continent, French is often considered a lingua franca, meaning that it is used for business, trade, culture, and diplomacy even in countries where it is not an official language.
According to the Foreign Service Institute (FSI), which trains U.S. diplomats, French is among the easiest languages for English speakers to learn. The FSI estimates it takes about 30 weeks, or roughly 600-750 study hours, to reach conversational proficiency in French.
Almost 40% of Lebanese are considered francophone, and another 15% "partial francophone," and 70% of Lebanon's secondary schools use French as a second language of instruction.
On a global scale, the number of French speakers continues to rise, largely attributable to demographic growth in sub-Saharan Africa, where French serves as an official, educational, and administrative language in numerous states.
Meanwhile, from 1962 to 2020, 1.19 million domestic Koreans emigrated. By country, the largest number went to the United States (840,000 people), Canada (130,000 people), Australia (40,000 people), and New Zealand (30,000 people).
French is the official language of the country since its colonial period under Belgian rule. Therefore, the variety of French used in the DRC has many similarities with Belgian French.
While the U.S. is home to the largest number of immigrants, dozens of countries (including Germany) have a higher proportion of immigrants in their populations than the U.S. does.
In 2023, one million immigrants born in Asia lived in France. In 2023, 14% of immigrants living in France were born in Asia. With one million immigrants, Asia was the third continent of origin, behind Africa and Europe.
Chad comes in next. It is the fifth-largest country in Africa and 9th in the list of French-speaking countries in Africa. It has a population of 14 million, with 13% French speakers. They have two official languages, Arabic and French.
A significant portion of this population is of Algerian descent, followed by Moroccan and Tunisian. The cities with the most concentrated Arab immigrant populations are predominantly located in and around Paris, as well as in other major urban centers like Marseille, Lyon, and Lille.
The largest number of immigrants in Germany were from Ukraine, as of 2023. The top three origin countries were rounded up by Romania and Turkey. Immigrants are defined as having left a country, which may be their home country, to permanently reside in another.
There was little opportunity to move freely throughout society in Algeria, so many were motivated to migrate to France for a better life. The presence of a post-colonial economic opportunity gap when Algeria was freed after the Algerian War also contributed to the increase of Algerian immigrants.
