From its origins in Europe, the French language was able to spread and become widely used in the Americas, Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. In this WordsRated article, we take a look at the total number of French speakers overall, as a first language, and also as a foreign language.
- As of 2022, an estimated 321 million people speak French around the world, either as a first language or foreign language.
- 80 million people are estimated to speak French as a first language*.
- More than three-times as many people are estimated to speak French as a foreign language (241 million).
- This makes French the 5th most spoken language in the world, behind Spanish (4th), Hindi (3rd), Mandarin (2nd), and English (1st).
- It is also being learned by around 132 million students, making it the second most popular language to learn, also behind English.
- 54.7% of people who use the French language daily are living in Africa.
- Although there has been a decline in the number of French learners in Europe, the overall number of speakers is rising, caused largely by the language’s large presence in Africa.
- Due to this growth, estimates suggest that the total number of French speakers will reach at least 650 million by 2050.
- French is the second most spoken first language in the EU, and around 20% of Europeans who speak multiple languages are able to speak French as a second language.
- As of 2024, French content has a 4.3% share on the top 10 million websites, which places it 5th behind German, Russian, Spanish, and English.
*This number may seem low as French serves as the official or co-official language in many African countries, but it is often seen as secondary to local languages in this region, resulting in a lower estimation.
Total French speakers over time (estimate)
The total number of French speakers is showing steady growth, and is expected to reach peak numbers by 2050.
- As of 2022, there are an estimated 321 million French speakers.
- This is a 17.15% increase over the 274 million calculated in 2014.
- By 2050, the total number of French speakers is anticipated to reach 650 million.
- For the given time period (2004 – 2050), this would represent a total increase of 407.81%.
| Year | Total French speakers | Change |
| 2050 | 650 million | + 102.49% |
| 2022 | 321 million | + 17.15% |
| 2014 | 274 million | + 114.06% |
| 2004 | 128 million |
A graph is given below to show the estimated total number of French speakers over time:
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Total French speakers by country
Total French speakers include all those who speak the language, whether it is learned as a first language or as a foreign language. However, first language French speakers are those who learned the language as their mother tongue, and they typically make up a greater share of the population in countries where French is named as an official language.
- 9 countries list French as their only official language, and 19 countries list French as a co-official language.
- As per 2022 estimates, DR Congo has 72.11 million French speakers overall, more than any other country.
- This is followed by France (mainland) which has 63.96 million speakers.
- According to estimates, these two countries account for 42.39% of the total French speakers around the world.
- The countries with the highest percentage of the population speaking French are France (mainland) at 97.52%, Monaco at 96.91%, and Luxembourg at 91.99%.
- France (including overseas territories) has 66.74 million L1 French speakers, which is more than any other country and represents 83.43% of the total 80 million L1 French speakers*.
- Canada has the second highest number of L1 French Speakers (7.65 million) and Belgium has the third highest number of L1 French Speakers (4.19 million).
*As noted before, the total estimate of L1 French speakers should be seen as conservative, as many French speakers from Africa are not included.
| Country | Total French speakers | % of population | French L1 speakers | French language status |
| DR Congo | 72.11 million | 74% | N/A | Co-official language |
| France | 63.96 million (mainland) | 97.52% | 66.74 million (includes overseas territories) | Only official language |
| Algeria | 14.90 million | 32.86% | 0.01 million | Not an official language |
| Morocco | 13.46 million | 35.63% | 0.08 million | Not an official language |
| Germany | 12.24 million | 14.88% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Italy | 11.80 million | 19.58% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Cameroon | 11.49 million | 41.17% | N/A | Co-official language |
| United Kingdom | 11.28 million | 16.47% | 0.15 million (England & Wales) | Not an official language |
| Canada | 11.06 million | 28.58% | 7.65 million | Co-official language |
| Ivory Coast | 9.32 million | 33.61% | 0.02 million | Only official language |
| Belgium | 8.81 million | 75.55% | 4.19 million | Co-official language |
| Madagascar | 7.73 million | 26.49% | 0.10 million | Co-official language |
| Tunisia | 6.32 million | 52.47% | 0.01 million | Not an official language |
| Switzerland | 5.89 million | 67.13% | 1.79 million | Co-official language |
| Spain | 5.47 million | 11.71% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Burkina Faso | 5.40 million | 24.45% | 0.26 million | Not an official language |
| Haiti | 4.91 million | 42.00% | N/A | Co-official language |
| Senegal | 4.64 million | 26.29% | 0.06 million | Only official language |
| Benin | 4.31 million | 33.68% | 0.02 million | Only official language |
| Guinea | 3.78 million | 27.24% | N/A | Only official language |
| Mali | 3.70 million | 17.24% | 0.01 million | Not an official language |
| Togo | 3.55 million | 40.94% | 0.00 million | Only official language |
| Congo | 3.52 million | 60.69% | 0.03 million | Co-official language |
| Niger | 3.36 million | 12.89% | 0.01 million | Only official language |
| Netherlands | 3.31 million | 19.21% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Egypt | 3.20 million | 3.02% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Portugal | 2.55 million | 25.12% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Lebanon | 2.54 million | 37.99% | 0.02 million | Not an official language |
| Romania | 2.28 million | 11.99% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Chad | 2.25 million | 12.92% | 0.00 million | Co-official language |
| United States | 2.18 million | 0.65% | 1.31 million | Not an official language |
| Gabon | 1.87 million | 80.00% | 0.32 million | Only official language |
| Central African Republic | 1.44 million | 28.61% | 0.01 million | Co-official language |
| Austria | 1.17 million | 12.86% | 0.01 million | Not an official language |
| Burundi | 1.07 million | 8.50% | 0.00 million | Co-official language |
| Poland | 0.95 million | 2.51% | 0.00 million | Not an official language |
| Mauritius | 0.93 million | 72.65% | 0.05 million | Not an official language |
| Sweden | 0.84 million | 8.27% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Rwanda | 0.79 million | 5.83% | 0.00 million | Co-official language |
| Greece | 0.75 million | 7.31% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Vietnam | 0.69 million | 0.70% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Mauritania | 0.66 million | 13.38% | N/A | Co-official language |
| Ireland | 0.64 million | 12.67% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Russia | 0.63 million | 0.43% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Luxembourg | 0.59 million | 91.99% | 0.06 million | Co-official language |
| Thailand | 0.58 million | 0.82% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Israel | 0.53 million | 5.92% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Gambia | 0.51 million | 20.00% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Djibouti | 0.51 million | 50.00% | 0.01 million | Co-official language |
| Cambodia | 0.46 million | 2.70% | 0.00 million | Not an official language |
| Denmark | 0.44 million | 7.51% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Finland | 0.44 million | 7.88% | 0.00 million | Not an official language |
| Equatorial Guinea | 0.43 million | 28.91% | N/A | Co-official language |
| Guinea-Bissau | 0.32 million | 15.38% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Ghana | 0.27 million | 0.85% | N/A | Not an official language |
| United Arab Emirates | 0.26 million | 2.62% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Serbia (excl. Kosovo) | 0.24 million | 3.58% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Comoros | 0.24 million | 35.69% | 0.00 million | Co-official language |
| Czech Republic | 0.23 million | 2.17% | 0.00 million | Not an official language |
| Laos | 0.20 million | 2.73% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Norway | 0.17 million | 3.05% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Dominican Republic | 0.16 million | 1.44% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Bulgaria | 0.16 million | 2.30% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Qatar | 0.13 million | 4.25% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Slovakia | 0.11 million | 2.08% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Hungary | 0.11 million | 1.18% | 0.02 million | Not an official language |
| Vanuatu | 0.10 million | 31.12% | 0.00 million | Co-official language |
| Mozambique | 0.10 million | 0.30% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Croatia | 0.10 million | 2.36% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Cyprus | 0.08 million | 6.60% | 0.00 million | Not an official language |
| Lithuania | 0.06 million | 2.35% | 0.00 million | Not an official language |
| Cape Verde | 0.06 million | 10.8% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Malta | 0.06 million | 13.10% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Moldova | 0.05 million | 1.36% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Andorra | 0.05 million | 70.12% | 0.00 million | Not an official language |
| Ukraine | 0.05 million | 0.12% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Seychelles | 0.05 million | 53.00% | 0.00 million | Co-official language |
| Slovenia | 0.05 million | 2.41% | N/A | Not an official language |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 0.05 million | 20.20% | N/A | Not an official language |
| North Macedonia | 0.04 million | 2.04% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Monaco | 0.04 million | 96.91% | 0.02 million | Only official language |
| Mexico | 0.03 million | 0.02% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Albania | 0.03 million | 1.04% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.03 million | 0.79% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Kosovo | 0.03 million | 1.41% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Latvia | 0.02 million | 1.09% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Estonia | 0.02 million | 1.45% | 0.00 million | Not an official language |
| Georgia | 0.02 million | 0.42% | 0.00 million | Not an official language |
| Paraguay | 0.01 million | 0.20% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Montenegro | 0.01 million | 2.05% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Armenia | 0.01 million | 0.34% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Dominica | 0.01 million | 9.59% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Costa Rica | 0.01 million | 0.10% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Uruguay | 0.01 million | 0.15% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Colombia | 0.00 million | 0.01% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Saint Lucia | 0.00 million | 1.62% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Suriname | 0.00 million | 0.09% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Peru | 0.00 million | 0.00% | N/A | Not an official language |
| Cuba | 0.00 million | 0.00% | N/A | Not an official language |
| India | N/A | N/A | 0.15 million | Not an official language |
| Australia | N/A | N/A | 0.06 million | Not an official language |
| South Africa | N/A | N/A | 0.01 million | Not an official language |
| Liechtenstein | N/A | N/A | 0.00 million | Not an official language |