10 Countries With Native French Speakers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - France attracts visitors of all backgrounds for various factors, including its remarkable tourism, promising economy, and diversified cultures. The French language plays a pivotal role in introducing the nation’s distinctive customs.

Additionally, France is a former colonial power that spread its distinctive culture, which includes the iconic linguistic form, to the colonized nations under the France empire. This article explores 10 countries with native French speakers, as cited from Visual Capitalist.

1. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Aside from France, the DRC, also known as the Democratic Republic of Congo, is the country with the most native French speakers. DRC was previously part of French Equatorial Africa (AEF) before its independence in 1960. This explains the extensive use of French language in the country.

While French is the official language used in formal sectors such as government and education, there are over 200 languages spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to Translators without Borders. Other national languages of DRC include Lingala, Tshiluba, Swahili, and Kituba (Kikongo).

2. Canada

Canada is among the countries with native French speakers due to the colonization history of French in North America. Citing from the Canada Government Official page, Statistics Canada reported the census of Francophones in the nation, resulting in the data of 22% of French-speaking people across the country.

The data in Statistics Canada showed Quebec as the city with the most French native speakers in Canada.

3. Haiti

Located on Hispaniola Island, Haiti shares a border with the Dominican Republic. The French settlers took Haiti under its empire, buying thousands of African slaves to work on the sugarcane plantations in Haiti. As a result, the official languages of Haiti include French and Haitian Creole, with other languages such as Spanish and English also widely used in daily conversation.

4. Belgium

Belgium has been widely influenced by the French, Dutch, Austrian, and Spanish, with the French language largely spoken in Brussels and the southern region of Wallonia. In addition to the French culture, the capital of Belgium has two official languages, which are Flemish and French.

5. U.S.

Citing from William College, the latest U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey stated that there are 1,301,443 people who speak French in the US. The French language is reportedly the fifth most common non-English language spoken in U.S. households besides Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Tagalog.

Francophone communities in the United States have multiple historical origins. Some of them arrived recently, and others have ancestors far back during French colonization.

6. Tunisia

While Arabic is the official language, Tunisia is among the countries with native French speakers due to the widespread education in 1881-1956 after independence and continues to have a major role in important sectors such as government, education, and the press.

7. Switzerland

Switzerland has four official languages, including German, French, Italian, and Romansh. French linguistics is the second most famous language in Switzerland. This makes Switzerland an attractive destination for foreign students coming from France.

The widespread use of French in the nation also promotes its tourism, with popular travel destinations like Geneva and Lausanne being full French-speaking cities.

8. Mali

Citing from Africa News, Mali recently dropped French as the country’s official language despite having been pronounced as one since 1960. The decision was largely supported with 96.91% of the vote in the June 18 referendum, according to reports.

9. Cameroon

Another country with native French speakers is Cameroon, which has two official languages that are French and English. According to Alliance Francaise San Francisco, Cameroon comprises 8 French-speaking regions. The number reportedly represents 83% of the nation’s population.

10. Madagascar

Madagascar has two official languages, which are Malagasy and French. French linguistics is widely used in private and public business.

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