If you were asked to list countries where French is an official language, you might list France, Haiti, and some African countries. However, there are quite a few countries where French is an official language. It is an official language in 26 countries to be exact. Check out these French speaking countries and interesting facts about each one.
Africa
Benin- A country in West Africa, formerly known as Dahomey
Burundi- Found in the Great Rift Valley where the African Great Lakes are located
Burkina Faso- landlocked West African country, formerly known as Republic of Upper Volta
Cameroon- located in west-central Africa, Portuguese explorers named it Shrimp River, the English derivative of the name has the meaning of shrimp
Chad- located at the crossroads of Central and North Africa, has a desert region, fertile region, and the 2nd largest wetland in Africa
Central African Republic- as implied in the name, it is located in Central Africa, it has been undergoing a Civil War since 2012
Congo- also known as Congo-Brazzaville and The Congo, it is located on the western coast of Central Africa, was a part of the French colony known as Equatorial Africa
Djibouti- located in the Horn of Africa, it is the smallest country on the mainland of Africa
DR Congo- Democratic Republic of the Congo, it is the world’s most populated French-speaking country, it is the 11th largest country by area in the world
Equatorial Guinea- previously named Spanish Guinea, Spanish is also an official language, the name now indicates its location near the Equator
Ivory Coast- as the name implies located on the coast in the southern part of West Africa, 78 different languages are spoken, it has religious diversity
Gabon- located on the west coast of Central Africa, originally populated by Pygmy tribes but were then replaced by the Bantu tribes,
Guinea- located on the coast of West Africa, gained independence from France in 1958 but has experienced a series of military coups d’état ever since.
Mali- located in West Africa, Africa’s 8th largest country, economy comes from agriculture and mining, a large natural resource is gold, it comes in 3rd for largest gold production in Africa
Niger- located in West Africa, it is named after the Niger River, The Sahara Desert contains over 80% of Niger’s land, considered by United Nations to be one of the least developed in the world
Rwanda- located in Central Africa in the Great Rift Valley, the most densely populated country on mainland Africa and 5th most densely populated in the world
Senegal- located on West Africa, engulfs the country of The Gambia, named after the Senegal River, has a large amount of debt causing it to be a very poor country
Caribbean
Haiti- located on the island of Hispaniola along with the Dominican Republic, largest population of countries in the Caribbean
Europe
France- located in Europe, the French language originated here and is the only official language, France also has territories in the Americans, and the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
Luxembourg- located in Western Europe, Luxembourg City houses the seat of the Court of Justice of the EU and is one of the four capitals of the European Union, it contains French and German languages and cultures
Monaco- sovereign city-state, microstate in the French Riviera on the Mediterranean Coast, it is seen as one of the most expensive places to live in the world as well as one of the wealthiest
Switzerland– located at the center of Western, Central, and Southern Europe, the Alps take up much of the country’s landmass, highest nominal wealth per adult in the world
Indian Ocean
Comoros- archipelagic country located in the Indian ocean off the eastern coast of Africa, the only Arab country located completely in the Southern Hemisphere
Madagascar- formerly known as Malagasy Republic, island country, 2nd largest island country by area, considered one of the world’s least developed countries
Seychelles- archipelagic island country with 115 islands, located near the island of Madagascar, uninhabited before its discovery by Europeans in the 16th century, has been independent from the UK since 1976
Pacific Ocean
Vanuatu- archipelagic island country located in the South Pacific Ocean, is volcanic in origins
