French is the official language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie, the

community of French-speaking countries. It is spoken as a first language in France, southern

Belgium, western Switzerland, Monaco, certain parts of Canada and by various communities
elsewhere. As of 2015, 40% of the francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) is in
Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Mideast, 8% in America, and 1%
in Asia and Oceania.[4]

French is the second-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union.[4] 1/5 of nonFrancophone Europeans speak French. [5] As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the
17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa and
Asia. Most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria,
Mauritius, Senegal and Cte d'Ivoire.[6] In 2015, French was estimated to have 77-110 million
native speakers.[4][7] and 190 million secondary speakers. [8] Approximately 274 million people,
are able to speak the language.[9] According to a demographic projection led by the Universit
Laval and the Rseau Dmographie de l'Agence universitaire de la francophonie, total French
speakers will number approximately 500 million people in 2025 and 650 million people by 2050.
[10] The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, 80% of
whom will be in Africa.[4]

French has a long history as an international language of commerce, diplomacy, literature, and
scientific standards and is an official language of many international organisations including the
United Nations, the European Union, NATO, the WTO, the International Olympic Committee, and
the ICRC. In 2011, French was deemed by Bloomberg Businessweek to be one of the top three most
useful languages for business, after English and Mandarin Chinese.[11]