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Facts about French
In 1999 there were 77 million people worldwide who spoke French as their first language, plus 51 million second-language speakers. According to the Ethnologue Report, this data made French the 11th most wide-spread language in the world.What is more, in the same year there were around 100 million foreign students who were interested in studying French for personal interest
French is spoken in France and 53 other countries in 5 continents. It's the official language of 25 countries.
French is a language very important in many countries. In some of them there is a large French speaking population, in others the language is used by the government, for commerce or for international communication. French is spoken in the following countries: Algeria, Cambodia, Egypt, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, India, Italy, Morocco, Poland, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom (Channel Islands), United States, Vatican City, and Vietnam.
French is widely used for business purposes, because it's the official languages of many international organizations like Amnesty International, European Union (EU), Interpol, International Olympic Committee, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Red Cross and Red Crescent, United Nations (UN), World Health Organization (WHO), World Trade Organization (WTO).
Statistics:
France - 51.000.000
Canada - 6.000.000
Belgium - 4.000.000
Switzerland - 1.272.000
United States - 1.100.000
Haiti - 400.000
Italy - 100.000
New Caledonia - 53.400
Gabon - 37.500
Congo - 28.000
Madagascar - 18.000
Cote d'Ivoire - 17.470
Benin - 16.700
Djibouti - 15.440
French Polynesia - 15.338
Austria - 15.000
Luxembourg - 13.100
Monaco - 17.400
Central Africa - 9.000
Mali - 9.000
Vanuatu - 6.300
Niger - 6.000
St. Pierre and Miquelon - 5.114
Chad - 3.000
Togo - 3.000
Mayotte - 2.450
Andorra - 2.400
Reunion - 2.400
Comoros Islands - 1.700
Seychelles - 977
Wallis and Futuna - 120
Total - 77.000.000
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