:Member states of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

{{Short description|none}}

[[File:La francophonie mapa.svg|thumb|right|upright=2|Map highlighting member states

{{legend|#3f69e2|member (national)}}

{{legend|#191fc6|member (regional)}}

{{legend|#1bc9f9|associated member}}

{{legend|#c30000|suspended member}}

{{legend|#00c681|observer}}]]

This is a list of the member states of the {{Lang|fr|Organisation internationale de la Francophonie}}. These governments belong to an international organisation representing countries and regions where French is the first ("mother") or customary language, where a significant proportion of the population are francophones (French speakers) or where there is a notable affiliation with French culture.{{Cite web |url=http://www.francophonie.org/Welcome-to-the-International.html |title=Welcome to the International Organisation of La Francophonie's website |access-date=2017-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140401162352/http://www.francophonie.org/Welcome-to-the-International.html |archive-date=2014-04-01 |url-status=dead }}Radio France International, 16 February 2006{{cite web|url=http://www1.rfi.fr/fichiers/MFI/CultureSociete/1703.asp|title=La France à l'heure de la francophonie culturelle " Saisir du français pour l'imprégner de sa singularité ! "|publisher=RFI|access-date=28 December 2014}}

List of member, associate, observer states

=Member states=

class="wikitable sortable"
style="width:120px;"|Country

!width="80"|Joined

! style="width:150px;"|Language

Notes
{{ALB}}1999AlbanianBrief French protectorate in Korçë between 1916 and 1920. Approximately 30% of young Albanians choose French as their first foreign language.{{cite web|url=http://www.ambafrance-us.org/news/statmnts/2004/barnier_albania090704.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041012232253/http://www.ambafrance-us.org/news/statmnts/2004/barnier_albania090704.asp|archive-date=2004-10-12|title=Visit to Albania – Statements by Michel Barnier, Minister of Foreign Affairs|publisher=Embassy of France in the US|date=7 September 2004}} Albania is home to 300,000 French speakers, and it is the second foreign language of education after English.
{{AND}}2004CatalanFormerly part of First French Empire. The President of France is also a Co-Prince of Andorra.
{{ARM}}2012ArmenianSee further: Armenia-France relations
{{BEL}}1970officially trilingual, French includedFrench is the native language of about 39% of the population{{Cite journal

|author=Ginsburgh, Victor, UCLouvain; Weber, Shlomo, Professor Economy and Director of the Center for Economic Studies of the Southern Methodist University

|title=La dynamique des langues en Belgique

|journal=Regards économiques, Publication préparée par les économistes de l'Université catholique de Louvain

|date=June 2006

|issue=Numéro 42

|quote=Les enquêtes montrent que la Flandre est bien plus multilingue, ce qui est sans doute un fait bien connu, mais la différence est considérable : alors que 59 % et 53 % des Flamands connaissent le français ou l'anglais respectivement, seulement 19 % et 17 % des Wallons connaissent le néerlandais ou l'anglais. ... 95 pour cent des Bruxellois déclarent parler le français, alors que ce pourcentage tombe à 59 pour cent pour le néerlandais. Quant à l’anglais, il est connu par une proportion importante de la population à Bruxelles (41 pour cent). ... Le syndrome d’H (...) frappe la Wallonie, où à peine 19 et 17 pour cent de la population parlent respectivement le néerlandais et l’anglais.

|language=fr

|doi=10.1159/000013462

|volume=19

|pages=282–9

|pmid=10213829

|doi-access=free

}} 48% are non-native speakers of French.{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf |title=Europeans and their Languages |publisher=Ec.europa.eu |access-date=2015-06-20}} Belgium's French community is also a member separately. See also: Languages of Belgium and Belgian French

* {{Flagicon|Wallonia}} French Community of Belgium{{efn|Belgian linguistic community}}1980French as official languageA community of Belgium with its two components Wallonia (excluding the German-speaking community) and Brussels-Capital Region (its French-speaking majority)
{{BEN}}1970FrenchFormer French colony
{{BGR}}1993BulgarianFrench is spoken as a foreign language by 9% of the Bulgarian people, and taught as a main foreign language in about 25% of primary schools. Furthermore, French is studied by 7.7% of high school students.{{cite web |date=2005-05-17 |title=България | Кой и колко учи чужд език в Европа |url=http://www.dnevnik.bg/bulgaria/2005/05/17/180818_koi_i_kolko_uchi_chujd_ezik_v_evropa/ |access-date=2015-06-20 |publisher=Dnevnik.bg}}{{Cite web |title=Английски, немски и руски са най-популярните езици сред учениците у нас |url=https://www.investor.bg/a/332-ikonomika-i-politika/312758-angliyski-nemski-i-ruski-sa-nay-populyarnite-ezitsi-sred-uchenitsite-u-nas |access-date=2023-07-08 |website=Investor.bg |language=bg}}
style="background:#FFA500;"

| {{BFA}}

1970FrenchFormer French colony. Membership suspended in 2022 due to a coup.{{efn|name=NERBFAMLI}}
{{BDI}}1970officially trilingual, FrenchFormer Belgian UN-protectorate
{{KHM}}1993KhmerFormer French protectorate (as a part of former French Indochina)
{{CMR}}1991officially bilingual, French includedOver 90% of country was a French protectorate (1945–1959)
{{CAN}}1970Officially bilingual, French included

|The provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick are participating governments; much of eastern Canada was part of the first French colonial empire. As of 2004, a government representative from Ontario also attends as part of the Canadian delegation, although Ontario is not yet a participating government in its own right.

* {{flag|New Brunswick}}{{efn|Canadian provinces|name="New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec"}}

|1977

|officially bilingual, French included

Considered a "participating government", this province of Canada is officially bilingual English-French and home to the largest community of Acadians.
* {{flag|Quebec}}{{efn|name="New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec"}}1971FrenchConsidered a "participating government", this province of Canada has French as its official language and is home to 85% of Canada's native francophones.
{{CPV}}1996PortugueseFrench is spoken as a foreign language by ~11% of the population as of 2014
{{CAF}}1973officially bilingual, French includedFormer French colony. The Central African Republic was suspended for instances of la Francophonie at the 88th session of the CPF in March 2012.{{cite web |url=http://www.francophonie.org/Centrafrique.html |title=Centrafrique – Organisation internationale de la Francophonie |publisher=Francophonie.org |access-date=2015-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209165647/http://www.francophonie.org/Centrafrique.html |archive-date=2014-12-09 |url-status=dead }}
{{TCD}}1970officially bilingual, French includedFormer French colony
{{COM}}1977officially trilingual, French includedFormer French colony
{{Flag|Congo-Brazzaville}}1981FrenchFormer French colony
{{Flag|Congo-Kinshasa}}1977FrenchFormer Belgian colony. See also: Languages of the DRC
{{Flag|Côte d'Ivoire}}1970FrenchFormer French colony. See also: Languages of Côte d'Ivoire
{{CYP}}

|2024

|Greek, Turkish

|Cyprus was ruled by the French-origin Lusignan dynasty from 1192 until 1489. About 12% of the Cyprus population speaks and understands French.

{{DJI}}1977officially bilingual, French includedFormer French colony
{{DMA}}1979EnglishFrench and then British colony; Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population.
{{EGY}}1983ArabicFrench sees use as foreign language in education and the country was a French colony for a short period from 1798 to 1801
{{GNQ}}1989officially trilingual, French includedCountry surrounded by French-speaking countries. Former Spanish colony
style="background:#66FF00;"

| {{FRA}}

1970FrenchFounder, origin of the French language
{{GAB}}1970FrenchFormer French colony
{{GHA}}

|2024

|English

|All land borders with French-speaking countries (all former colonies of French West Africa) and trade partners. Study of French is being made compulsory at the basic educational level and certain subjects will be taught in both English and French.

{{GRC}}2004GreekFrench spoken as a foreign language by ~7% of the population as of 2014
{{GIN}}1981FrenchFormer French colony. Membership suspended in 2021 due to a coup, but was reinstated in 2024.{{cite web|accessdate=2025-03-23 |date=2024-09-25 |title=Guinée: le pays réintègre l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie trois ans après sa suspension |url=https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20240925-guin%C3%A9e-le-pays-r%C3%A9int%C3%A8gre-l-organisation-internationale-de-la-francophonie-trois-ans-apr%C3%A8s-sa-suspension}}
{{GNB}}1979PortugueseCountry surrounded by French-speaking countries. Former Portuguese colony. Guinea-Bissau was suspended on 18 April 2012 following a coup d'état.{{cite web |url=http://www.francophonie.org/Guinee-Bissau.html |title=Guinée-Bissau – Organisation internationale de la Francophonie |publisher=Francophonie.org |access-date=2015-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403162238/http://www.francophonie.org/Guinee-Bissau.html |archive-date=2015-04-03 |url-status=dead }}
{{HTI}}1970officially bilingual, French includedFormer French colony
{{LAO}}1991LaoFormer French colony (as a part of former French Indochina)
{{LBN}}1973Arabic and French{{efn|French is the secondary language in Lebanon.}}Under a French mandate from 1920 to 1943
{{LUX}}1970Officially trilingual, French included
{{MKD}}2001MacedonianFrench spoken as a foreign language by ~11% of the population as of 2014
style="background:#15F4EE"

| {{MDG}}

1970–1977
1989
officially bilingual, French includedFormer French colony
style="background:#FFA500;"

| {{MLI}}

1970FrenchFormer French colony. Mali's membership was suspended in March 2012 due to a coup,{{cite web|url=http://www.francophonie.org/Mali.html |title=Mali – Organisation internationale de la Francophonie |publisher=Francophonie.org |access-date=2015-06-20}} and again in 2020.{{efn|name=NERBFAMLI}}
{{MRT}}1980ArabicFormer French colony, French is an administrative language. Mauritania's membership was suspended on 26 August 2008, pending democratic elections, after a military coup d'état,[http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/104/article_71669.asp "L’OIF suspend la Mauritanie"], Radio France Internationale, 27 August 2008 then again in April 2009.{{cite web|url=http://www.francophonie.org/Madagascar.html |title=Madagascar – Organisation internationale de la Francophonie |publisher=Francophonie.org |access-date=2015-06-20}}
{{MUS}}1970Creole is the mother tongue. French and English are also widely usedDutch, French, and then British colony; French is widely used in commerce and by the media.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} French is also a language of instruction in schools.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
{{MDA}}1996RomanianFrench spoken as a foreign language by ~2% of the population as of 2014
{{MCO}}1970FrenchIndependent country enclaved in France
{{MAR}}1981Arabic and BerberFormer French and Spanish protectorate
style="background:#FFA500;"

| {{NER}}

1970FrenchFormer French colony. Membership suspended due to a coup in 2023.{{efn|name=NERBFAMLI|In March 2025, Niger announced its withdrawal from the organization three years after it was suspended.{{Cite news |date=17 March 2025 |title=Niger quits international group of French-speaking nations |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2025/03/17/niger-quits-international-group-of-french-speaking-nations_6739253_124.html# |access-date=19 March 2025 |language=en}} This was followed by the withdrawal of Burkina Faso and Mali, which cited "selective application of sanctions" and "contempt for Mali’s sovereignty".{{Cite web |date=19 March 2025 |title=Mali announces withdrawal from alliance of French-speaking countries |url=https://apnews.com/article/mali-niger-burkina-aes-withdrawal-francophonie-43d04a46d293f647d7eb69f6c17d1592 |access-date=20 March 2025 |website=AP News |language=en}}}}
{{ROU}}1993RomanianFrench is understood and spoken by 26% of the population.
{{RWA}}1970officially quadralingual, French includedFormer Belgian UN-protectorate. In 2009, became a member of the Commonwealth, but remains a member within Francophonie.
{{LCA}}1981EnglishFormer French and British colony. Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population.
{{STP}}1999PortugueseFrench spoken as a foreign language by ~20% of the population as of 2014
{{SEN}}1970FrenchFormer French colony
{{SYC}}1976officially trilingual, French includedFormer French colony (first empire), later British colony, French is commonly used
{{CHE}}1996Officially quadrilingual, French includedFrench is the native language of about 20% of all Swiss.
{{TGO}}1970FrenchFormer French colony
{{TUN}}1970ArabicFormer French protectorate
{{VUT}}1979officially trilingualFormer French and British condominium of New Hebrides
{{VNM}}1970{{efn|name=fn2|Originally joined as the Republic of Vietnam in 1970. Its successor, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, re-joined the organisation in 1979.{{cite web|url=https://vovworld.vn/en-US/current-affairs/vietnam-an-active-member-of-the-francophonie-community-1184551.vov|title=Vietnam- an active member of the Francophonie community|date=20 March 2023|publisher=Voice of Vietnam}}}}VietnameseFormer French protectorates and colony, former French associated state

= Associate states =

class="wikitable sortable"
style="width:120px;"|Country

!width="80"|Joined

! style="width:150px;"|Language

Notes
{{KOS}}2014Albanian and SerbianTraditional diplomatic and commercial ties with France. French is taught as a third language in most secondary schools. See further: France-Kosovo relations
{{NCL}}2016French and New Caledonian languagesSui generis collectivity of France. Former French colony (1853–1946) and overseas territory (1946–1999)
{{QAT}}2012ArabicStrong military ties with France. See further: France-Qatar relations
{{SRB}}2006SerbianTraditional diplomatic, military and cultural ties with France. French is widely taught as a second foreign language in schools. See further: France-Serbia relations
{{UAE}}2010ArabicMilitary and cultural ties with France See further: France-United Arab Emirates relations

=Observer states=

class="wikitable sortable"
style="width:120px;"|Country

!width="80"|Joined

! style="width:150px;"|Language

Notes
{{AGO}}2024Portuguese
{{ARG}}2016Spanish and othersArgentina has a large French community. Today more than six million Argentines have some degree of French ancestry (up to 17% of the total population).{{cite web |url=http://www.canalacademie.com/ida1009-Les-merveilleux-francophiles-argentins-1.html?var_recherche=argentin|title=Canal Académie: Les merveilleux francophiles argentins–1 |quote=Il faut savoir qu’en 2006, 17% d’Argentins ont un ancêtre venu de France. Près de 6 millions d’Argentins ont donc des origines françaises.}}
{{AUT}}2004GermanStrong ties with Belgium, a Francophone country located to the north of France. Roughly 11% of the population also speaks French as a foreign language as of 2014.
{{BIH}}2010Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
{{CHL}}2024SpanishChile has a large French community. French is the second compulsory language in middle school.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnnchile.com/pais/chile-ingresa-miembro-observador-organismo-paises-habla-francesa-que-significa_20241006/|title=Chile ingresa como miembro observador en el organismo de los países de habla francesa: ¿Qué significa?|language=es|publisher=CNN Chile|date=10 October 2024|access-date=5 January 2025}}
{{CRI}}2014SpanishFrench is the second compulsory language in middle school.
{{HRV}}2004CroatianPart of the Illyrian Provinces under Napoleon's French Empire. See further: Croatia-France relations
{{Flag|Czechia}}1999Czech~2% of the population speaks French as a foreign language as of 2014.
{{DOM}}2010SpanishNeighbouring with Francophone Haiti at the west within Hispaniola.
{{EST}}2010Estonian~1% of the population speaks French as a foreign language as of 2014.
{{PYF}}2024French and TahitianOverseas collectivity and overseas country of France.
{{GAM}}2018EnglishBorder with Senegal, a French-speaking country.
{{GEO}}2004Georgian~0.4% of the population speaks French as a foreign language as of 2014.
{{HUN}}2004Hungarian
{{IRL}}2018English and IrishFrench is the second most common foreign language spoken at home in Ireland (after Polish) and most commonly spoken by those born in Ireland.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/population/2017/Chapter_5_Diversity.pdf|title=CSO - Census 2016 - Summary - Chapter 5 (Diversity)|publisher=Central Statistics Office}}
{{LAT}}2008Latvian~1% of the population speaks French as a foreign language as of 2014.
{{LTU}}1999Lithuanian~2% of the population speaks French as a foreign language as of 2014.
* {{flag|Louisiana}}{{efn|U.S. state}}2018EnglishU.S. state with a francophone minority. Once part of the first French colonial empire — now it is home to a strong influence of Cajun, Creole, and Haitian language and culture. Use of the French language in Louisiana is promoted through the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, a state agency that is responsible for preserving the state's "French heritage".{{cite web|url=https://www.crt.state.la.us/cultural-development/codofil/about/french-in-louisiana/legal-status/index|title=French's Legal Status In Louisiana|publisher=Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism|year=2022|access-date=24 February 2023|website=crt.state.la.us}}
{{MLT}}2018Maltese and EnglishFormerly occupied by France.
{{MEX}}2014SpanishA large number of French immigrants arrived in Mexico since the 1830s and today number over six million French descendants.{{cite journal|last=Venayre|first=Sylvain|url=http://www.univ-paris-diderot.fr/hsal/hsal981/sv98-1.pdf|title=Le moment mexicain dans l'histoire française de l'aventure (1840-1860)|language=fr|journal=Histoire et sociétés de l'Amérique latine|issn=1245-1517|issue=7|year=1998|page=131|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141209232526/http://www.univ-paris-diderot.fr/hsal/hsal981/sv98-1.pdf|archive-date=9 December 2014|quote=La conséquence de cette émigration fut que, en 1849, les Français représentaient la deuxième nationalité étrangère au Mexique, derrière les Espagnols.}} Second Mexican Empire, a puppet state of the Second French Empire under Napoleon III.{{cite book |title=Crucible of Power:A History of American Foreign Relations to 1913 |last=Jones |first=Howard |year=2002 |publisher=SR Books |location=Lanham, Maryland |isbn=0-8420-2916-8 |page=212 }}
{{MNE}}2010MontenegrinPart of the Illyrian Provinces under Napoleon's French Empire.
{{MOZ}}2006PortugueseTrading partner across the Mozambique Channel with French-speaking and the former French colony of Madagascar.
* {{flag|Nova Scotia}}{{efn|name="New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec"}}2024EnglishA province of Canada that was formerly part of Acadia and contains a community of Acadians. In the 2021 Canadian census, 10.4% of Nova Scotians reported having knowledge of French and 2.9% reported it as their mother tongue. French is also a recognized regional language in Nova Scotia.
* {{ONT}}{{efn|name="New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Quebec"}}2016English{{efn|French is a regional administrative language in Ontario.}}A province of Canada whose area was once a part of the Pays d'en Haut region of New France and is home to a francophone minority, the Franco-Ontarians. Although French is an official language in the province's judiciary, legislature, and educational system — the province as a whole is not officially bilingual — with other French-language provincial services not offered province-wide. However, Ontario's French Language Services Act does require Ontario government departments to provide French-language services in areas with significant francophone populations and recognizes the French language as a "historic language of Ontario".
{{POL}}1996PolishLong-standing cultural and historic ties — Henry III of France was King of Poland from 1573 to 1574 and the Duchy of Warsaw was a client state allied with the First French Empire from 1807 to 1815. France was home to notable Polish émigrés — including Adam Mickiewicz, Frédéric Chopin, and Marie Skłodowska-Curie.
* {{flag|Saarland}}{{efn|German state}}2024GermanA German state that was a French protectorate from 1947 to 1956 — two years after the dissolution of Nazi Germany in 1945.
{{SVK}}2002Slovak
{{SVN}}1999SlovenePart of the Illyrian Provinces under Napoleon's French Empire
{{KOR}}2016KoreanThe Joseon Dynasty was invaded twice by the Second French Empire during the 19th century. Furthermore, the Catholic population grew as a result of French Jesuit missionaries in the country. See further: France-South Korea relations
{{THA}}2008ThaiThailand has a history of international relations with France for more than 300 years, since the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Thailand. See further: Thailand-France relations
{{UKR}}2006Ukrainian
{{URU}}2012Spanish

Note:

{{legend2|#FFA500|Participation suspended|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{{legend2|#66FF00|Founder of La Francophonie (OIF)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}


{{legend2|#15F4EE|Withdrawn in 1977 but rejoined in 1989|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

Other candidates

Some countries could also potentially join the {{Lang|fr|Organisation internationale de la Francophonie}} on the basis of being part of the French colonial empire, including Algeria,{{cite news|url=https://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/Monde/Alger-boycotte-la-francophonie-2014-11-27-1244032|title=Alger boycotte la francophonie|work=la-croix.com|language=fr|date=27 November 2014|access-date=6 June 2019}}{{cite news|url=http://dia-algerie.com/lalgerie-refuse-dadherer-a-francophonie-participe-aux-assises-de-loif-2002/|title=L'Algérie refuse d'adhérer à la Francophonie, mais participe aux assises de l'OIF depuis 2002|work=dia-algerie.com|language=fr|date=24 November 2016|access-date=6 June 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bvoltaire.fr/a-quand-une-algerie-membre-de-la-francophonie/|title=À quand une Algérie membre de la Francophonie ?|work=bvoltaire.fr|language=fr|date=3 December 2016|access-date=6 June 2019}} Syria, Pondicherry{{efn|Indian cities|name="Pondicherry and Chandannagar"}} and Chandannagar{{efn|name="Pondicherry and Chandannagar"}} regions of India. In 2016, Saudi Arabia applied to join the organisation despite having no historical colonial ties with France.{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181010-francophonie-summit-saudi-arabia-french|title=Saudi Arabia's embarrassing bid to join the Francophonie family|work=France24|date=10 October 2018|access-date=6 June 2019}} However, the Saudis withdrew their bid in October 2018 due to pressure over their human rights record.{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20181011-francophonie-summit-saudi-arabia-withdraw|title=Saudi Arabia withdraws bid to join Francophonie group|work=France24|date=11 October 2018|access-date=6 June 2019}} In 2022, Brazil applied to join the organization as observer because neighboring with the French Guiana at the north and west — have historical site named Fort Coligny in Rio de Janeiro built by French naval officer Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon in 1555.{{cite news|url=https://lecourrier.com/rubrique-le-carrefour-des-francophones/2023/07/05/la-francophonie-au-bresil-sous-un-regard-historique/|title=La francophonie au Brésil sous un regard historique|publisher=Le Courrier de la Nouvelle-Écosse|language=fr|date=5 July 2023|access-date=4 May 2024}}

Notes

{{notelist}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

{{La Francophonie}}

Francophonie