Member states of the International Organization of the Francophonie

Map highlighting member states

The official list of member states of the International Organization of the Francophonie is available at the Francophonie website.

Mauritania's membership was suspended on August 26, 2008, pending democratic elections, after a military coup d'état.^[1]

List of member states

Country	Joined	Language	Notes
Albania	1999	Albanian	approximately 30% of young Albanians choose French as their first foreign language[2]
Andorra	2004	Catalan	Neighbouring France. The French President is co-Prince of Andorra. Read further: Languages of Andorra
Belgium	1970	officially trilingual, French included	French is the native language of about 40% of the population [3] and another 48% can speak it as a second, third or fourth language.[3] Belgium's French community is also a member separately. See also: Languages of Belgium and Belgian French
* French Community of Belgium	1980	French official language	a community of Belgium with its two components Wallonia (excepting the German speaking community) and Brussels-Capital Region (its French-speaking majority)
Benin	1970	French	former French colony
Bulgaria	1993	Bulgarian	French is spoken by 9% as additional language, and is taught as a main foreign language in about 25% of primary schools.[4]
Burkina Faso	1970	French	former French colony
Burundi	1970	French	former Belgian UN-protectorate
Cambodia	1993	Khmer	former French protectorate (as a part of former French Indochina)
Cameroon	1991	officially bilingual, French included	over 90% of country was a French colony
Canada	1970	Officially bilingual, French included	the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick are participating governments; much of Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes formed part of New France, the North American portion 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.
*  New Brunswick	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.
*  Quebec	1971	French	considered a "participating government," this province of Canada has French as its sole official language and is home to 85% of Canada's native francophones.
Cape Verde	1996	Portuguese	Former Portuguese colony with many neighboring French-speaking countries.
Central African Republic	1973	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Chad	1970	French	former French colony
Comoros	1977	officially trilingual, French included	former French colony
Democratic Republic of the Congo	1977	French	former Belgian colony. See also: Languages of the DRC
Republic of the Congo	1981	French	former French colony
Côte d'Ivoire	1970	French	former French colony. See also: Languages of Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti	1977	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Dominica	1979	English	French and then British colony; Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population.
Egypt	1983	Arabic	traditional Francophone elite
Equatorial Guinea	1989	(officially trilingual, French included)	Former Spanish colony surrounded by French-speaking countries.
Republic of Macedonia	2001	Macedonian	French is taught as a second language in many Macedonian schools throughout the country.
France	1970	French
Gabon	1970	French	former French colony
Greece	2004	Greek	French is understood and spoken by 8% of the population
Guinea	1981	French	former French colony
Guinea-Bissau	1979	Portuguese	country surrounded by French-speaking countries. Former Portuguese colony
Haiti	1970	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Laos	1991	Lao	former French colony
Lebanon	1973	Arabic; French is an administrative language	Under a French mandate from 1920–1943, historical Crusader ties, French language used in schools and universities, and is understood by the majority of the population.
Luxembourg	1970	Officially trilingual, French included
Madagascar	1970–1977, 1989	officially bilingual, French included	former French colony
Mali	1970	French	former French colony
Mauritania	1980	Arabic	former French colony, French is an administrative language
Mauritius	1970	English; Creole is the mother tongue of the general population.	Dutch, French, and then British colony; French is widely used in commerce and by the media.
Moldova	1996	Romanian	close ties with Romania
Monaco	1970	French	independent country enclaved in France
Morocco	1981	Arabic	former French protectorate; French is commonly used
Niger	1970	French	former French colony
Romania	1993	Romanian	French is understood and spoken by 24% of the population.[5] Historic cultural ties with France, especially during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Rwanda	1970	officially trilingual with French included	former Belgian UN-protectorate. In 2009, became a member of the Commonwealth, but remains a member within Francophonie.
Saint Lucia	1981	English	Former French and British colony. Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population.
São Tomé and Príncipe	1999	Portuguese	Former Portuguese colony, neighboring French-speaking countries.
Senegal	1970	French	former French colony, part of former French West Africa
Seychelles	1976	officially trilingual, French included	former French colony (first empire), later British colony, French is commonly used
Switzerland	1996	Officially quadrilingual, French included	French is the native language of about 20% of all Swiss.
Togo	1970	French	former French colony
Tunisia	1970	Arabic	former French protectorate; French is commonly used
Vanuatu	1979	officially trilingual	former French and British condominium
Vietnam	1970	Vietnamese	former French colony

Associate member

Country	Joined	Language	Notes
Armenia	2008	Armenian	Historical French-Armenian ties, including the Armenian national movement and the French-Armenian Agreement of 1916. A significant part of the Armenian diaspora lives in France. See further: Armenia–France relations, Languages of Armenia
Cyprus	2006	Greek, Turkish	French is understood and spoken by 12% of the population; Historical ties through the Lusignan rule of the Kingdom of Cyprus during the Middle Ages. The Republic of Cyprus enjoys a robust relationship with France and looks to French policy on many issues[citation needed].
Ghana	2006	English	The country surrounded by French-speaking countries. See further: Languages of Ghana

Observers

Country	Joined	Language	Notes
Austria	2004	German	French is spoken by 10% as additional language.See further: Languages of Austria.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2010	Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
Croatia	2004	Croatian	French is understood and spoken by 4% of the population, and a large part of the country was part of the Illyrian Provinces during Napoleonic rule from 1809 to 1813.
Czech Republic	1999	Czech	French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population.
Dominican Republic	2010	Spanish	Neighbouring Francophone Haiti. Francophone minority. French colony from 1795 to 1808. French taught at most schools as a 3rd language.
Estonia	2010	Estonian
Georgia	2004	Georgian	Like Armenia, Georgia had a connection with the French kingdoms in the Middle Ages.[citation needed]
Hungary	2004	Hungarian	French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population.See further: Languages of Hungary.
Latvia	2008	Latvian
Lithuania	1999	Lithuanian	French is understood and spoken by 1% of the population.
Montenegro	2010	Montenegrin	French is taught in one-third of schools.
Mozambique	2006	Portuguese	former Portuguese colony.See further: Languages of Mozambique.
Poland	1996	Polish	Poland has historic ties to France; French is understood and spoken by 3% of the population, and many Polish emigrants settled in France in the 20th century.
Serbia	2006	Serbian	French is taught in one-third of schools.See further: Languages of Serbia.
Slovakia	2002	Slovak	French is spoken by 2% as additional language
Slovenia	1999	Slovene	French is spoken by 4% as additional language, and a large part of the country was part of the Illyrian Provinces with its capital in Ljubljana during Napoleonic rule from 1809 to 1813.
Thailand	2008	Thai	Thailand shares the same borders with two former French colonies (Cambodia and Laos) and French is taught as the third language in some Thai schools.
Ukraine	2006	Ukrainian	See further: Languages of Ukraine.
United Arab Emirates	2010	Arabic	French is taught as the optional second or third language in some private schools. There are some French restaurants and Mercato.

See also

• Member states of the Latin Union

References

1. ^ "L’OIF suspend la Mauritanie", Radio France Internationale, August 27, 2008
2. ^ Embassy of France in the US - France / Eastern Europe
3. ^ Ginsburgh, Victor, Université Catholique de Louvain; Weber, Shlomo, Professor Economy and Director of the Center for Economic Studies of the Southern Methodist University, Dallas, USA, and having a seat in the expert panel of the International Monetary Fund [1] (June 2006). "La dynamique des langues en Belgique" (in French) (pdf 0.7 MB). Regards économiques, Publication préparée par les économistes de l'Université Catholique de Louvain 19 (Numéro 42): 282–9. doi:10.1159/000013462. PMID 10213829. http://regards.ires.ucl.ac.be/Archives/RE042.pdf. Retrieved 2007-05-07. "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." 
4. ^ Кой и колко учи езици в Европа, Дневник.
5. ^ [2]