| French is the only language other than English spoken | | | | the European Court of Justice |
| on five continents. French and English are the only two | | | | the European Tribunal of First Instance |
| global languages. It is an official language in 29 | | | | the Press Room at the European Commission in |
| countries, most of which form what is called, in French, | | | | Brussels, Belgium |
| La Francophonie, the community of French-speaking | | | | French (francais), is a Romance language spoken as a |
| countries. | | | | first language by about 136 million people worldwide. |
| In alphabetical order these are: | | | | Around 190 million people speak French as a second |
| Belgium, Benin, Burkina-Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, | | | | language. In addition, an estimated 100 million people |
| Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, | | | | have learned French to a standard which enables |
| Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, France, Gabon, | | | | them to communicate effectively in the language. |
| Guinea, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Luxembourg, Madagascar, | | | | French speaking communities are present in 57 |
| Mali, Monaco, Niger, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, | | | | countries and territories although most native speakers |
| Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo and Vanuatu. It | | | | of the language actually live in France, where the |
| is an official language of all United Nations agencies | | | | language originated. The rest live in Canada (particularly |
| and a large number of international organizations. | | | | Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario), as well as |
| French, along with English, is the official working | | | | Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and certain places in |
| language of: | | | | the United States, states of Maine and Louisiana. Most |
| the United Nations | | | | second-language speakers of French live in |
| UNESCO | | | | Francophone Africa. Africa is thus the continent with |
| NATO | | | | the most French speakers in the world. French arrived |
| Organization for Economic Cooperation and | | | | in Africa with colonisation from France and Belgium. |
| Development (OECD) | | | | While any language will be useful for some jobs or for |
| the International Labour Bureau | | | | some regions, French is the only foreign language that |
| the International Olympic Committee | | | | can be useful throughout the world as well as in the |
| the 31-member Council of Europe | | | | United States. French as a foreign language is the |
| the European Community | | | | second most frequently taught language in the world |
| the Universal Postal Union | | | | after English. When deciding on a foreign language for |
| the International Red Cross | | | | work or school, consider that French is the language |
| Union of International Associations (UIA) | | | | that will give you the most choices later on in your |
| French is the dominant working language at: | | | | studies or your career. |