Speak French, just like 396 million people around the world!

According to the latest report, La Langue française dans le monde (French language in the World), presented on 16 March 2026 in Quebec City by the International Organisation of La Francophonie, French is now the fourth most widely spoken language in the world, with 396 million speakers.

French is also the second most widely learnt language in the world after English, with 51 million learners for whom it is a foreign language. It is the only language, alongside English, to be present in virtually every school system on the planet.

This growth in the French language is particularly strong in Africa, where 65% of French speakers now live. This trend could see the number of French speakers rise to 590 million by 2050.

Read the OIF report