La Francophonie… by the numbers

2014

March 20, 2014, marks the International Day of La Francophonie.

With French as one of its two official languages, Canada is a proud member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, otherwise known as La Francophonie.

What is La Francophonie? It is a group of 57 member states and 20 observer states. Member states include France, Canada, the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick and many other countries worldwide.

The concept of francophonie refers to a population for whom French constitutes the mother tongue, the common language, the official language of its country or for whom French is historically or culturally significant.

Here are some facts on assorted topics related to La Francophonie.

(Last updated: February 27, 2014)

The French language in Canada

10 million — The number of people in Canada in 2011 who reported that they had the ability to conduct a conversation in French.

7.3 million — The number of people in Canada in 2011 who reported that their mother tongue is French.

7.9 million — The number of people in Canada in 2011 who reported that they spoke French at home at least on a regular basis.

7.7 million — The number of people in Canada in 2011 whose first official language spoken was French.

Source: 2011 Census, French and the francophonie in Canada.

See also: Visual Census — Language, Canada.

25.3% — The proportion of Canadians who reported using French at work in 2011.

Source: Language use in the workplace in Canada.

See also: Statistics by subject, Languages, French language groups.

French Canadians

5.1 million — The number of people in Canada who reported “French” or “French origins” as their ethnic origin in 2011 (alone or in combination with other origins).

Source: 2011 National Household Survey: Data tables, Ethnic Origin, Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses.

Francophones in the world

For comparison purposes, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie defines a Francophone as anyone who can conduct a sustained conversation in French.

220 million — The estimated number of Francophones worldwide in 2010.

370 million to 770 million — The projected number of Francophones worldwide in 2060 (according to various predictions), mostly in Africa and in Haiti.

5th — The rank of Canada, when it comes to the population of Francophones.

Rank Nation Population of Francophones, 2010
1 France 62,483,600
2 Democratic Republic of the Congo 30,990,000
3 Algeria 11,200,000
4 Morocco 10,366,000
5 Canada 9,590,700

Source: Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, Le dénombrement des francophones.

Canada’s trade with France

$3.03 billion — The total value of exports from Canada to France in 2013.

$5.37 billion — The total value of imports to Canada from France in 2013.

Source: Canadian International Merchandise Trade Database.

Travel to and from France

6th — The rank of France as a travel destination for Canadians in 2012, after the United States, Mexico, Cuba, the United Kingdom, and the Dominican Republic.

729,300 — The number of overnight visits by Canadians to France in 2012.

3rd — The rank of France as a source of visitors to Canada in 2012, after the United States and the United Kingdom.

422,800 — The number of overnight trips to Canada by visitors from France in 2012.

Source: Custom tabulation provided by Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics Division, Statistics Canada.

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See features on many other subjects in By the numbers.