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List of countries and territories where English is an official language
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The following is a list of countries and territories where English is an official language used in citizen interactions with government officials. As of 2020[update], there were 58 sovereign states and 28 non-sovereign entities where English was an official language.[citation needed] Many administrative divisions have declared English an official language at the local or regional level.
Majority native language
Official or administrative language, but not native language
Most states where English is an official language are former territories of the British Empire. Exceptions include Rwanda and Burundi, which were formerly German and then Belgian colonies; Cameroon, where only part of national territory was under British mandate; and Liberia, the Philippines, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau, which were American territories. English is the sole official language of the Commonwealth of Nations and of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). English is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union, the African Union, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Caribbean Community, the Union of South American Nations, and many other international organisations. Although English is not de jure an official language at the national level in the United States, most states and territories within the United States have English as an official language, and only Puerto Rico uses a language other than English as a primary working language.
The United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, where the overwhelming majority of native English speakers reside, do not have English as an official language de jure, but English is considered their de facto official language because it dominates in these countries.[citation needed]
Sovereign states edit
English is a de jure official language edit
| Country | code | Geographic region | Population[a] | Primary language? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda[citation needed] | ATG | Caribbean | 85,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| The Bahamas[1] | BHS | Caribbean | 331,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Barbados[2] | BRB | Caribbean | 294,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Belize[3] | BLZ | Central America | 288,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Botswana[3] | BWA | Africa | 1,882,000 | Yes |
| Burundi[4] | BDI | Africa | 10,114,505 | No |
| Cameroon[1] | CMR | Africa | 22,534,532 | No (co-official with French, but only spoken primarily in the Northwest and Southwest of the country) |
| Canada | CAN | North America | 38,048,738 | Yes (Co-official with French, and a predominant language nationwide except for Quebec and Nunavut) |
| Dominica[1] | DMA | Caribbean | 73,000 | Yes (French-based creole language) |
| Eswatini[1] | SWZ | Africa | 1,141,000 | No |
| Fiji[1] | FJI | Oceania | 828,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca, mostly and widely spoken, educational, commerce, and government) |
| The Gambia[1] | GMB | Africa | 1,709,000 | Yes |
| Ghana[1] | GHA | Africa | 27,000,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca) |
| Grenada[1] | GRD | Caribbean | 111,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Guyana[5] | GUY | South America | 738,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| India[3][6] | IND | Asia | 1,393,500,000 | No (but official and educational) |
| Ireland[7][8] | IRL | Europe | 4,900,000 | Yes (Irish is co-official) |
| Jamaica[9] | JAM | Caribbean | 2,714,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Kenya[1] | KEN | Africa | 45,010,056 | Yes (used in business and education) |
| Kiribati[1] | KIR | Oceania | 95,000 | No |
| Lesotho[1] | LSO | Africa | 2,008,000 | No |
| Liberia[1] | LBR | Africa | 3,750,000 | Yes |
| Malawi[10] | MWI | Africa | 16,407,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca) |
| Malta[1] | MLT | Europe | 430,000 | No (but official and in business / education) |
| Marshall Islands[1] | MHL | Oceania | 59,000 | No |
| Micronesia[1] | FSM | Oceania | 110,000 | Yes |
| Namibia[1] | NAM | Africa | 2,074,000 | No (used as lingua franca) |
| Nauru[11] | NRU | Oceania | 10,000 | No (but widely spoken) |
| Nigeria[1][12] | NGA | Africa | 182,202,000 | Yes (used as official language) |
| Pakistan[1] | PAK | Asia | 212,742,631 | No (but official and educational) |
| Palau[3] | PLW | Oceania | 20,000 | No |
| Papua New Guinea[13][14] | PNG | Oceania | 7,059,653 | Yes (official and educational) |
| Philippines | PHL | Asia | 110,864,327 | No (but official, educational, used in government, and used as lingua franca) |
| Rwanda[15] | RWA | Africa | 13,240,439 | No |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis[16] | KNA | Caribbean | 50,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Saint Lucia[1] | LCA | Caribbean | 165,000 | Yes (French-based creole language) |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[17] | VCT | Caribbean | 120,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Samoa[18] | WSM | Oceania | 188,000 | No |
| Seychelles[1] | SYC | Africa / Indian Ocean | 87,000 | No |
| Sierra Leone[1] | SLE | Africa | 6,190,280 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Singapore | SGP | Asia | 5,469,700 | Yes (official language, lingua franca, mostly and widely spoken, and educational) |
| Solomon Islands[1] | SLB | Oceania | 507,000 | Yes |
| South Africa[19] | ZAF | Africa | 54,956,900 | Yes (official, educational and lingua franca in formal economy) |
| South Sudan[20] | SSD | Africa | 12,340,000 | Yes |
| Sudan[1] | SDN | Africa | 40,235,000 | No |
| Tanzania[1] | TZA | Africa | 51,820,000 | No |
| Tonga[21] | TON | Oceania | 100,000 | No |
| Trinidad and Tobago[1] | TTO | Caribbean | 1,333,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Tuvalu[3] | TUV | Oceania | 11,000 | No |
| Uganda[22] | UGA | Africa | 47,053,690 | Yes |
| Vanuatu[23] | VUT | Oceania | 226,000 | No |
| Zambia[1] | ZMB | Africa | 16,212,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca) |
| Zimbabwe[1] | ZWE | Africa | 15,178,957 | Yes |
English is a predominant language edit
In these countries, English is conventionally spoken by both the government and main population, despite it having no de jure official status at national level
| Country | ISO code | Geographic region | Population | Primary language? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia[citation needed] | AUS | Oceania | 26,461,166 | Yes |
| New Zealand[24] | NZL | Oceania | 5,109,702 | Yes |
| United Kingdom[citation needed] | GBR | Europe | 68,138,484 | Yes |
| United States[citation needed] | USA | North America | 339,665,118 | Yes |
English is a de facto working language edit
In these countries, English is spoken in government or education, but it is not recognized as de jure official, nor a primary language spoken by the main population
| Country | ISO code | Geographic region | Population[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh[25] | BAN | Asia | 172,954,319 |
| Bhutan[26] | BTN | Asia | 727,145 |
| Brunei[27] | BRN | Asia | 440,715 |
| Israel[28][29][30] | ISR | Asia / Middle East | 8,051,200 |
| Malaysia[31] | MYS | Asia | 32,730,000 |
| Mauritius[32] | MUS | Africa / Indian Ocean | 1,262,000 |
| Qatar[33] | QAT | Asia / Middle East | 2,675,522 |
| Sri Lanka[34][35] | LKA | Asia | 20,277,597 |
| Timor-Leste[36] | TLS | Asia | 1,340,513 |
| United Arab Emirates[37] | ARE | Asia / Middle East | 9,809,000 |
Non-sovereign entities edit
English is a de jure official language edit
| Entity | Sovereign state | Region | Population[a] | Primary language? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus[citation needed] | United Kingdom | Europe | 15,700 | No |
| American Samoa[b] | United States | Oceania | 67,700 | No (official language) |
| Anguilla[1] | United Kingdom | Caribbean | 18,090 | No (English-based creole language) |
| Bermuda[c][1] | United Kingdom | North America | 65,000 | Yes |
| British Virgin Islands[1] | United Kingdom | Caribbean | 23,000 | No (English-based creole language) |
| Cayman Islands[3] | United Kingdom | Caribbean | 47,000 | Yes (English-based creole language) |
| Cook Islands[1][d] | New Zealand | Oceania | 20,000 | No |
| Curaçao[38] | Netherlands | Caribbean | 150,563 | No |
| Falkland Islands and South Georgia[citation needed] | United Kingdom | South America | 3,000 | Yes |
| Gibraltar[1] | United Kingdom | Europe | 33,000 | Yes |
| Guam[e] | United States | Oceania | 173,000 | Yes (co-official with Chamorro) |
| Hong Kong[f][1] | China | Asia | 7,097,600 | No (but de jure and de facto co-official with Chinese[39]) |
| Isle of Man[g] | United Kingdom | Europe | 80,058 | Yes |
| Jersey[h][1] | United Kingdom | Europe | 89,300 | Yes |
| Niue[1][d] | New Zealand | Oceania | 1,600 | No |
| Norfolk Island[1] | Australia | Oceania | 1,828 | No (English-based creole language) |
| Northern Mariana Islands[citation needed][i] | United States | Oceania | 53,883 | Yes (co-official with Chamorro) |
| Pitcairn Islands[j][1] | United Kingdom | Oceania | 50 | Yes |
| Puerto Rico[k] | United States | Caribbean | 3,991,000 | No (co-official with Spanish as the primary language) |
| Rotuma[citation needed] | Fiji | Oceania | 1,594 | No |
| Sint Maarten[40] | Netherlands | Caribbean | 40,900 | No (English-based creole language) |
| Turks and Caicos Islands[1] | United Kingdom | Caribbean | 26,000 | No (English-based creole language) |
| U.S. Virgin Islands[l] | United States | Caribbean | 111,000 | No (English-based creole language) |
English is a de facto official language edit
| Entity | Sovereign state | Region | Population[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbuda[citation needed] | Antigua and Barbuda | Caribbean | 1,300 |
| British Indian Ocean Territory[citation needed] | United Kingdom | Indian Ocean | 3,000 |
| Guernsey[m] | United Kingdom | Europe | 61,811 |
| Montserrat[1] | United Kingdom | Caribbean | 5,900 |
| Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha[3] | United Kingdom | South Atlantic | 5,660 |
English is a de facto official, but not a primary language edit
| Entity | Sovereign state | Region | Population[a] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas Island[n][1] | Australia | Southeast Asia | 1,508 |
| Cocos (Keeling) Islands[o][1] | Australia | Southeast Asia | 596 |
| Tokelau[41] | New Zealand | Oceania | 1,400 |
Country subdivisions edit
In these country subdivisions, English has de jure official status, but English is not official in their respective countries at the national level.
| Subdivision | Country | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Andrés y Providencia[42] | Colombia | South America | 75,167 |
| Sarawak[43][44][45] | Malaysia | Asia | 2,471,140 |
| Saba[46] | Netherlands | Caribbean | 1,991 |
| Sint Eustatius[46] | 3,897 | ||
| Scotland[47] | United Kingdom | Europe | 5,424,800 |
| Wales[48] | 3,125,000 | ||
| Alabama[49] | United States | North America | 4,833,722 |
| Alaska[50] | 735,132 | ||
| Arizona[51] | 6,626,624 | ||
| Arkansas[49] | 2,959,373 | ||
| California[49] | 38,332,521 | ||
| Colorado[49] | 5,268,367 | ||
| Florida[49] | 21,299,325 | ||
| Georgia[49] | 10,519,475 | ||
| Hawaii[49] | Oceania | 1,404,054 | |
| Idaho[49] | North America | 1,612,136 | |
| Illinois[49] | 12,882,135 | ||
| Indiana[49] | 6,570,902 | ||
| Iowa[49] | 3,090,416 | ||
| Kansas[49] | 2,893,957 | ||
| Kentucky[49] | 4,395,295 | ||
| Louisiana[49] | 4,657,757 | ||
| Massachusetts[52] | 6,794,422 | ||
| Mississippi[49] | 2,991,207 | ||
| Missouri[49] | 6,083,672 | ||
| Montana[49] | 1,015,165 | ||
| Nebraska[49] | 1,868,516 | ||
| New Hampshire[49] | 1,323,459 | ||
| North Carolina[49] | 9,848,060 | ||
| North Dakota[49] | 723,393 | ||
| Oklahoma[53] | 3,850,568 | ||
| South Carolina[49] | 4,774,839 | ||
| South Dakota[49] | 844,877 | ||
| Tennessee[49] | 6,495,978 | ||
| Utah[49] | 2,900,872 | ||
| Virginia[49] | 8,260,405 | ||
| West Virginia[54] | 1,844,128 | ||
| Wyoming[49] | 582,658 |
See also edit
Footnotes edit
- ^ a b c d e The population figures are based on the sources in List of countries by population, with information as of 23 January 2009[update] (UN estimates, et al.), and refer to the population of the country and not necessarily to the number of inhabitants that speak English in the country in question.
- ^ American Samoa is an unincorporated U.S. territory.
- ^ Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory.
- ^ a b The Cook Islands and Niue are associated states of New Zealand that lack general recognition.
- ^ Guam is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States
- ^ Hong Kong is a former British Crown colony (1843–1981) and British Dependent Territory (1981–1997); it is currently a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (1997–present).
- ^ The Isle of Man is a British Crown dependency.
- ^ Jersey is a British Crown dependency.
- ^ The Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the United States.
- ^ Pitcairn Islands is a British Overseas Territory.
- ^ Puerto Rico is, historically and culturally, connected to the Spanish-speaking Caribbean; Spanish is also an official language on the island. Puerto Rico is an unincorporated United States territory referred to as a "Commonwealth".
- ^ The US Virgin Islands is an insular area of the United States.
- ^ Guernsey is a British Crown dependency.
- ^ Christmas Island is an external territory of Australia.
- ^ Cocos (Keeling) Islands is an external territory of Australia.
References edit
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao Official language; . The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ . Government Information Service (Barbados). Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g English usage; . The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ "English is now official language of Burundi". IWACU English News. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
- ^ . Government Information Agency (Guyana). Archived from the original on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ N. Krishnaswamy; Lalitha Krishnaswamy (6 January 2006). "3.14 English Becomes a Second Language". The story of English in India. Foundation Books. ISBN 978-81-7596-312-2.
- ^ The Constitution
- ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-06. Retrieved 2013-01-02.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ The Constitution of Jamaica (section 20(6e) ? implicit)
- ^ Malawi Investment Promotion Agency (August 2005). . Government of Malawi. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ "Nauru". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2009-01-18. English and Nauruan are official.
- ^ "Country profile: Nigeria". BBC News. April 30, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
- ^ . Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ . BBC News. 2008-11-28. Archived from the original on December 15, 2002.
- ^ "Rwanda's Constitution of 2003 with Amendments through 2015" (PDF). constituteproject.org. Comparative Constitutions Project. p. 5-6. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
Article 8. National language and official languages The National language is Ikinyarwanda. The official languages are Ikinyarwanda, English and French
- ^ . Government of St Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis. Archived from the original on 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ . Agency for Public Information (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Archived from the original on 2010-11-12. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
- ^ . The Parliament of Samoa. Archived from the original on October 1, 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-18. Languages for official legislation are Samoan and English.
- ^ . Constitutional Court of South Africa. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
- ^ "The Constitution of Southern Sudan". Southern Sudan Civil Society Initiative. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
- ^ Kingdom of Tonga (March 2008). . Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-18. English and Tongan are listed as official.
- ^ "Constitution of Uganda" (PDF). ilo.org. International Labour Organization. p. 6. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
Article 6. Official Language (1) The official language of Uganda is English
- ^ . Government of the Republic of Vanuatu. 1980. Archived from the original on 2009-01-24. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
- ^ New Zealand Government (21 December 2007). (PDF) (Report). p. 89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
In addition to the Māori language, New Zealand Sign Language is also an official language of New Zealand. The New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006 permits the use of NZSL in legal proceedings, facilitates competency standards for its interpretation and guides government departments in its promotion and use. English, the medium for teaching and learning in most schools, is a de facto official language by virtue of its widespread use. For these reasons, these three languages have special mention in the New Zealand Curriculum.
- ^ Historical Evolution of English in Bangladesh (PDF). Mohammad Nurul Islam. 1 March 2019. pp. 9–. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ English has been the primary language of instruction for five decades in Bhutan, at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Dendup, Tashi and Angkana Onthanee. 2020. "Effectiveness of Cooperative Learning on English Communicative Ability of 4th Grade Students in Bhutan." International Journal of Instruction, v13 n1(Jan) p255-266. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1239314.pdf
- ^ Mouton De Gruyter (31 May 2011). Wei, Li: Applied Linguistics Review. 2011 2. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 100–. ISBN 978-3-11-023933-1. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
- ^ Spolsky, Bernard (1999). Round Table on Language and Linguistics. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. pp. 169–70. ISBN 0-87840-132-6.
In 1948, the newly independent state of Israel took over the old British regulations that had set English, Arabic, and Hebrew as official languages for Mandatory Palestine but, as mentioned, dropped English from the list. In spite of this, official language use has maintained a de facto role for English, after Hebrew but before Arabic.
- ^ Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot, Hava (2004). "Part I: Language and Discourse". In Diskin Ravid, Dorit; Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot, Hava (eds.). Perspectives on Language and Development: Essays in Honor of Ruth A. Berman. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 90. ISBN 1-4020-7911-7.
English is not considered official but it plays a dominant role in the educational and public life of Israeli society. [...] It is the language most widely used in commerce, business, formal papers, academia, and public interactions, public signs, road directions, names of buildings, etc. English behaves 'as if' it were the second and official language in Israel.
- ^ Shohamy, Elana (2006). Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches. Routledge. pp. 72?73. ISBN 0-415-32864-0.
In terms of English, there is no connection between the declared policies and statements and de facto practices. While English is not declared anywhere as an official language, the reality is that it has a very high and unique status in Israel. It is the main language of the academy, commerce, business, and the public space.
- ^ "National Language Act 1963/67". Act No. 32 of 1967 (PDF). Dewan Rakyat.
- ^ "The Constitution of the Republic of Mauritius".
- ^ Baker, Colin; Jones, Sylvia Prys (1998). Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. Multilingual Matters. p. 429. ISBN 978-1853593628.
- ^ English is a "De facto national working language, used in government." Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2013. "Sri Lanka." Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Seventeenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online edition: https://www.ethnologue.com/country/LK Accessed 30 March 2014.
- ^ Under the constitution of 1978, Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages of Sri Lanka, but English is "the link language." Any person is entitled "to receive communications from, and to communicate and transact business with, any official in his official capacity" in English, to receive an English translation of "any official register, record, publication or other document," and "to communicate and transact business in English." English translations must be made for "all laws and subordinate legislation," "all Orders, Proclamations, rules, by-laws, regulations and notifications." . 1978. Archived from the original on 2003-02-03. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ "Constitution of The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste" (PDF). The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 2023-06-20. Portuguese and Tetum are listed as official, English and Indonesia are listed as official working languages.
- ^ Hanani, Fatiha (December 2009). Impact of English on Young Arabs' Use of Arabic in the UAE (Master of Arts thesis). American University of Sharjah.
- ^ "LANDSVERORDENING van de 28ste maart 2007 houdende vaststelling van de officiele talen (Landsverordening officiele talen)" (in Dutch). Government of the Netherlands. Retrieved 21 August 2013.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Official Languages Ordinance (Cap. 5) § 3(1)
- ^ According to Art. 1 para 2. Constitution of Sint Maarten 2014-03-10 at the Wayback Machine: "The official languages are Dutch and English"
- ^ . Commonwealth Secretariat. Archived from the original on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
- ^ "Consulta de la Norma". alcaldiabogota.gov.co.
- ^ "Sarawak makes English official language along with BM". themalaymailonline.com. 2 September 2022.
- ^ . BorneoPost Online - Borneo, Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
- ^ "Sarawak adopts English as official language". thesundaily.my.
- ^ a b English can be used in relations with the government
"Invoeringswet openbare lichamen Bonaire, Sint Eustatius en Saba" (in Dutch). wetten.nl. Retrieved 2012-10-14. - ^ Scottish Government. "Scottish Facts and Information". Scotland.org. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ National Assembly for Wales (2012). "National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Act 2012". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Crawford, James (June 24, 2008). "Language Legislation in the U.S.A." languagepolicy.net. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
- ^ "Alaska Supreme Court Upholds State's Official English Law". Business Wire. November 5, 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
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- ^ . Archived from the original on 2016-03-20. Retrieved 2016-03-18.
- ^ Slipke, Darla (November 3, 2010). "Oklahoma elections: Republican-backed measures win approval". NewsOK. The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
- ^ "West Virginia is the 32nd State to pass Official English". Pro English. March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2017.