List of territorial entities where English is an official language
The following is a list of territories where English is an official language—that is, a language used in citizen interactions with government officials. As of 2019, there were 55 sovereign states and 27 non-sovereign entities where English was an official language. Many country subdivisions have declared English an official language at the local or regional level.
Most states where English is an official language are former territories of the British Empire. Exceptions include Rwanda, which was formerly a German and then Belgian territory; 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, NAFTA, 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.
Sovereign states
Nr | Country | Alpha-3 code | Region | Population | Primary language? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Australia | AUS | Oceania | 25,019,600 | Yes |
2 | New Zealand[1] | NZL | Oceania | 4,893,830 | Yes |
3 | United Kingdom | GBR | Europe | 66,040,229 | Yes |
4 | United States | USA | North America/Oceania | 328,239,523 | Yes |
Nr | Country | Alpha-3 code | Region | Population1 | Primary language? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Antigua and Barbuda[2] | ATG | Caribbean | 85,000 | Yes |
2 | Bahamas[2] | BHS | Caribbean | 331,000 | Yes |
3 | Barbados[3] | BRB | Caribbean | 294,000 | Yes |
4 | Belize[4] | BLZ | Central America | 288,000 | Yes |
5 | Botswana[4] | BWA | Africa | 1,882,000 | No |
6 | Burundi[5] | BDI | Africa | 10,114,505 | No |
7 | Cameroon[2] | CMR | Africa | 22,534,532 | No |
8 | Canada[2] | CAN | North America | 35,985,751 | Yes (except Quebec, northern New Brunswick) |
9 | Dominica[2] | DMA | Caribbean | 73,000 | Yes |
10 | Eswatini[2] | SWZ | Africa | 1,141,000 | No |
11 | Fiji[2] | FJI | Oceania | 828,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca, mostly and widely spoken, educational, commerce, and government) |
12 | Gambia[2] | GMB | Africa | 1,709,000 | No |
13 | Ghana[2] | GHA | Africa | 27,000,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca) |
14 | Grenada[2] | GRD | Caribbean | 111,000 | Yes (except for small French Creole population) |
15 | Guyana[6] | GUY | South America | 738,000 | Yes |
16 | India[4][7] | IND | Asia | 1,247,540,000 | No (but official and educational) |
17 | Ireland[8][9] | IRL | Europe | 4,900,000 | Yes (Irish is co-official) |
18 | Jamaica[10] | JAM | Caribbean | 2,714,000 | Yes |
19 | Kenya[2] | KEN | Africa | 45,010,056 | Yes (in business and education) |
20 | Kiribati[2] | KIR | Oceania | 95,000 | No |
21 | Lesotho[2] | LSO | Africa | 2,008,000 | No |
22 | Liberia[2] | LBR | Africa | 3,750,000 | Yes |
23 | Malawi[11] | MWI | Africa | 16,407,000 | No |
24 | Malta[2] | MLT | Europe | 430,000 | No (but official and in business / education) |
25 | Marshall Islands[2] | MHL | Oceania | 59,000 | No |
26 | Mauritius[2] | MUS | Africa / Indian Ocean | 1,262,000 | No |
27 | Micronesia[2] | FSM | Oceania | 110,000 | No |
28 | Namibia[2] | NAM | Africa | 2,074,000 | No (used as lingua franca) |
29 | Nauru[12] | NRU | Oceania | 10,000 | No (but widely spoken) |
30 | Nigeria[2][13] | NGA | Africa | 182,202,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca) |
31 | Pakistan[2] | PAK | Asia | 212,742,631 | No (but official and educational) |
32 | Palau[4] | PLW | Oceania | 20,000 | No |
33 | Papua New Guinea[14][15] | PNG | Oceania | 7,059,653 | Yes |
34 | Philippines[2][16]17 | PHL | Asia | 102,885,100 | No (but official and educational) |
35 | Rwanda[2] | RWA | Africa | 11,262,564 | No (but official and educational) |
36 | Saint Kitts and Nevis[17] | KNA | Caribbean | 50,000 | Yes |
37 | Saint Lucia[2] | LCA | Caribbean | 165,000 | Yes |
38 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[18] | VCT | Caribbean | 120,000 | Yes |
39 | Samoa[19] | WSM | Oceania | 188,000 | No |
40 | Seychelles[2] | SYC | Africa / Indian Ocean | 87,000 | No |
41 | Sierra Leone[2] | SLE | Africa | 6,190,280 | Yes |
42 | Singapore[20] | SGP | Asia | 5,469,700[21] | Yes (used as lingua franca, mostly and widely spoken, as well as in commerce, educational, government and law) |
43 | Solomon Islands[2] | SLB | Oceania | 507,000 | No |
44 | South Africa[22] | ZAF | Africa | 54,956,900 | Yes (and official, educational and lingua franca in formal economy) |
45 | South Sudan[23] | SSD | Africa | 12,340,000 | No |
46 | Sudan[2] | SDN | Africa | 40,235,000 | No |
47 | Tanzania[2] | TZA | Africa | 51,820,000 | No |
48 | Tonga[24] | TON | Oceania | 100,000 | No |
49 | Trinidad and Tobago[2] | TTO | Caribbean | 1,333,000 | Yes |
50 | Tuvalu[4] | TUV | Oceania | 11,000 | No |
51 | Uganda[2] | UGA | Africa | 37,873,253 | No (but official and educational)[25] |
52 | Vanuatu[26] | VUT | Oceania | 226,000 | No |
53 | Zambia[2] | ZMB | Africa | 16,212,000 | No |
54 | Zimbabwe[2] | ZWE | Africa | 13,061,239 | No (used as lingua franca) |
Nr | Country | Region | Population1 |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Bahrain[27][28] | Asia / Middle East | 1,378,000 |
2 | Bangladesh[29] | Asia | 150,039,000 |
3 | Brunei[30] | Asia | 415,717 |
4 | Cambodia[31] | Asia | 15,288,489 |
5 | Cyprus[32] | Asia / Middle East | 1,141,166 |
6 | Eritrea[2] | Africa | 6,234,000 |
7 | Ethiopia[2] | Africa | 85,000,000 |
8 | Israel[33][34][35] | Asia / Middle East | 8,051,200 |
9 | Jordan[36] | Asia / Middle East | 9,882,401 |
10 | Kuwait[37] | Asia / Middle East | 4,348,395 |
11 | Malaysia[38] | Asia | 30,018,242 |
12 | Maldives[39] | Asia | 427,756 |
13 | Myanmar[40] | Asia | 51,486,253 |
14 | Oman[41] | Asia / Middle East | 4,424,762 |
15 | Qatar[42] | Asia / Middle East | 2,675,522 |
16 | Sri Lanka[43][44] | Asia | 20,277,597 |
17 | United Arab Emirates[45] | Asia / Middle East | 5,779,760 |
Non-sovereign entities
Entity | Region | Population1 | Primary language? |
---|---|---|---|
Akrotiri and Dhekelia | Europe | 15,700 | No |
American Samoa11 | Oceania | 67,700 | Yes (along with Samoan) |
Anguilla[2] | Caribbean | 18,090 | Yes |
Bermuda9[2] | North America | 65,000 | Yes |
British Virgin Islands[2] | Caribbean | 23,000 | Yes |
Cayman Islands[4] | Caribbean | 47,000 | Yes |
Cook Islands[2]14 | Oceania | 20,000 | Yes |
Curaçao[46] | Caribbean | 150,563 | No |
Falkland Islands | South Atlantic | 3,000 | Yes |
Gibraltar[2] | Europe | 33,000 | Yes |
Guam4 | Oceania | 173,000 | Yes |
Hong Kong2[2] | Asia | 7,097,600 | No (but de jure and de facto co-official with Chinese[47]) |
Isle of Man8 | Europe | 80,058 | Yes |
Jersey6[2] | Europe | 89,300 | Yes |
Niue[2]14 | Oceania | 1,600 | No |
Norfolk Island[2] | Australia | 1,828 | Yes |
Northern Mariana Islands7 | Oceania | 53,883 | No |
Pitcairn Islands13[2] | Oceania | 50 | Yes |
Puerto Rico3 | Caribbean | 3,991,000 | No (co-official with Spanish as the primary language) |
Rotuma | Oceania | 1,594 | No |
Sint Maarten[48] | Caribbean | 40,900 | Yes |
Turks and Caicos Islands[2] | Caribbean | 26,000 | Yes |
U.S. Virgin Islands5 | Caribbean | 111,000 | Yes |
Entity | Region | Population1 |
---|---|---|
British Indian Ocean Territory | Indian Ocean | 3,000 |
Guernsey10 | Europe | 61,811 |
Montserrat[2] | Caribbean | 5,900 |
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha[4] | South Atlantic | 5,660 |
Entity | Region | Population1 |
---|---|---|
Christmas Island12[2] | Australia | 1,508 |
Cocos (Keeling) Islands16[2] | Australia | 596 |
Macau[49] | Asia | 696,100 |
Tokelau[50] | Oceania | 1,400 |
Country subdivisions
In these country subdivisions, English has de jure official status, but English is not official in their respective countries at the national level.
See also
Footnotes
- ^1 The population figures are based on the sources in List of countries by population, with information as of 23 January 2009 (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.
- ^2 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)
- ^3 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"
- ^4 Guam is an organized unincorporated territory of the United States
- ^5 The US Virgin Islands is an insular area of the United States
- ^6 Jersey is a British Crown dependency
- ^7 The Northern Mariana Islands is a commonwealth in political union with the United States
- ^8 Isle of Man is a British Crown dependency
- ^9 Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory
- ^10 Guernsey is a British Crown dependency
- ^11 American Samoa is an unincorporated U.S. territory
- ^12 Christmas Island is an external territory of Australia
- ^13 Pitcairn Islands is a British Overseas Territory
- ^14 The Cook Islands and Niue are associated states of New Zealand that lack general recognition.
- ^16 Cocos (Keeling) Islands is an external territory of Australia
References
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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.
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- "[T]eaching of English continued in primary, secondary and tertiary level not because it was the official language but it became the language of trade and commerce. Over the years, the prominence of English continued to rise. ... English language is dominantly present in every side of our national life while on the other hand in our constitution it is clearly declared that the language of the country is Bengali. In fact, nothing is said about the status of English language in our constitution. On one hand, economic activities in the private companies are carried out in English while there is a government law (Bengali procholon ain1987) that government offices must use Bengali in their official works. So from the government point of view Bengali is the national-official language of Bangladesh and English is the most important foreign language. But in reality English is the second language of the country and in many places English is more important than Bengali in Bangladesh." https://www.scribd.com/doc/53272796/Sucess-of-English-language-in-Bangladesh-rec
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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.
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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.
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- Spanish Wikipedia - Región autónoma de la Costa Caribe Sur
- 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. - "Consulta de la Norma". alcaldiabogota.gov.co.
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