Detailed demographic statistics published last July by the PRB (Population Reference Bureau) show that the French-speaking world now has 536 million inhabitants. An increase essentially due to French-speaking Africa.

The population of the French-speaking world, which had reached the 500 million inhabitants mark at the end of 2018, can be estimated at 536.1 million on January 1, 2022. That is an increase of nearly 2.3% over one year (524.1 million at the start of 2021). This is more than the populations of the European Union and the United Kingdom (515 million). This estimate corresponds to the population of the French-speaking world in its strictest and most serious geographical definition, which only takes into account truly French-speaking countries and territories, in which the population is in daily contact with the French language, and where the we can “live in French”.

A group which brings together 33 countries spread over four continents, and which therefore does not include the non-French-speaking parts of countries such as Belgium, Switzerland or Canada, as well as a certain number of full member countries of the Organization Francophonie (OIF), but do not meet the necessary criteria to be considered as French-speaking (such as Lebanon, Romania or Guinea-Bissau).