List of countries and territories where English is an official language
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] [citation needed Many administrative divisions have declared English an official language at the local or regional level.
English language distribution 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 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 de facto [citation needed
Sovereign states English is a de jure official language 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 1,428,627,663 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 537,000 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 Yes (used in business and education) 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 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.
English is a de facto working language In these countries, English is spoken in government or education, but it is not recognised 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 English is a de jure official language English is a de facto official language English is a de facto official, but not a primary language 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 References 
