List of territorial entities where English is an official language
Wikimedia list article
The following is a list of territories where English is an official language. As of 2019, there were 55 sovereign states and 27 non-sovereign states where English was an official language.
Co-official as minority language
Overview
British Empire
Most countries where English is a prominent or official language are former colonies of the British Empire. Notable exceptions include Rwanda, which was a former Belgian colony, and Eritrea, which was an Italian colony where the British Empire controlled it only in World War II and shortly after (1941–1952).
English is the sole official language of the Commonwealth of Nations and the Commonwealth Games.
International organizations
English is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union and the International Olympic Committee.
United States
Although English is not classified as an official language in the United States. Instead, many states and regions within the U.S. do have English as an official language.
India
India's linguistic picture is complex. According to the Constitution of India, "Hindi in the Devanagari script" is the official language of the union;[1] and English the 'subsidiary official language';[2] however, English must be used for the official texts of all federal laws and Supreme Court decisions (with Hindi). It is one of the two languages of the Indian Parliament. English is taught in schools. The quality and effectiveness of the teaching is very varied.[3] English is used almost exclusively for higher education.
Pakistan
The situation of Pakistan is also complex. While the national language is Urdu, English is an official language and used in business, government and law.[4]
Sovereign states
| Country | Region | Population | Primary language? |
|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | Oceania | 25,019,600 | Yes |
 New Zealand[5] | Oceania | 4,893,830 | Yes |
 United Kingdom | Europe | 66,040,229 | Yes |
 United States | North America | 325,719,178 | Yes |
| Country | Region | Population1 | Primary language? |
|---|---|---|---|
 Antigua and Barbuda[6] | Caribbean | 85,000 | Yes |
 Bahamas[6] | Caribbean | 331,000 | Yes |
 Barbados[7] | Caribbean | 294,000 | Yes |
 Belize[8] | Central America | 288,000 | Yes |
 Botswana[8] | Africa | 1,882,000 | No |
 Burundi[9] | Africa | 10,114,505 | No |
 Cameroon[6] | Africa | 22,534,532 | No |
 Canada[6] | North America | 35,985,751 | Yes (except Quebec, northern New Brunswick and Nunavut) |
 Cook Islands14[6] | Oceania | 20,000 | Yes |
 Dominica[6] | Caribbean | 73,000 | Yes |
 Eswatini[6] | Africa | 1,141,000 | No |
 Fiji[6] | Oceania | 828,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca, mostly and widely spoken, educational, commerce, and government) |
 The Gambia[6] | Africa | 1,709,000 | No |
 Ghana[6] | Africa | 27,000,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca) |
 Grenada[6] | Caribbean | 111,000 | Yes (except for small French Creole population) |
 Guyana[10] | South America | 738,000 | Yes |
 India[8][11] | Asia | 1,247,540,000 | No (but official and educational) |
 Ireland[12][13] | Europe | 4,900,000 | Yes (Irish is co-official) |
 Jamaica[14] | Caribbean | 2,714,000 | Yes |
 Kenya[6] | Africa | 45,010,056 | Yes (in business and education) |
 Kiribati[6] | Oceania | 95,000 | No |
 Lesotho[6] | Africa | 2,008,000 | No |
 Liberia[6] | Africa | 3,750,000 | Yes |
 Malawi[15] | Africa | 16,407,000 | No |
 Malta[6] | Europe | 430,000 | No (but official and educational) |
 Marshall Islands[6] | Oceania | 59,000 | No |
 Mauritius[6] | Africa / Indian Ocean | 1,262,000 | No |
 Federated States of Micronesia[6] | Oceania | 110,000 | No |
 Namibia[6] | Africa | 2,074,000 | No (used as lingua franca) |
 Nauru[16] | Oceania | 10,000 | No |
 Nigeria[6][17] | Africa | 182,202,000 | Yes (used as lingua franca) |
 Niue14[6] | Oceania | 1,600 | No |
 Pakistan[6] | Asia | 199,085,847 | No (but official and educational) |
 Palau[8] | Oceania | 20,000 | No |
 Papua New Guinea[18][19] | Oceania | 7,059,653 | No |
 Philippines[6][20] | Asia | 102,885,100 | No (but official and educational) |
 Rwanda[6] | Africa | 11,262,564 | No (but official and educational) |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis[21] | Caribbean | 50,000 | Yes |
 Saint Lucia[6] | Caribbean | 165,000 | Yes |
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[22] | Caribbean | 120,000 | Yes |
 Samoa[23] | Oceania | 188,000 | No |
 Seychelles[6] | Africa / Indian Ocean | 87,000 | No |
 Sierra Leone[6] | Africa | 6,190,280 | Yes |
 Singapore[24] | Asia | 5,469,700[25] | Yes (used as lingua franca, mostly and widely spoken, and educational) |
 Solomon Islands[6] | Oceania | 507,000 | No |
 South Africa[26] | Africa | 54,956,900 | No (but official, educational and lingua franca in formal economy ) |
 South Sudan[27] | Africa | 12,340,000 | No |
 Sudan[6] | Africa | 40,235,000 | No |
 Tanzania[6] | Africa | 51,820,000 | No |
 Tonga[28] | Oceania | 100,000 | No |
 Trinidad and Tobago[6] | Caribbean | 1,333,000 | Yes |
 Tuvalu[8] | Oceania | 11,000 | No |
 Uganda[6] | Africa | 37,873,253 | No (official and educational)[29] |
 Vanuatu[30] | Oceania | 226,000 | No |
 Zambia[6] | Africa | 16,212,000 | No |
 Zimbabwe[6] | Africa | 13,061,239 | No (used as lingua franca) |
| Country | Region | Population1 |
|---|---|---|
 Bahrain[31][32] | Asia / Middle East | 1,378,000 |
 Bangladesh[33] | Asia | 150,039,000 |
 Brunei[34][35] | Asia | 415,717 |
 Cyprus[36] | Europe, Asia / Middle East | 1,141,166 |
 Eritrea[6] | Africa | 6,234,000 |
 Ethiopia[6] | Africa | 85,000,000 |
 Greenland | North America | 56,367 |
 Iceland | Europe | 366,425 |
 Israel[37][38][39] | Asia / Middle East | 8,051,200 |
 Jordan[40] | Asia / Middle East | 9,882,401 |
 Kuwait[41] | Asia / Middle East | 4,348,395 |
 Malaysia[42] | Asia | 30,018,242 |
 Maldives[43] | Asia | 427,756 |
 Myanmar[44] | Asia | 51,486,253 |
 Qatar[45] | Asia / Middle East | 2,675,522 |
 Sri Lanka[46][47] | Asia | 20,277,597 |
 United Arab Emirates[48] | 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 | No |
 Anguilla[6] | Caribbean | 13,101 | Yes |
 Bermuda9[6] | North America | 65,000 | Yes |
 British Virgin Islands[6] | Caribbean | 23,000 | Yes |
 Cayman Islands[8] | Caribbean | 47,000 | Yes |
 Curaçao[49] | Caribbean | 150,563 | No |
 Falkland Islands | South Atlantic | 3,000 | Yes |
 Gibraltar[6] | Europe | 33,000 | No |
 Guam4 | Oceania | 173,000 | No (<50% of population) |
 Hong Kong2[6] | Asia | 7,097,600 | No (Cantonese mostly spoken) |
 Isle of Man8 | Europe | 80,058 | Yes |
 Jersey6[6] | Europe | 89,300 | Yes |
 Norfolk Island[6] | Australia | 1,828 | Yes |
 Northern Mariana Islands7 | Oceania | 53,883 | No |
 Pitcairn Islands13[6] | Oceania | 50 | Yes |
 Puerto Rico3 | Caribbean | 3,991,000 | No (Spanish is the primary language) |
 Sint Maarten[50] | Caribbean | 40,900 | Yes |
 Turks and Caicos Islands[6] | 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[6] | Caribbean | 5,900 |
| Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha[8] | South Atlantic | 5,660 |
| Entity | Region | Population1 |
|---|---|---|
 Christmas Island12[6] | Australia | 1,508 |
 Cocos (Keeling) Islands16[6] | Australia | 596 |
 Tokelau[51] | Oceania | 1,400 |
Country subdivisions
In these country subdivisions, English has de jure official status, but English is not official in their relevant countries at the national level.
Related pages
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.).
- ^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 are not really known.
- ^16 Cocos (Keeling) Islands is an external territory of Australia
References
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