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List of countries and territories where English is an official language facts for kids

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English language distribution
English language distribution      Majority native language      Official or administrative language, but not native 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, there were 58 sovereign states and 28 non-sovereign entities where English was an official language. Many administrative divisions 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 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.

Sovereign states

English is a de jure official language

Country code Geographic region Population Primary language?
Antigua and Barbuda ATG Caribbean 85,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
The Bahamas BHS Caribbean 331,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
Barbados BRB Caribbean 294,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
Belize BLZ Central America 288,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
Botswana BWA Africa 1,882,000 Yes
Burundi BDI Africa 10,114,505 No
Cameroon 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 DMA Caribbean 73,000 Yes (French-based creole language)
Eswatini SWZ Africa 1,141,000 No
Fiji FJI Oceania 828,000 Yes (used as lingua franca, mostly and widely spoken, educational, commerce, and government)
The Gambia GMB Africa 1,709,000 Yes
Ghana GHA Africa 27,000,000 Yes (used as lingua franca)
Grenada GRD Caribbean 111,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
Guyana GUY South America 738,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
India IND Asia 1,393,500,000 No (but official and educational)
Ireland IRL Europe 4,900,000 Yes (Irish is co-official)
Jamaica JAM Caribbean 2,714,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
Kenya KEN Africa 45,010,056 Yes (used in business and education)
Kiribati KIR Oceania 95,000 No
Lesotho LSO Africa 2,008,000 No
Liberia LBR Africa 3,750,000 Yes
Malawi MWI Africa 16,407,000 Yes (used as lingua franca)
Malta MLT Europe 537,000 No (but official and in business / education)
Marshall Islands MHL Oceania 59,000 No
Micronesia FSM Oceania 110,000 Yes
Namibia NAM Africa 2,074,000 No (used as lingua franca)
Nauru NRU Oceania 10,000 No (but widely spoken)
Nigeria NGA Africa 182,202,000 Yes (used as official language)
Pakistan PAK Asia 212,742,631 No (but official and educational)
Palau PLW Oceania 20,000 No
Papua New Guinea 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 RWA Africa 13,240,439 No
Saint Kitts and Nevis KNA Caribbean 50,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
Saint Lucia LCA Caribbean 165,000 Yes (French-based creole language)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines VCT Caribbean 120,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
Samoa WSM Oceania 188,000 No
Seychelles SYC Africa / Indian Ocean 87,000 No
Sierra Leone 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 SLB Oceania 507,000 Yes
South Africa ZAF Africa 54,956,900 Yes (official, educational and lingua franca in formal economy)
South Sudan SSD Africa 12,340,000 Yes
Sudan SDN Africa 40,235,000 No
Tanzania TZA Africa 51,820,000 Yes (used in business and education)
Tonga TON Oceania 100,000 No
Trinidad and Tobago TTO Caribbean 1,333,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
Tuvalu TUV Oceania 11,000 No
Uganda UGA Africa 47,053,690 Yes
Vanuatu VUT Oceania 226,000 No
Zambia ZMB Africa 16,212,000 Yes (used as lingua franca)
Zimbabwe 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.

Country ISO code Geographic region Population Primary language?
Australia AUS Oceania 26,461,166 Yes
New Zealand NZL Oceania 5,109,702 Yes
United Kingdom GBR Europe 68,138,484 Yes
United States USA North America 339,665,118 Yes

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
Bangladesh BAN Asia 172,954,319
Bhutan BTN Asia 727,145
Brunei BRN Asia 440,715
Israel ISR Asia / Middle East 8,051,200
Malaysia MYS Asia 32,730,000
Mauritius MUS Africa / Indian Ocean 1,262,000
Qatar QAT Asia / Middle East 2,675,522
Sri Lanka LKA Asia 20,277,597
Timor-Leste TLS Asia 1,340,513
United Arab Emirates ARE Asia / Middle East 9,809,000

Non-sovereign entities

English is a de jure official language

Entity Sovereign state Region Population Primary language?
Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus United Kingdom Europe 15,700 No
American Samoa United States Oceania 67,700 No (official language)
Anguilla United Kingdom Caribbean 18,090 No (English-based creole language)
Bermuda United Kingdom North America 65,000 Yes
British Virgin Islands United Kingdom Caribbean 23,000 No (English-based creole language)
Cayman Islands United Kingdom Caribbean 47,000 Yes (English-based creole language)
Cook Islands New Zealand Oceania 20,000 No
Curaçao Netherlands Caribbean 150,563 No
Falkland Islands and South Georgia United Kingdom South America 3,000 Yes
Gibraltar United Kingdom Europe 33,000 No (Both English and Llanito are spoken on a daily basis as the primary languages)
Guam United States Oceania 173,000 Yes (co-official with Chamorro)
Hong Kong China Asia 7,097,600 No (but de jure and de facto co-official with Chinese)
Isle of Man United Kingdom Europe 80,058 Yes
Jersey United Kingdom Europe 89,300 Yes
Niue New Zealand Oceania 1,600 No
Norfolk Island Australia Oceania 1,828 No (English-based creole language)
Northern Mariana Islands United States Oceania 53,883 Yes (co-official with Chamorro)
Pitcairn Islands United Kingdom Oceania 50 Yes
Puerto Rico United States Caribbean 3,991,000 No (co-official with Spanish as the primary language)
Rotuma Fiji Oceania 1,594 No
Sint Maarten Netherlands Caribbean 40,900 No (English-based creole language)
Turks and Caicos Islands United Kingdom Caribbean 26,000 No (English-based creole language)
U.S. Virgin Islands United States Caribbean 111,000 No (English-based creole language)

English is a de facto official language

Entity Sovereign state Region Population
Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda Caribbean 1,300
British Indian Ocean Territory United Kingdom Indian Ocean 3,000
Guernsey United Kingdom Europe 61,811
Montserrat United Kingdom Caribbean 5,900
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha United Kingdom South Atlantic 5,660

English is a de facto official, but not a primary language

Entity Sovereign state Region Population
Christmas Island Australia Southeast Asia 1,508
Cocos (Keeling) Islands Australia Southeast Asia 596
Tokelau New Zealand 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.

Country subdivisions where English is a de jure official language
Subdivision Country Region Population
San Andrés y Providencia Colombia South America 75,167
Sarawak Malaysia Asia 2,471,140
Saba Netherlands Caribbean 1,991
Sint Eustatius 3,897
Scotland United Kingdom Europe 5,424,800
Wales 3,125,000
Alabama United States North America 4,833,722
Alaska 735,132
Arizona 6,626,624
Arkansas 2,959,373
California 38,332,521
Colorado 5,268,367
Florida 21,299,325
Georgia 10,519,475
Hawaii Oceania 1,404,054
Idaho North America 1,612,136
Illinois 12,882,135
Indiana 6,570,902
Iowa 3,090,416
Kansas 2,893,957
Kentucky 4,395,295
Louisiana 4,657,757
Massachusetts 6,794,422
Mississippi 2,991,207
Missouri 6,083,672
Montana 1,015,165
Nebraska 1,868,516
New Hampshire 1,323,459
North Carolina 9,848,060
North Dakota 723,393
Oklahoma 3,850,568
South Carolina 4,774,839
South Dakota 844,877
Tennessee 6,495,978
Utah 2,900,872
Virginia 8,260,405
West Virginia 1,844,128
Wyoming 582,658

See also

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