List of territorial entities where English is an official language

Nations in which English is an official language (de facto or de jure). Anglosphere countries are those where English is the main native language.

  Anglosphere

  Official as majority language

  Official as minority language

  Co-official as majority language

  Co-official as minority language

  Unofficial

  Not official as majority language

  Not official as minority language

All areas of the world that were ever part of the British Empire. Current British Overseas Territories have their names underlined in red.

The following is a list of territories where English is an official language, that is, a language used in citizen interactions with government officials. In 2015, there were 67 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.

The majority of countries where English is an official language are former territories of the British Empire. Notable exceptions include Rwanda, which was formerly a Belgian colony, and Eritrea, which was an Italian colony where the British Empire maintained control only in World War II and shortly after (1941–1952). English is the sole official language of the Commonwealth of Nations. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations, the European Union and the International Olympic Committee. Although English is not an official language at the national level in the United States, many states and territories within the United States have English as an official language.

Sovereign states

Countries where English is a de jure official language

Country	Region	Population^1	Primary language?
Antigua and Barbuda[1]	Caribbean	85,000	Yes
Bahamas[1]	Caribbean	331,000	Yes
Barbados[2]	Caribbean	294,000	Yes
Belize[3]	Central America / Caribbean	288,000	Yes
Botswana [3]	Africa	1,882,000	No
Cameroon[1]	Africa	22,534,532	No
Canada[1]	North America	35,985,751	Yes (ex. Quebec, parts of New Brunswick)
Cook Islands^14[1]	Oceania	20,000	Yes
Dominica[1]	Caribbean	73,000	Yes
Federated States of Micronesia[1]	Oceania	111,000	No
Fiji[1]	Oceania	828,000	No
Gambia[1]	Africa	1,709,000	No
Ghana[1]	Africa	27,000,000	No (used as lingua franca)
Grenada[1]	Caribbean	106,000	Yes
Guyana[4]	South America / Caribbean	738,000	Yes
India[3][5]	Asia	1,247,540,000	No (but official and educational)
Ireland[6][7]	Europe	4,581,000	Yes
Jamaica[8]	Caribbean	2,714,000	Yes
Kenya[1]	Africa	45,010,056	No (used in business and education)
Kiribati[1]	Oceania	95,000	No
Lesotho[1]	Africa	2,008,000	No
Liberia[1]	Africa	3,750,000	No
Malawi[9]	Africa	16,407,000	No
Malta[1]	Europe	430,000	No (but official and educational)
Marshall Islands[1]	Oceania	59,000	No
Namibia[1]	Africa	2,074,000	No (used as lingua franca)
Nauru[10]	Oceania	10,000	No
Nigeria[1][11]	Africa	182,202,000	No (used as lingua franca)
Niue^14[1]	Oceania	1,600	No
Pakistan[1]	Asia	199,085,847	No (but official and educational)
Palau[3]	Oceania	20,000	No
Papua New Guinea[12][13]	Oceania	7,059,653	No
Philippines[1][14]	Asia	102,885,100	No (but official and educational)
Rwanda[1]	Africa	11,262,564	No (international use)
Saint Kitts and Nevis[15]	Caribbean	50,000	Yes
Saint Lucia[1]	Caribbean	165,000	No (French-based creole used here)
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines[16]	Caribbean	120,000	Yes
Samoa[17]	Oceania	188,000	No
Seychelles[1]	Africa / Indian Ocean	87,000	No
Sierra Leone[1]	Africa	6,190,280	No
Singapore[18]	Asia	5,469,700[19]	Yes
Solomon Islands[1]	Oceania	507,000	No
South Africa[20]	Africa	54,956,900	No (but does contain a minority of native English-speakers)
South Sudan[21]	Africa	12,340,000	No
Sudan[1]	Africa	40,235,000	No
Swaziland[1]	Africa	1,141,000	No
Tanzania[1]	Africa	51,820,000	No
Tonga[22]	Oceania	100,000	No
Trinidad and Tobago[1]	Caribbean	1,333,000	Yes
Tuvalu[3]	Oceania	11,000	No
Uganda[1]	Africa	37,873,253	No (official and educated)[23]
Vanuatu[24]	Oceania	226,000	No
Zambia[1]	Africa	16,212,000	No
Zimbabwe[1]	Africa	13,061,239	No (used as lingua franca)

Countries where English is a de facto official language

Country	Region	Population	Primary language?
Australia	Oceania	23,520,000	Yes
New Zealand[25]	Oceania	4,294,000	Yes
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	Europe	63,705,000	Yes
United States of America	North America	318,224,000	Yes

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

Country	Region	Population^1
Bangladesh[26]	Asia	150,039,000
Brunei[27][28]	Asia	415,717
Eritrea[1]	Africa	6,234,000
Ethiopia[1]	Africa	85,000,000
Israel[29][30][31]	Asia / Middle East	8,051,200
Malaysia[32]	Asia	30,018,242
Sri Lanka[33][34]	Asia	20,277,597

Non-sovereign entities

Non-sovereign entities where English is a de jure official language

Entity	Region	Population^1
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	Europe	15,700
American Samoa^11	Oceania	67,700
Anguilla[1]	Caribbean	13,101
Bermuda^9[1]	North America	65,000
British Virgin Islands[1]	Caribbean	23,000
Cayman Islands[3]	Caribbean	47,000
Christmas Island^12[1]	Australia	1,508
Curaçao[35]	Caribbean	150,563
Falkland Islands	South Atlantic	3,000
Gibraltar[1]	Europe	29,257
Guam^4	Oceania	173,000
Hong Kong^2[1]	Asia	7,097,600
Isle of Man^8	Europe	80,058
Jersey^6[1]	Europe	89,300
Norfolk Island[1]	Australia	1,828
Northern Mariana Islands^7	Oceania	53,883
Pitcairn Islands^13[1]	Oceania	50
Puerto Rico^3	Caribbean	3,991,000
Sint Maarten[36]	Caribbean	40,900
Turks and Caicos Islands[1]	Caribbean	26,000
U.S. Virgin Islands^5	Caribbean	111,000

Non-sovereign entities where English is a de facto official language

Entity	Region	Population^1
British Indian Ocean Territory	Indian Ocean	3,000
Guernsey^10	Europe	61,811
Montserrat[1]	Caribbean	5,900
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha[3]	South Atlantic	5,660

Non-sovereign entities where English is a de facto official, but not primary, language

Entity	Region	Population^1
Cocos (Keeling) Islands[1]	Australia	596
Tokelau[37]	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
Alabama[38]	United States	North America	4,833,722
Alaska[39]	United States	North America	735,132
Arizona[40]	United States	North America	6,626,624
Arkansas[38]	United States	North America	2,959,373
California[38]	United States	North America	38,332,521
Colorado[38]	United States	North America	5,268,367
Florida[38]	United States	North America	19,552,860
Georgia[38]	United States	North America	9,992,167
Hawaii[38]	United States	Oceania	1,404,054
Idaho[38]	United States	North America	1,612,136
Illinois[38]	United States	North America	12,882,135
Indiana[38]	United States	North America	6,570,902
Iowa[38]	United States	North America	3,090,416
Kansas[38]	United States	North America	2,893,957
Kentucky[38]	United States	North America	4,395,295
Louisiana[41]	United States	North America	4,670,724
Massachusetts[41]	United States	North America	6,794,422
Mississippi[38]	United States	North America	2,991,207
Missouri[38]	United States	North America	6,083,672
Montana[38]	United States	North America	1,015,165
Nebraska[38]	United States	North America	1,868,516
New Hampshire[38]	United States	North America	1,323,459
North Carolina[38]	United States	North America	9,848,060
North Dakota[38]	United States	North America	723,393
Oklahoma[42]	United States	North America	3,850,568
Saba[43]	Netherlands	Caribbean	1,991
San Andrés y Providencia[44]	Colombia	South America	75,167
Sarawak[45][46][47]	Malaysia	Asia	2,471,140
Scotland[48]	United Kingdom	Europe	5,313,600
Sint Eustatius[43]	Netherlands	Caribbean	3,897
South Carolina[38]	United States	North America	4,774,839
South Dakota[38]	United States	North America	844,877
Tennessee[38]	United States	North America	6,495,978
Utah[38]	United States	North America	2,900,872
Virginia[38]	United States	North America	8,260,405
Wales[49]	United Kingdom	Europe	3,063,456
West Virginia[50]	United States	North America	1,844,128
Wyoming[38]	United States	North America	582,658

See also

• Anglo-America
• Commonwealth of Nations
  • English in the Commonwealth of Nations
• British Overseas Territories
• English-speaking world
• List of countries by English-speaking population
• British Empire

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.

^15 Somaliland is a de facto state, recognized internationally as an autonomous region of Somalia.

References

1. Official language; "Field Listing - Languages". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
2. "Society". Government Information Service (Barbados). Retrieved 2009-01-18.
3. English usage; "Field Listing - Languages". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
4. "National Profile". Government Information Agency (Guyana). Retrieved 2009-01-18.
5. N. Krishnaswamy; Lalitha Krishnaswamy (6 January 2006). "3.14 English Becomes a Second Language". The story of English in India. Foundation Books. ISBN 978-81-7596-312-2.
6. The Constitution
8. The Constitution of Jamaica (section 20(6e) — implicit)
9. Malawi Investment Promotion Agency (August 2005). "Opportunities for investment and Trade in Malawi – the Warm Heart of Africa". Government of Malawi. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
10. "Nauru". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 2008-12-03. Retrieved 2009-01-18. English and Nauruan are official.
11. "Country profile: Nigeria". BBC News. April 30, 2008. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
12. "General Information on Papua New Guinea". Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority. Archived from the original on January 31, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
13. "Country profile: Papua New Guinea". BBC News. 2008-11-28.
14. "Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines, Article XIV". Chanrobles Law Library. 1987. Retrieved October 27, 2007. (See Article XIV, Section 7)
15. "Primary Schools". Government of St Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
16. "St. Vincent and the Grenadines Profile". Agency for Public Information (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Retrieved 2011-06-18.
17. "Legislations: List of Acts and Ordinances". The Parliament of Samoa. Archived from the original on October 1, 2006. Retrieved 2009-01-18. Languages for official legislation are Samoan and English.
18. Wong, Aline (2000-11-24). "Education in a Multicultural Setting - The Singapore Experience". Ministry of Education, Government of Singapore. Retrieved 2009-01-18. There are four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
19. "Statistics Singapore - Latest Data - Population (Mid-Year Estimates)". Statistics Singapore. June 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
20. "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa". Constitutional Court of South Africa. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
21. "The Constitution of Southern Sudan". Southern Sudan Civil Society Initiative. Retrieved 2011-07-09.
22. Kingdom of Tonga (March 2008). "The United Nations / Universal Periodic Review by the United Nations Human Rights Council". Archived from the original on January 25, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-18. English and Tongan are listed as official.
23. "East Africa Living Encyclopedia". The University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center.
24. "Constitution of the Republic of Vanuatu". Government of the Republic of Vanuatu. 1980. Retrieved 2009-01-18.
25. New Zealand Government (21 December 2007). International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Fifth Periodic Report of the Government of New Zealand (PDF) (Report). p. 89. Retrieved 21 April 2015. 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.
26. "[T]eaching of English continued in primary,secondary and tertiary level not because it was the official language but it became thelanguage 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." http://www.scribd.com/doc/53272796/Sucess-of-English-language-in-Bangladesh-rec
27. English is a "Statutory national working language." Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2013. "Brunei." Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Seventeenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online edition: https://www.ethnologue.com/country/BN Accessed 30 March 2014.
28. Under the constitution of 1959, Malay is the official language of Brunei; but English may be used "for all official purposes." Laws are written in English and Malay, with the English version being the authoritative one. "Laws of Brunei: Revised Edition. Section 82" (PDF). 1984. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
29. Spolsky, Bernard (1999). Round Table on Language and Linguistics. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press. pp. 169–70. ISBN 0-87840-132-6. In 1948, the newly independent state of Israel took over the old British regulations that had set English, Arabic, and Hebrew as official languages for Mandatory Palestine but, as mentioned, dropped English from the list. In spite of this, official language use has maintained a de facto role for English, after Hebrew but before Arabic.
30. Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot, Hava (2004). "Part I: Language and Discourse". In Diskin Ravid, Dorit; Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot, Hava. Perspectives on Language and Development: Essays in Honor of Ruth A. Berman. Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 90. ISBN 1-4020-7911-7. 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.
31. Shohamy, Elana (2006). Language Policy: Hidden Agendas and New Approaches. Routledge. pp. 72–73. ISBN 0-415-32864-0. 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.
32. "English remains an active second language, and serves as the medium of instruction for maths and sciences in all public schools. Malaysian English, also known as Malaysian Standard English, is a form of English derived from British English. Malaysian English is widely used in business, along with Manglish, which is a colloquial form of English with heavy Malay, Chinese, and Tamil influences. The government discourages the misuse of Malay and has instituted fines for public signs that mix Malay and English." "About Malaysia:Language". My Government: The Government of Malaysia's Official Portal. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
33. English is a "De facto national working language, used in government." Lewis, M. Paul, Gary F. Simons, and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2013. "Sri Lanka." Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Seventeenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. Online edition: https://www.ethnologue.com/country/LK Accessed 30 March 2014.
34. Under the constitution of 1978, Sinhala and Tamil are the official languages of Sri Lanka, but English is "the link language." Any person is entitled "to receive communications from, and to communicate and transact business with, any official in his official capacity" in English, to receive an English translation of "any official register, record, publication or other document," and "to communicate and transact business in English." English translations must be made for "all laws and subordinate legislation," "all Orders, Proclamations, rules, by-laws, regulations and notifications." "THE CONSTITUTION OF THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF SRI LANKA: Chapter IV". 1978. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
35. "LANDSVERORDENING van de 28ste maart 2007 houdende vaststelling van de officiële talen (Landsverordening officiële talen)" (in Dutch). Government of the Netherlands. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
36. According to Art. 1 para 2. Constitution of Sint Maarten: "The official languages are Dutch and English"
37. "Associated Countries and External Territories: Tokelau". Commonwealth Secretariat. Retrieved 20 March 2014.
38. Crawford, James (June 24, 2008). "Language Legislation in the U.S.A.". languagepolicy.net. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
39. "Alaska Supreme Court Upholds State's Official English Law". Business Wire. November 5, 2007. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
40. "Arizona makes English official". Washington Times. November 8, 2006. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
41. https://proenglish.org/official-english/state-profiles.html
42. Slipke, Darla (November 3, 2010). "Oklahoma elections: Republican-backed measures win approval". NewsOK. The Oklahoman. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
43. 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.
44. "Consulta de la Norma:". alcaldiabogota.gov.co.
45. "Sarawak makes English official language along with BM". themalaymailonline.com.
46. "Sarawak to recognise English as official language besides Bahasa Malaysia". BorneoPost Online - Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News.
47. "Sarawak adopts English as official language". thesundaily.my.
48. Scottish Government. "Scottish Facts and Information". Scotland.org. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
49. National Assembly for Wales (2012). "National Assembly for Wales (Official Languages) Act 2012". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
50. "West Virginia is the 32nd State to pass Official English". Pro English. March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 13, 2016.