On the occasion of International Francophonie Day this Friday, March 20, 2026, Preply, a leading online language learning platform, shared with actu.fr new data confirming the progress of the French language in 2026. Preply has observed a growing demand for French courses, both for professional and educational reasons. These statistics affirm the attractiveness of the language based on its cultural influence and practical utility, according to the platform. These figures are supported by recent data from the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).
Nearly 350 million daily French speakers worldwide French is now the fourth most spoken language in the world, with over 348 million daily users, as reported in the latest OIF publication “The French Language in the World, 2026 edition.” This document provides insight into the number of French speakers by country and their distribution in each population.
If the map is not displaying correctly, you can view it by clicking here. The study also reveals that French is the second most-learned language after English. It is the official language in 32 countries, and projections suggest it could reach 425 million speakers by 2030.
International Francophonie Day Every March 20th marks International Francophonie Day, celebrating the creation of the OIF in 1970 and recognizing the global importance of one of the most influential languages on the planet, as explained by Preply on its website.
