Parents, hoping to give their children a leg up in the business world also pushed their children to learn the language. This comes in the wake of a video from a Miss Rwanda contestant that was shown struggling with English in a country that made a move from Francophone to Anglophone. Country subdivisions where English is a de jure official language Subdivision Country Region Population North America 4,833,722 North America 735,132 North America 6,626,624 North America 2,959,373 North America 38,332,521 North America 5,268,367 North America 19,552,860 North America 9,992,167 Oceania 1,404,054 North America 1,612,136 North America 12,882,135 North America 6,570,902 North America 3,090,416 North America 2,893,957 North America 4,395,295 North America 4,670,724 North America 6,794,422 North America 2,991,207 North America 6,083,672 North America 1,015,165 North America 1,868,516 North America 1,323,459 North America 9,848,060 North America 723,393 Europe 1,876,695 North America 3,850,568 Caribbean 1,991 South America 75,167 Asia 2,471,140 Europe 5,424,800 Caribbean 3,897 North America 4,774,839 North America 844,877 North America 6,495,978 North America 27,469,114 North America 2,900,872 North America 8,260,405 Europe 3,125,000 North America 1,844,128 North America 582,658 The population figures are based on the sources in , with information as of 23 January 2009 UN estimates, et al.
All areas of the world that were ever part of the British Empire. Current have their names underlined in red. The following is a list of territories where is an , that is, a used in citizen interactions with government officials. In 2015, there were 54 sovereign states and 27 non-sovereign entities where English was an official language. Many have declared English an official language at the local or regional level. The majority of states where English is an official language are former territories of the. Notable exceptions include , which was formerly a Belgian territory, Cameroon, where only part of national territory were under British mandate, and , the , the , the , and , which were under American rule. English is the sole official language of the and the. English is one of the official languages of , the , , , , , and many other international organisations. Although English is not an official language at the national level in the , most within the United States have English as an official language. Only uses a language other than English as a primary working language. The , the , and , where the overwhelming majority of native English speakers reside, do not have English as an official language , but English is considered to be their official language due to its dominant position in these countries. Countries where English is a official language Country Region Primary language? Oceania 25,019,600 Yes Oceania 4,893,830 Yes Europe 66,040,229 Yes North America 325,719,178 Yes Countries where English is a Country Region Population Primary language? Country subdivisions where English is a de jure official language Subdivision Country Region Population North America 4,833,722 North America 735,132 North America 6,626,624 North America 2,959,373 North America 38,332,521 North America 5,268,367 North America 19,552,860 North America 9,992,167 Oceania 1,404,054 North America 1,612,136 North America 12,882,135 North America 6,570,902 North America 3,090,416 North America 2,893,957 North America 4,395,295 North America 4,670,724 North America 6,794,422 North America 2,991,207 North America 6,083,672 North America 1,015,165 North America 1,868,516 North America 1,323,459 North America 9,848,060 North America 723,393 Europe 1,876,695 North America 3,850,568 Caribbean 1,991 South America 75,167 Asia 2,471,140 Europe 5,424,800 Caribbean 3,897 North America 4,774,839 North America 844,877 North America 6,495,978 North America 27,469,114 North America 2,900,872 North America 8,260,405 Europe 3,125,000 North America 1,844,128 North America 582,658 The population figures are based on the sources in , with information as of 23 January 2009 UN estimates, et al. Hong Kong is a former British 1843-1981 and 1981-1997 ; it is currently a 1997- present Puerto Rico is, historically and culturally, connected to the -speaking ; Spanish is also an official language on the island. Somaliland is a state, recognized internationally as an region of. Archived from PDF on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015. In addition to the M? 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. Government Information Service Barbados. Archived from on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 17 December 2016. Government Information Agency Guyana. Archived from on 2008-08-20. Krishnaswamy; Lalitha Krishnaswamy 6 January 2006. Archived from PDF on 2016-01-06. Archived from on 2009-02-25. New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. English and Nauruan are official. Retrieved November 10, 2008. Papua New Guinea Tourism Promotion Authority. Archived from on January 31, 2009. Retrieved October 27, 2007. Government of St Christopher St Kitts and Nevis. Archived from on 2009-01-03. Agency for Public Information Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Archived from on 2010-11-12. The Parliament of Samoa. Archived from on October 1, 2006. Languages for official legislation are Samoan and English. Ministry of Education, Government of Singapore. Archived from on 2008-05-04. There are four official languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Archived from on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2014. Constitutional Court of South Africa. Archived from on 2009-01-16. Southern Sudan Civil Society Initiative. Archived from on January 25, 2009. English and Tongan are listed as official. The University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center. Government of the Republic of Vanuatu. Archived from on 2009-01-24. Retrieved June 7, 2017. Archived from on June 24, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2017. 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. Simons, and Charles D. Online edition: Accessed 30 March 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. 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. In Diskin Ravid, Dorit; Bat-Zeev Shyldkrot, Hava. English is not considered official but it plays a dominant role in the educational and public life of Israeli society. English behaves 'as if' it were the second and official language in Israel. 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. Retrieved June 7, 2017. It is used in business and is a compulsory second language in schools. Retrieved June 7, 2017. 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. My Government: The Government of Malaysia's Official Portal. Retrieved 30 March 2014. Initially, Dhivehi was used as the medium of teaching in schools, but the need to promote higher education led to the conversion of syllabus in English. Now, English is widely spoken by the locals of Maldives. Retrieved Feb 2, 2017. Simons, and Charles D. Online edition: Accessed 30 March 2014. Archived from on 2003-02-03. Retrieved 30 March 2014. Master of Arts thesis. Government of the Netherlands. Retrieved 21 August 2013. Archived from on 24 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2011. Retrieved April 28, 2011. Archived from on 2016-03-20. Retrieved April 28, 2011. BorneoPost Online - Borneo, Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News. Archived from on 2016-03-05. Retrieved March 19, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2014. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
