Countries where English is an official language ~ NATIVE ENGLISH SPAIN

The following is a list of sovereign states and non-sovereign entities where English is an official language, i.e., the language of government. In 2012, <metabolic >there were 60 sovereign states and 28 non-sovereign entities where English was an official language.

The majority of countries where English is an 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 spanned its 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 in the United States many states and regions within the U.S. do have English as an official language.

Sovereign states

Countries where English is a de jure/official language
Country	Region	Population
Botswana	Africa	1,882,000
Cameroon	Africa	18,549,000
Gambia	Africa	1,709,000
Ghana	Africa	23,478,000
Kenya	Africa	37,538,000
Lesotho	Africa	2,008,000
Liberia	Africa	3,750,000
Malawi	Africa	13,925,000
Namibia	Africa	2,074,000
Nigeria	Africa	148,093,000
Rwanda	Africa	9,725,000
Sierra Leone	Africa	5,866,000
Somaliland	Africa	3,500,000
South Africa	Africa	47,850,700
South Sudan	Africa	8,260,490
Sudan	Africa	31,894,000
Swaziland	Africa	1,141,000
Tanzania	Africa	40,454,000
Uganda	Africa	30,884,000
Zambia	Africa	11,922,000
Zimbabwe	Africa	13,349,000
Mauritius	Africa / Indian Ocean	1,262,000
Seychelles	Africa / Indian Ocean	87,000
India	Asia	1,247,540,000
Pakistan	Asia	165,449,000
Philippines	Asia	90,457,200
Singapore	Asia	5,312,400
Antigua and Barbuda	Caribbean	85,000
Bahamas	Caribbean	331,000
Barbados	Caribbean	294,000
Dominica	Caribbean	73,000
Grenada	Caribbean	106,000
Jamaica	Caribbean	2,714,000
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Caribbean	50,000
Saint Lucia	Caribbean	165,000
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Caribbean	120,000
Trinidad and Tobago	Caribbean	1,333,000
Belize	Central America / Caribbean	288,000
Ireland	Europe	4,581,269
Malta	Europe	412,600
Canada	North America	33,531,000
Cook Islands	Oceania	20,200
Fiji	Oceania	827,900
Kiribati	Oceania	95,000
Marshall Islands	Oceania	59,000
Federated States of Micronesia	Oceania	111,000
Nauru	Oceania	10,000
New Zealand	Oceania	4,294,350
Niue	Oceania	1,600
Palau	Oceania	20,000
Papua New Guinea	Oceania	6,331,000
Samoa	Oceania	188,359
Solomon Islands	Oceania	506,992
Tonga	Oceania	100,000
Tuvalu	Oceania	11,000
Vanuatu	Oceania	226,000
Guyana	South America / Caribbean	738,000

Countries where English is the de facto language
Country	Region	Population
Australia	Australia / Oceania	22,930,576
United Kingdom	Europe	61,612,300
United States	North America	309,442,000

Countries where English is a de facto official, but not primary, language
Country	Region	Population
Israel	Asia / Middle East	8,051,200

Non-sovereign entities

Entity	Region	Population
Hong Kong	Asia	7,097,600
Christmas Island	Australia	1,508
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	Australia	596
Norfolk Island	Australia	1,828
Anguilla	Caribbean	13,000
British Virgin Islands	Caribbean	23,000
Cayman Islands	Caribbean	47,000
Curaçao	Caribbean	150,563
Montserrat	Caribbean	5,900
Puerto Rico	Caribbean	3,991,000
Sint Maarten	Caribbean	40,900
San Andrés y Providencia, Colombia	Caribbean	59,573
Turks and Caicos Islands	Caribbean	26,000
U.S. Virgin Islands	Caribbean	111,000
Gibraltar	Europe	29,257
Guernsey	Europe	61,811
Isle of Man	Europe	80,058
Jersey	Europe	89,300
Bermuda	North America	65,000
American Samoa	Oceania	67,700
Guam	Oceania	173,000
Northern Mariana Islands	Oceania	53,883
Pitcairn Islands	Oceania	50
Tokelau	Oceania	1,400
Falkland Islands	South Atlantic	3,000
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	South Atlantic	5,660