Variations of the French Language

Similar to the differences between the English spoken in the UK,US and Australia, there are many different varieties, or dialects, of French across the world. 
Within France itself Metropolitan French, spoken in Paris, is considered standard. Within Europe, other varieties of French exist, such as Swiss French (small, lexical variations), Belgian French (similar to the French of northern France), and Aostan French in Italy.You are unlikely to have too much difficulty understanding the different varieties of European French.


 Regional languages in France tend to be spoken in rural communities, and mainly by the elderly who have held on to their roots. Such languages include Meridional French, Occitan (or Provençal/Languedoc), Picard and Champenois.


In places such as Canada, Asia and Lebanon, you are likely to come across more pronounced differences in the language, than you would if you were in France.  In Canada, French is found as Quebec French or Acadian French; both of these versions of French, tend to borrow more words from English.  The French language spoken in Europe has many differences than the French spoken closer to America.  If you were to learn French as a Canadian, you would have some trouble understanding the way people speak in France, and vice versa.  A lot of the differences have to do with variation in pronunciation.  


If you have learned the French language, you will not have a difficult time getting around other cultures where French is spoken, even though you may not understand everything.






http://www.cactuslanguagetraining.com/us/french/view/french-language-guide-1-history-usage-variations-of-french-in-the-world/

French Spoken Around The World!

There are 29 countries where French is an official language.  Although it is officially spoken in these countries; French is not the only language spoken therewww.wikiped.

Nr.	Country	Continent	Population (2008)[1]	French-speakers (2005 estimation)[2]	Partial-French speakers (2005 estimation)	French-speakers, full and partial combined
#	-	World	367,428,669	NA	NA	162,348,020
1.	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Africa	66,514,506	6,080,000	18,240,000	24,320,000
2.	France	Europe	65,057,790	60,578,6001	NA	60,578,600
3.	Canada	North America	33,143,600	6,741,955	2,848,745	9,590,700
4.	Madagascar	Africa	20,042,551	865,000	2,664,200	3,529,200
5.	Cameroon	Africa	18,467,692	2,950,300	4,393,100	7,343,400
6.	Côte d'Ivoire	Africa	18,373,060	12,740,000	NA	12,740,000
7.	Burkina Faso	Africa	15,264,735	695,000	NA	695,000
8.	Niger	Africa	13,272,679	1,260,000	NA	1,260,000
9.	Senegal	Africa	12,853,259	1,170,000	2,457,000	3,627,000
10.	Mali	Africa	12,324,029	1,107,000	NA	1,107,000
11.	Rwanda	Africa	10,473,282	609,000	174,000	783,000
12.	Belgium	Europe	10,403,951	4,300,000	2,000,000	6,300,000
13.	Guinea	Africa	10,211,437	2,000,000	4,000,000	6,000,000
14.	Chad	Africa	10,111,337	1,940,000	NA	1,940,000
15.	Haiti	North America	8,924,553	5,664,000	5,622,500	6,286,500
16.	Burundi	Africa	8,691,005	390,000	234,000	624 000
17.	Benin	Africa	8,294,941	739,200	1,402,800	2,142,000
18.	Switzerland	Europe	7,581,520	1,509,600	2,072 ,000	3,582,120
19.	Togo	Africa	5,858,673	2,000,000	NA	2,000,000
20.	Central African Republic	Africa	4,434,873	945,000	NA	945,000
21.	Republic of the Congo	Africa	3,903,318	1,200,000	1,200,000	2,400,000
22.	Gabon	Africa	1,485,832	1,200,000	NA	1,200,000
23.	Comoros	Africa	731,775	312,200	NA	312,200
24.	Equatorial Guinea	Africa	616,459	100,000	200,000	300,000
25.	Djibouti	Africa	506,221	159,800		159,800
26.	Luxembourg	Europe	486,006	430,000	20,000	450,000
27.	Vanuatu	Oceania	215,446	99,000	NA	99,000
28.	Seychelles	Africa	82,247	4,000	44,000	48,000
29.	Monaco	Europe	32,796	23,400	NA	23,400

There are many counties in which French is commonly spoken but is not an official language.

Nr.	Country	Continent	Population	French-speakers (2005 estimation)[4][5]	Partial-French speakers	French-speakers, real and partial combined
1.	Morocco	Africa	34,343,219	4,144,500	5,986,500	10,131,001
2.	Algeria	Africa	33,769,669	21,000,000	NA	21,000,000
3.	Tunisia	Africa	10,383,577	6,360 000	NA	6,360,000
4.	Lebanon	Asia	4,088,941	684,000	760 000	1,444,000
5.	Mauritania	Africa	3,364,940	167,400	155,000	322,400
6.	Mauritius	Africa	1,274,189	180,000	692,500	872,500
7.	Andorra	Europe	72,413	34,200	16,400	50,600

[edit]

French is spoken as a first language by approximately 180 million people  in the world.


 www.wikipedia.org