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Biggest French Empire Countries

Name the modern-day countries with the most territory that was part of the French Empire.
Not including territory held for less than 10 years
Based mostly on this map
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: March 6, 2017
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First submittedMarch 6, 2017
Times taken47,537
Average score64.3%
Rating4.39
2:30
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%
km2
Country
25
2,500,000
Canada
100
2,400,000
Algeria
22
2,140,000
United States
100
1,280,000
Chad
100
1,270,000
Niger
100
1,240,000
Mali
100
1,030,000
Mauritania
%
km2
Country
100
650,000
France
100
620,000
Central African Republic
100
590,000
Madagascar
56
400,000
Morocco
100
340,000
Rep. of the Congo
100
330,000
Vietnam
100
320,000
Ivory Coast
+21
Level 75
Mar 6, 2017
Ironic, in a French Empire quiz, using an "English" translation of Côte d'Ivoire as an answer!
+41
Level ∞
Mar 7, 2017
We're going to move towards using Ivory Coast in the future, since that's what Wikipedia uses now.
+19
Level 66
Jul 18, 2017
To quote Wikipedia, "Despite the Ivorian government's request, the English translation "Ivory Coast" (often "the Ivory Coast") is still frequently used in English, by various media outlets and publications." Some colonialist Wikipedia editors may have come together to enforce an English translation of the country's name on the site, but that should not overrule the Ivorians' voices and self-identification. After all, this is the same principle at work when Myanmar is displayed as the correct answer, although Burma is accepted.
+7
Level 49
Jul 24, 2023
What if the real colonialists are the friends we make along the way?
+49
Level ∞
Jul 18, 2017
Those dirty colonialists! Do you think we should change Germany to Deutschland, China to 中国, etc...?
+4
Level 72
Oct 4, 2023
If they requested such, I absolutely would. I don't get why that's such a problem.
+32
Level 71
Jul 18, 2017
Yeah, because French is not totally not a colonialist language.
+12
Level 80
Jul 18, 2017
"various media outlets and publications" pronounce Iran as Eye-ran and that doesn't make it right. "various media outlets and publications" declared the Earth to be a disk and that didn't make it true. The list goes on.
+20
Level 73
Jul 20, 2017
I wonder why the double standard exists in the first place. We're keen to say Ivory Coast right now, but nobody would use Saint Thomas and Principe, Saint Marin, Trinity and Tobago, Lion Range or Black Mountain (the last case being the funniest since everybody calls the country Montenegro except Slavic people, including Montenegrans themselves who translate the Italian name... must have something to do with Venice).
+14
Level 50
Jul 20, 2017
I'm also not a big fan of using Côte d'Ivoire in English, but, to be fair, we also use Costa Rica and not the Rich Coast, and other countries' names, as others have pointed out, so...
+13
Level 59
Sep 1, 2020
Myanmar has requested to be called Myanmar, Côte d'Ivoire has requested to be called Côte d'Ivoire. If Germany requests to be called Deutschland, or if China requests to go by 中国 then by all means we would change to that, but they haven't and so we don't.
+3
Level 76
Nov 2, 2021
What is there to be gained from deliberately ignoring the officially-preferred name of a country in favour of some arbitrary whim of English Wikipedia?
+7
Level 62
Nov 2, 2021
There is a language issue going on here, not just a respect issue.

It's nice to want to respect the wishes of the Ivorian government and use their chosen name. But language isn't a thing that's decreed from on high by an authority. Language is what the man in the street says. Dictionaries, for instance, must reflect the common usage of words - it's street usage that determines what is "right" in language, not governments.

In this case, if I said "Cote d'Ivoire" to the people I know, or even typed it in a message, I would look like a pompous buffoon. The standard accepted name for the country in everyday usage is the Ivory Coast.

Can you imagine if France decreed that Paris was to be pronounced "Paree" by foreigners, or Austria tried to force us to say and write "Wien" instead of Vienna? Anybody who said it would sound ludicrous and so people would reject it.

+2
Level 64
Sep 25, 2023
People are respecting Eswatini (apart from those who didn't get the memo)

Also, personally, I try to use non-Anglicized spellings/pronunciations if I know them.

+1
Level 32
Oct 4, 2023
I would totally be in support of saying Milano, Praha, Sao Paulo, Moskva, Kiyv, Beijing and Kolkata - the latest being just Latin-alphabet versions of their native name.
+1
Level 82
Feb 14, 2024
Using the Latin alphabet? What a colonialist you must be. I, personally, would never use an imposed alphabet on another country's name, which is why I've learned every world language and every alphabet so I can use endonyms for every place in the entire world, as is obviously the correct and respectful thing to do.
+2
Level 73
Nov 2, 2021
If the German people wanted to be known as Deutschland, then of course.
+4
Level 82
Nov 3, 2021
Germans can call their country Deutschland, Alemania, Platzfüridioten, or the Sausage Republic... and that probably won't ever change the fact that the name for the country, in English, is and will remain Germany. If they officially changed the name to something else... then... maybe... the English name would also be changed to reflect that. However, that's not what happened in the case of the Ivory Coast. The name of the country did not change. It's just that some people suddenly started insisting that everyone else start speaking French. To Germans, the short name of their country *is* Deutschland. But that's because they speak German.
+3
Level 77
Nov 3, 2021
I don't really see how the King of eSwatini insisting on that name change is any different than Ivory Coast and Cote D'Ivoire. To some extent European explorers and academics over the centuries got really lazy and somewhat racist to just dismiss the proper way to pronounce countries and cities. Hmm... what do we call this island country attached to Indonesia? Well the Spanish explorer thought they looked like African people from Guinea. And they have frizzy hair, or "papua" as it is said in the local language. Papua New Guinea, sure, why not. Frizzy-haired Guineans. As far as I'm concerned, let countries be called what the locals call themselves. If PNG wants to become Melanesia, yeah. If they prefer Papua Nueva Guinea, it's really not that hard to just remember Nueva instead of New. If PNG wanted to embed Spanish roots into their name, why not? It'll just become the norm in like 5 years and no one will think anything of it!
+2
Level 60
Apr 27, 2022
So let's start calling Japan "Nihon" like they call it there.
+5
Level 77
Jun 9, 2023
Yeah, if that’s what the government of Japan requests with due consideration of its nation and people.
+1
Level 76
Mar 7, 2017
Nice quizzes!
+24
Level 84
Mar 7, 2017
Haha, I forgot France. :-/ The most embarrassing way to get 13/14.
+2
Level 69
Apr 1, 2017
Same here
+2
Level 48
Jul 18, 2017
Same, except I forgot Madagascar too
+1
Level 81
Jul 18, 2017
Same on France, and missed CAR as well.
+1
Level 56
Jul 22, 2017
Too
+1
Level 47
Mar 21, 2019
same
+2
Level 74
May 14, 2017
Shouldnt be here Egypt, Germany and Spain?? I'm sure you have some souce but doesnt make sense at first glance
+3
Level 63
May 21, 2017
Napolean's conquests were held less than 10 years.
+4
Level 62
Nov 5, 2019
It was still part of the empire...
+3
Level 64
Sep 25, 2023
Read the caveats.
+6
Level 56
Jul 18, 2017
Despite Cameroon being divided between the British and French, I am certain that the French part was larger than 320 000 km^2 (probably between 400 000 and 450 000 km^2). A similar case might apply to Morocco.
+1
Level 39
Jul 18, 2017
I got all but CAR and France. Wow.
+1
Level 66
Jul 18, 2017
No Haiti? No Tunisia?
+2
Level 86
Jul 18, 2017
Not big enough, apparently.
+1
Level 64
Sep 25, 2023
Haiti and Tunisia are the smallest countries I can think of to be here.
+1
Level 65
Jul 18, 2017
When you miss the country where half of your family comes from...
+1
Level 71
Jul 18, 2017
Mexico?
+1
Level 67
Jul 18, 2017
Didn't France own land in mexico for a little bit, i dont know how long
+2
Level 56
Jul 19, 2017
If you're talking about the French intervention in 1861-67, it didn't last long enough. If you're talking about something else, it was probably way too small.
+2
Level 50
Jul 19, 2017
I forgot Canada, can't believe it
+1
Level 45
Jan 3, 2018
dang it forgot morocco
+1
Level 21
Feb 10, 2018
And India? It is like canada or USA - part of it was france (Pondicherry etc.)
+2
Level 50
Aug 6, 2018
Yes. But that's a tiny area, therefore too small to be on the list.
+1
Level 37
Apr 20, 2018
GREAT Quiz. Thank you!
+1
Level 41
Jun 4, 2018
Should you include cambodia in the list as it seems to be included in the map
+1
Level 82
Dec 15, 2019
But Cambodia is only about half the size of Ivory Coast.
+1
Level 71
Nov 2, 2021
Don't you mean Kampuchea? (Sorry, had to poke those ashes to see if they still contained any burning coals. Cambodia repudiated that name years ago after the Khmer Rouge were driven from power.)
+1
Level 82
Nov 3, 2021
No I meant Cambodia.
+1
Level 38
Jan 8, 2022
Kampuchea is another name of Cambodia.
+4
Level 64
Nov 2, 2021
A moment of silence for all those who forgot France (myself included).
+1
Level 65
Nov 2, 2021
Good quizz. But if you look closely at the map you make reference too, there is also Laos, Cambodia, Sénégal, Guinea, Togo, Bénin, Gabon, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, Mauritius, Syria, Lebanon, Djibouti.
+2
Level 65
Nov 2, 2021
Not large enough :)
+1
Level 29
Nov 2, 2021
how does france count
+3
Level 65
Nov 3, 2021
Because the French Empire owned France.
+1
Level 29
Nov 2, 2021
also what was the first one you people thought of mine was Algeria
+1
Level 42
Nov 5, 2021
lmao I thought this was talking about Napoleon's empire.
+1
Level 40
Jan 9, 2023
same
+1
Level 27
Jan 18, 2023
Why no Cameroon? This German colony was transferred to France after WWI, and it's larger than Ivory Coast.

And, if Louisiana and Quebec can make the whole US and Canada count, what about French India and Guangzhouwan?

+1
Level 64
Sep 25, 2023
The whole US and Canada aren't included. If you weren't blind, you'd see that only Québec and Louisiana are included in the area.
+1
Level 67
Oct 5, 2023
Missed CAR and Ivory Coast