All maps, graphics, flags, photos and original descriptions © 2021 worldatlas.com, French Speaking Countries in South America, The 10 Most Populated Countries In Europe, The World's Two Double Landlocked Countries. French is the official language of this country of 11 million people. Instead, an African nation, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, tops the list with a total of more than 77 million people. Some French-speaking countries in West Africa include: Niger; Chad; Mali; Senegal; Togo; Bénin; Cameroon; Ivory Coast; Guinea Conakry; Burkina Faso; Mauritania; Among all the French-speaking countries in West Africa mentioned above, Senegalese French is said to be the closest to standard French speech. These words were either coined locally or borrowed from local African languages. French and Arabic are the official languages of this country with 11.8 million people. However, the country with highest French speaking population is not France. Most Moroccans speak both Arabic and French. The population of 18.5 million speaks French as the official language. On the whole, most learn Frenchas a second language, but in some areas like the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast or Libreville, Gabon, French used as a predominantly first language. It is located in the east and the official languages are French and Kirundi.‍, This country located in central Africa has one of the highest literacy rates on the continent and is known as “Africa in miniature” due to its diversity. This article was originally published July 21, 2014. No. Benin, located in the west, is one of Africa’s most stable democracies. Small, hard to click regions are enhanced with a red circle, as shown below: This quiz was created by user: … Africa: French-Speaking Countries. The Job Search: Numerous volunteer positions can be found online or through church organizations before departing for Africa. • Djibouti – east Africa’s sole French speaker, Djibouti on the Horn of Africa. English is the lingua franca of business and academia. Other major languages spoken include Bambara, Berber, and Arabic. Generally speaking, teachers should not expect to save while teaching in Africa but can earn enough to break even. How is that for French in Africa! • Creole– some define them as a “French”, others not, but French mixed with local languages is widespread acro… Arabic, Somali and Afar are also spoken.‍, One of the most stable countries in western Africa, Gabon has a population of 1.5 million people whose official language is French. • Indian Ocean – specific to Réunion, Mauritius, and Seychelle. Most recently Rwanda, long a French-speaking country, has switched to English as an official language. Djibouti is a country in the Horn of Africa, which is also a French and Arabic speaking country of dry shrub lands, volcanic formations and Gulf of Aden beaches. Search Help in Finding French speaking countries in Africa - Online Quiz Version Of the 50-plus countries in Africa, 26 have French as a first or second language. Additionally, Africa makes up more than 70% of the world’s total French speaking population. The 94,000 inhabitants speak  French, English, and Seychellois Creole as their official languages. ‍, Many countries have military bases in this important coastal nation. The prevalence of online job postings for paid gigs depends heavily on the individual country. Madagascar and Cameroon, with 24 million and 23 million people, respectively, rank fourth and fifth. France … In terms of vocabulary, there exist three phenomena in African French. The official languages are Malagasy and French. To put Africa’s French speaking dominance into perspective, the Democratic Republic of the Congo alone makes up 17% of the total world’s French speaking population. They estimate that there are 200 million French-speakers in the world and that nearly half on them live in Africa. Georgia Furthermore, 17 of the total 21 African countries have populations of more than one million people that speak French. ... French Southern and Antarctic Lands: Africa and Antarctica: 0: Overseas collectivity of France Note: Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana and Mayotte are classified as overseas regions of France and are thus not a part of this … In fact, it is the 4th largest island in the world! A total of 21 countries in Africa speak French with Democratic Republic of Congo leading with the highest number of French speaking population. Oh là là! It is a small country with 1.2 million people. French is the official language of this country of just under 1 million. Chad (other official … It is made up of the islands of Grande Comore, Moheli, Anjouan, and Mayotte, as well as many smaller islands. Kinyarwanda, French, and English are the official languages of this country of 11.2 million people.‍, Senegal is known as one of Africa’s model democracies. Geographically, a large chunk of French speaking countries come from West and Central Africa. These include Zimbabwe, Uganda, Zambia, Botswana. This quiz has been customized from the original Africa: countries quiz. French President Emmanuel Macron has described Africa as "the continent of the future", but it may also save his country's language from … The population is 813,000 and the official languages are French, Arabic, and Comorian.‍, This country of 5 million people and is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s major oil producers. List of French Speaking Countries in Africa 1. Get insightful tips on language learning, productivity, building habits, and more. This high number in West Africa is explained by the history of colonization in Africa. Benin 2. It has struggled to become a stable country since it gained independence from France in 1960. On the other end of the list, Seychelles has fewest French speakers in Africa, with an estimated 92,900 people. There is so much to learn about this magnificent continent! A song and music video I made to teach my students the French speaking (i.e. These countries include Algeria, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Qatar, and Tunisia. That means that this a very easy French lesson which students of any level can learn. The people of Benin speak Fon, Ge, Bariba, Yoruba, and Dendi, as well. There are several other countries where they speak French in Africa, although French is not the official language. ‍, Benin, located in the west, is one of Africa’s most stable democracies. The people of Benin speak Fon, Ge, Bariba, Yoruba, and Dendi, as well. There is a great film called, Hotel Rwanda, that will help give you an idea of what happened here. Get our language hacking book for free ($19 value) and learn 5x faster. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. There are approximately 434 million people throughout the world who speak French. Learning the French names for countries is relatively easy if you are already familiar with the name in English. After the agreement of leading states on colonisation in the Berlin Conference (1884), everything changed very fast. Â. The official language is French, and Susu, Fulani, and Mandingo are also spoken.‍, Equatorial Guinea is found, you guessed it, near the equator just to the north of Gabon. Americas, Oceania, and Europe. Here is a full list of French speaking countries in Africa: Rank: Country: Population: … ‍, Many westerners have heard of Mali and the northern city of Timbuktu. Here we will focus on language, but you will also get a mini geography lesson. There are no French speaking territories in Africa, as most are located in the All these African countries were colonized by France and they adopted French as either their native language or a second language. You have probably heard of the conflicts between the Tutsi and Hutu groups, some of this is in Burundi. Of this total, 21 states are located in Africa, which represents half of the world's French speaking states and territories. In most instances, the translation is as simple as attaching something like -ique or -ie to the end of the name. Djibouti is the gateway to the Suez Canal which is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. Dakar is the capital city of this country of 15.5 million people. The official language is French while Lingala, Kiswahili, Kikongo,  and Tshiluba are also spoken.‍, Located in western Africa, The Ivory Coast is the world’s largest exporter of cocoa beans. Cape Verde (Portuguese is the main language) 6. At least 26 African countries list English as one of their official languages. Because less developed countries have less recent data available, in order for commonality in reporting time to be relevant, the most recent WHO data is used regardless of yea… It is located in the west and is landlocked. It is necessary to note that there is proportional distribution […] Nonetheless, its people are some of the poorest in the region. As late as the 1870s, only 10% of the continent was under direct … Country Continent Population; 1. The population of 7.6 million people speaks French as their official language. French Speaking Countries in Africa . It’s spoken in 94 countries by 339 million native speakers and is the official language of the 20 most relevant international organizations, making it a very widespread language. West Africa is a part of the African continent that is highly dominated by black people. Instead, an African nation, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, tops the list with a total of more than 77 million people. Africa was mostly colonized by Britain, France and Portugal during the scramble for Africa and after a prolonged stay in the continent, the colonized nations adopted the colonizers’ language as the official language, hence, there a lot of French-speaking African countries. As a consequence, each regional variety of African French has its own local words that are not the same as in other varieties of African French, although this local vocabulary only constitutes a small part of the overall vocabulary which for the most part is iden… The use of English as an official language in schools, universities, and states around the world reported French as an official language. French is the official language, although other indigenous language are also spoken.‍, Burundi is another one of the poorest countries and has a population of about 10 million. French is present in 26 African countries, and is an official language of Madagascar, Cameroon, Ivory Coa… Burundi and Gabon are switching from French to English, and South Sudan is adopting English. © Copyright 2021 Rype, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In most countries, it’s also the primary foreign languagetaught in schools and can be understood by one third of the world’s population. However in recent years, as tourism and foreign business continue to grow domestically, English is quickly becoming the third primary language for the local people. According to some estimates there will be 700 million French speakers by the year 2050, and 80% of them will be in Africa. Also in the bottom five of Africa countries are the Comoros (788,474), Equatorial Guinea (845,060), Djibouti (887,861), and Gabon (1,725,300). During the 1950s and 60s, France and Belgium lost control of their African colonies, however, French is still spoken in at least 29 African countries. French is the official language of this country of 11 million people. While some customs and laws may come as a surprise to a teacher from an English-speaking country, time spent in Morocco will be valuable to both your career … These include countries such as Algeria, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Morocco, Rwanda, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia. Mali is one of the largest countries in Africa. French is the official language in this country of 23.7 million people. African French can be broadly broken down into 5 types: • West & Central – spoken in countries such as Senegal, Mali, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, DRC. French is the official language, but Sangho is the lingua franca of this country. However, the population difference between the other French speaking countries in Africa is less significant. Click on an area on the map to answer the questions. This table shows the populations of the countries, not the number of French speakers. Did you know that they speak French in Africa? Key word: diversity Alain Bashung (Algeria) French speaking countries in Africa International success reggae zouk (Cameroon) rai rap Amadou et Mariam (Mali) Youssou N’Dour (Senegal) Famous artists from Africa Patrick Bruel (Algeria) Dalida … English language also retains the number one spot as the most commonly used language among Intern… The official language is French, and people also speak Hausa, Songhai, and Arabic.‍, This is a landlocked country in central Africa that is rich in diamonds, gold, oil, and uranium. Most African countries were colonized majorly by Britain, France and Portugal during the scramble for Africa and after a prolonged stay in the continent, the colonized nations adopted the colonizers language as the official language hence there a lot of French speaking African countries. The official languages are Spanish, French, and (as of 2010) Portuguese. As you can see, they speak French in Africa in about half of all the countries! Many translated example sentences containing "French speaking countries in Africa" – French-English dictionary and search engine for French translations. However, the country with highest French speaking population is not France. Niger ranks fifth, with an estimated 19 million people. So, where exactly do they speak French in Africa? Central African Republic (other official language: Sango) 7. If territories are included, the total number increases to 42. With over 200 linguistic groups, the official languages are French and English. 2. The population of 4.7 million has been operating under a transitional government since 2014. In the top five African states with the most French speakers, the Ivory Coast is fourth, after Cameroon, with an estimated 22 million speakers. Benin. Although it doesn't make the top five (Mandarin, Spanish, English, Hindi and Arabic), or even the top 10 (Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, Japanese with Punjabi, Javanese and German fighting it for 10th place), French has a Algeria. Who doesn't love a bonus lesson?!? First, the presence of words which do not exist in standard French. Namibia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Liberia, South Africa, and Nigeria. The Industrial Revolution and the European countries’ need for raw materials, manpower and markets, had led them to acquire colonies in Africa, especially since the beginning of the 19 th century. To find out which countries in Africa speak French, read this! But with slang, accents and history in the mix, it’s not always easy to understand or be understood when speaking English in Africa.  ‍. Cote d’Ivoire, on the other hand, has a spiced up form of … First on the ranking of African Countries That Speak French in Algeria, t hough Algeria official language is Arabic, yet the country still has a large population speaking French, and it’s one of the … It is in northwest Africa and has had a tradition of stable governments. So, if you are a student of French in the 21st century, you need to learn about Africa and the countries where French is spoken there. More than 20 of the countries in Africa speak French, largely due to France’s vast colonization on the continent. With a population now shooting over 1.3 billion people and 54 countries, Africa has been the hub of diversity for a very long time now. Northern Africa Algeria has been influenced by … The official language is French.‍, With a population of 81.5 million, this huge central African country has been plagued by civil war and corruption in the recent past. The Togolese Republic is in western Africa. Oops! • Maghribi – French used in Arab North Africa such as in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Cameroon (other official language: English) 5. It is interesting to note that African countries dominate the world list by occupying positions four to 13 consecutively. ‍, Rwanda is located just north of Burundi and has suffered much from the conflict between the Tutsi and Hutu groups. Again, African nations dominate the world list by occupying consecutive positions from 19 to 25. Burkina Faso 3. These are the top French-speaking countries in francophone Africa, according to a report by the Organisation International de la Francophonie.. Over 100 million people speak French across 31 different African countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Ivory Coast and Senegal. Burundi (other official language:Kirundi) 4. The Seychelles enjoy a high per capita income as well as good healthcare and education systems.‍, Tchad, or Chad, is Africa’s fifth largest country and has become an official oil producing nation as of 2003. ‍, 25 million people live on this large island off the east coast of the African continent. There is a significant difference in population between the largest and second largest French speaking countries in Africa, which are the the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar, respectively. The top five countries combine to make up more than 35% of the world’s total population of French speakers. List of French Speaking Countries in Africa where French is recognized as the official language. Countries are ordered from the highest shortage to the least. The purpose of this study was to assess the need of healthcare and non-healthcare professionals for training in the field of health and human rights as a basis for developing relevant education programs. Other Bantu group languages are also spoken here. They also speak the languages of Bantu, Semi-Bantu and Sudanic groups.‍, Comoros is a country located off the eastern coast of Africa, east of Madagascar.  The French language was brought to the African continent through colonialism. France ranks second, with approximately 67 million people. Join over 1,000 successful stories of students who have learned a new language using Rype. If you are signed in, your score will be saved and you can keep track of your progress.... show more . Something went wrong while submitting the form. ‍, This country of 10.5 million, located in western Africa, has the potential to be one of the richest countries in Africa due to its vast mineral wealth. Algeria one of the Africa Countries that Speak French. Well they do. Number of speakers in Africa: 115 million total Like English, the French introduced their language to Africa through colonization, and former French colonies in West and Central Africa largely still use it. Did you know that they speak French in Africa? Madagascar is known for its wildlife. To travel to Djibouti from Nigeria, you do not need a Visa, you get your visa on arrival. Finding statistics for a common year is a challenge, as is the reporting for nurses independently of other health workers, so sources for statistics may vary in their numbers. Thank you! There are approximately 434 million people throughout the world who speak French. This is an online quiz called French speaking countries in Africa There is a printable worksheet available for download here so you can take the quiz with pen and paper. French is the official language of 21 countries in Africa. Your submission has been received! Again, a yes, considering that it is not one or two but twenty-four countries that speak English, you will definitely need those translation services. In 2015, a total of 31 independent It has a population of 16.6 million people and is noted as being a major transit route for migrants heading to Europe. ‍, With a population of 18.6 million, this is one of the poorest countries in Africa. There are no French speaking territories in Africa, as most are located in the Americas, Oceania, and Europe. French is the official language and Wolof is the lingua franca.‍, This group of islands lies to the north of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. French Speaking Countries In West Africa And Their Capitals (including their president’s name).  ‍, Niger is located to the east of Mali and is on the edge of the Sahara desert. 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