French-Speaking Countries in Africa
African countries where French has official or major working status.
| Country | Capital | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benin | Porto-Novo | West Africa | 13,300,000 |
| Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | West Africa | 23,300,000 |
| Burundi | Gitega | East Africa | 13,200,000 |
| Cameroon | Yaoundé | Central Africa | 28,100,000 |
| Central African Republic | Bangui | Central Africa | 5,500,000 |
| Chad | N'Djamena | Central Africa | 17,700,000 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Kinshasa | Central Africa | 102,300,000 |
| Gabon | Libreville | Central Africa | 2,400,000 |
| Guinea | Conakry | West Africa | 14,200,000 |
| Ivory Coast | Yamoussoukro | West Africa | 28,800,000 |
| Madagascar | Antananarivo | East Africa | 30,300,000 |
| Mali | Bamako | West Africa | 22,600,000 |
| Niger | Niamey | West Africa | 26,200,000 |
| Republic of the Congo | Brazzaville | Central Africa | 6,100,000 |
| Senegal | Dakar | West Africa | 17,700,000 |
| Togo | Lomé | West Africa | 8,800,000 |
French in Africa
The list above shows African countries where French has official or widely-used status. These language groupings largely reflect colonial history — French entered Africa through colonization, missionary education, trade and diplomacy — but today is owned and shaped by African speakers, writers, broadcasters and artists.
Note that most African countries are multilingual; this list reflects official or major working languages, not the dozens of indigenous tongues spoken in each nation.