Editing Francization (section)

== Africa ==
[[File:Francophone Africa.svg|thumb|410px|{{legend|#006BA8|Countries normally considered as francophone (usually used as a working language, but not as mother tongue)}}{{legend|#00AAE2|Countries sometimes considered as francophone (cultural influence)}}{{legend|#008080|Countries not considered francophone but that joined the [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|OIF]] in prospect of a francization.}}]]

Africa has 32 French-speaking countries, more than half its total (53);{{citation needed|date=February 2021}} French was also the most widely spoken language in Africa in 2015.<ref name="lebreviairedespatriotes.fr">{{Cite news|url=http://www.lebreviairedespatriotes.fr/27/02/2012/culture/la-resistance-de-la-langue-francaise-face-a-lhegemonie-anglo-saxonne/|title=La résistance de la langue française face à l'hégémonie anglo-saxonne|date=2012-02-27|work=Le Bréviaire des Patriotes|access-date=2017-12-30|language=fr-FR}}</ref>

However, Nigeria, the most populous country on the continent, is predominantly English speaking.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-today/article/coming-of-age-english-in-nigeria/549AF64A86851E4EE81E44F24EF62F3D|title=Coming of age: English in Nigeria|year=1990|doi=10.1017/S0266078400004715|language=en-US|last1=Awonusi|first1=Victor O.|journal=English Today|volume=6|issue=2|pages=31–35|s2cid=145623958|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

The Francophone zone of Africa is two times the size of the [[United States of America]] (including Alaska).<ref>[[List of countries and dependencies by area]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=December 2017}}

[[French language|French]] was introduced in [[Africa]] by [[France]] and [[Belgium]] during the colonial period. The process of francization continued after the colonial period.

French became the most spoken language in Africa after Arabic and Swahili in 2010.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.babla.fr/actualites/langues-du-monde.html|title=Langues du monde|website=www.babla.fr|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref> The number of speakers changed very rapidly between 1992 and 2002, with the number of French learners in sub-Saharan Africa increasing by 60.37%, from 22.33 million to 34.56 million people.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.francophonie.org/Rapport-du-Secretaire-general-de.html|title=Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|website=www.francophonie.org|access-date=2017-12-30|archive-date=10 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110110224854/http://www.francophonie.org/Rapport-du-Secretaire-general-de.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A similar trend in the [[Maghreb]] region is occurring. However, as figures provided by the [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|OIF]] for the Maghreb region were combined with those of the Middle East, the exact count for the Maghreb countries alone is not possible. In this larger region (Maghreb and Middle East), an increase from 10.47 million to 18 million people learning French was observed between 1992 and 2002.

Consideration should be given to the number of French speakers in each country to get an idea of the importance the French language holds in African as a second language.

Many African countries without French as an official language have recently joined the [[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie|OIF]]:
*[[Cape Verde]] (official language: Portuguese)
*[[Egypt]] (official language: Arabic)
*[[Ghana]] (official language: English)
*[[Guinea Bissau]] (official language: Portuguese)
*[[Mozambique]] (official language: Portuguese)
*[[São Tomé and Príncipe]] (official language: Portuguese)

The French language currently plays an important role in Africa, serving more and more as a common language or mother tongue (in Gabon, Ivory Coast, Congo, Cameroon and Benin in particular). The [[African Academy of Languages]] was established in 2001 to manage the linguistic heritage.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.acalan.org/index.php/en/about-acalan/background|title=Background|website=African Academy of Languages|language=en-gb|access-date=2017-12-30}}</ref>

Francophone African countries counted 370 million inhabitants in 2014. This number is expected to reach between 700 and 750 million by 2050.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2014/03/21/want-to-know-the-language-of-the-future-the-data-suggests-it-could-be-french/#15e11e626d58|title=Want To Know The Language of the Future? The Data Suggests It Could Be...French|last=Gobry|first=Pascal-Emmanuel|date=2014-03-21|work=Forbes|access-date=2017-12-30|language=en}}</ref> There are already more francophones in [[Africa]] than in [[Europe]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine/how-many-people-speak-french-and-where-is-french-spoken|title=How Many People Speak French, And Where Is It Spoken?|last=Wood|first=Ed&nbsp;M.|work=The Babbel Magazine|access-date=2017-12-30|language=en}}</ref>