Francophonie report: “Algeria ranks 10th worldwide in terms of use of French language”

There are more and more French speakers in the world, the International Organisation of La Francophonie – which represents the French-speaking world – said as it turns 40 this year. French is on the rise thanks to marked progress in African literacy.

The number of French speakers in the world is rising thanks to increasing literacy in Africa, the International Organization of La Francophonie said ahead of its 40th birthday.
   
“The figures that we will release in September on French in the world … will show a marked progress compared to previous years,” said Alexandre Wolff of the 56-member IOF.
   
There are currently estimated to be 274 million French speakers in the world, making it the ninth most-spoken language.
   
Of them, around 96 million live in Africa, where the increase in literacy combined with a high birth rate could see the number of French speakers rise to 1 billion by 2060, the IOF said.
   

Thirty-three countries, scattered around 5 continents, all have French as their official language.

Algeria has been classified by a recent IOF report in the tenth spot worldwide in terms of use of the French language by its citizens.

But such dramatic progress in countries where French is taught at school as a second language rather than by the family at home is dependent on national governments’ policies, especially in education.

   
The number of people who speak French as a first language is only around 75 million, the IOF says.
   
The IOF was founded on March 20, 1970 by four leaders from former French colonies Cambodia, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia.

On November 29, 2014, the International Organization of la Francophonie’s (IOF) 56 member governments and 20 observer countries of will meet in Dakar, Senegal for the 15th Francophonie Summit.

Established in 1962 as a multilateral institution for French speaking countries, La Francophonie’s mandate has expanded over the years to include the promotion of democracy and human rights, education, and sustainable economic growth.

Over the two day meeting, representatives will seek to adopt an economic strategy focusing on empowering women and youth as agents for peace and development. Members will also focus on sustainable economic growth, free market access, management of revenues from extractive industries, governance, and newborn and maternal health. 

If successfully implemented, the forthcoming economic strategy could have broad development implications in a critical, but often underappreciated, demographic in international development policy.

La Francophonie includes 274 million French speakers representing 13 percent of global GDP and roughly 20 percent of world trade in goods. Its largest economies include Morocco, Tunisia, and Cote D’Ivoire.

There are 24 Francophone countries in Africa and the strategic importance of la Francophonie will only become increasingly pronounced as Africa’s collective GDP continues to grow. Roughly 70 percent of Francophone citizens are under the age of thirty, and their economic well-being will be critical to the region for decades to come.