www.francophonie.org is a portal site where you can :
- discover the extent of the IOF’s vitality and wealth, its wide ranging cultures and French accents and its partner languages ;
- keep abreast with the IOF’s latest political activities to promote peace, democracy and Human Rights, under the leadership of its Secretary General Abdou Diouf, former President of Senegal ;
- learn about the cooperation measures taken to promote the French language, cultural diversity, sustainable development, education and training ;
- surf the Web more easily thanks to RSS feed formats and discover all the French-language resources on the Internet ;
- access a database comprising thousands of photos, videos and audio documents.
About us
The International Organisation of La Francophonie represents one of the biggest linguistic zones in the world. Its members share more than just a common language. They also share the humanist values promoted by the French language. The French language and its humanist values represent the two cornerstones on which the International Organisation of La Francophonie is based.
The International Organisation of La Francophonie was created in 1970. Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 70 member states and governments (56 members and 14 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and account for a population of over 870 million people, including 200 million French speakers.
IOF organises political activities and actions of multilateral cooperation that benefit French-speaking populations. Its actions respect cultural and linguistic diversity and serve to promote the French language, peace and sustainable development.
IOF has concluded 33 cooperation agreements with international and regional organisations and has established permanent dialogue between the major international linguistic zones (the English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Arab-speaking zones).
The IOF has its head office in Paris as well as four permanent representations in Addis Ababa (at the African Union and at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa), in Brussels (at the European Union), in New York and in Geneva (at the UN). It has three regional offices (West Africa ; Central Africa and Indian Ocean ; Asia-Pacific) located respectively in Lomé (Togo), Libreville (Gabon) and Hanoi (Vietnam) and two regional antennas in Bucharest (Romania) and in Port-au-Prince (Haiti).
Alongside the IOF, the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie and the four direct operators are responsible for implementing the programs decided at the Summits. The four direct operators are : the Academic Agency of La Francophonie, TV5Monde, the International Association of Francophone Mayors and The Senghor University of Alexandria.
56 Member States and Governments :
Albania, Principality of Andorra, Armenia, Kingdom of Belgium, French Community of Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Canada-New-Brunswick, Canada-Quebec, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, , Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, France, Gabon, Ghana, Greece, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Mauritania, Moldova, Monaco, Niger, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Säo Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Vanuatu, Vietnam.
14 Observers :
Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Mozambique, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Ukraine.
Secretary General of La Francophonie : Abdou DIOUF
Administrator : Clément Duhaime
Contacts :
Secretary general’s office :
28, rue de Bourgogne, 75007 Paris, France
Tel. : +33 1 44 11 12 50 - Fax : +33 1 44 11 12 87
Email : oif@francophonie.org
Administration and Cooperation
13, quai André-Citroën, 75015 Paris, France
Tel. : +33 1 44 37 33 00 - Fax : + 33 1 45 79 14 98
Email : com@francophonie.org
Benchmarks
- 200 million French speakers worldwide
There are an estimated 200 million French speakers worldwide, including 72 million partial French speakers. - French is the 9th most widely spoken language on the planet
French is the 9th most widely spoken language on the planet and the only one, together with English, to be spoken on all five continents. - 60% of French speakers are under 30 years old
In most of the IOF member countries, 60% of the population is under 30 years old. - French is the 3rd most widely used language on the Web
French is the 3rd most widely used language on the Web with 5% of Internet pages, after English (45%) and German (7%) and ahead of Spanish (4.5%). - 900,000 French teachers worldwide
There are an estimated 900,000 French teachers worldwide. - 96.2 million French-speakers in Africa
Africa is the continent with the largest number of French speakers, with 96.2 million French speakers in the IOF member countries. - March 20, 1970 : the birth of an intergovernmental organisation of French-speaking nations
March 20, 1970 saw the birth an intergovernmental organisation of French-speaking nations, with the creation in Niamey (Niger), of the Agency of Cultural and Technical Cooperation. This organisation adopted a new Charter of Francophony in 2005 and was renamed the International Organisation of La Francophonie (IOF) as it is still known today. - The IOF : 70 States and governments
The IOF has 70 States and governments (including 14 observers) across the five continents. - IOF’s community : 870 million people
In 2008, the IOF’s 70 States and governments represented a total of 870 million people, or 13% of the world’s population. - The IOF : over one-third of the UNO’s member states
The International Organisation of La Francophonie’s 70 member states and governments represent over one-third of the United Nation’s member states. - The French-speaking zone accounts for 19% of world trade in goods
With 18.9% of world exports and 19% of world imports, French-speaking countries account for 19% of world trade in goods - French is an official language in 32 member states
French is either the official language, or one of the official languages in 32 of the IOF’s member states, governments or observers. - French is the 2nd most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union
French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue (16%) after German (23%) and ahead of English (15.9%) in the European Union - French is the 2nd most widely spoken foreign language in the European Union
French is the 2nd most widely spoken foreign language (19%) after English (41%) and ahead of German (10%) and Spanish (7%) in the European Union. - TV5 is broadcast in 202 countries
TV5MONDE, the multilateral French language television channel, has the 3rd largest international television network and is broadcast in 202 countries. - 207 million homes : TV5’s audience
TV5MONDE broadcasts French productions 24 hours a day to an audience estimated at over 207 million homes. - IOF has partnerships with 31 international and regional organisations
The IOF has signed cooperation agreements with 31 international and regional organisations including the UNO, the European Union and the African Union. - All IOF’s members signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child
All of the IOF’s members signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child. - 77 French-speaking parliaments or interparliamentary organisations
The Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie comprises 77 parliaments or interparliamentary organisations. - 710 French-speaking establishments for further education and research
The Academic Agency of La Francophonie federates 710 establishments for further education and research in 85 countries. - The International Association of Francophone Mayors represents 184 cities in 37 countries
The International Association of Francophone Mayors comprises 184 cities and 19 city associations from 37 countries.
