Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, also known as DRC or historically Zaire, is the most populous francophone country in the world, with about 77 million people (compared to 67 million in France). However, despite French being the sole official language, only about a third of the population (25 million) speak it as a first- or second-language.

With over 242 languages present in the Congo, most people are multilingual and speak their own tribal language as their mother tongue, plus one of four national languages: Kongo, Lingala, Tshiluba, and Swahili. Primary schools use the national language of their region, while in secondary education and above, French is the language of instruction.

The lingua franca of the Central African region, including the DRC, is Kituba, a mixture language of French and Kongo. It is widely used in television and radio broadcasts, health materials, and to address the wider geographic audience. In the eastern parts of the country, Swahili can also be used for this purpose, as it is also used in neighboring countries.

During Belgian colonial times Dutch was often used, but French was still more popular. Since independence in 1960, French has all but replaced any Dutch linguistic legacy.