My daughter is considering a gap-year after high school in a
French-speaking country in Africa.  Can you help us to define that
list of countries?  I'm getting lists of 10-19 countries, and I don't
know which are truly Francophone African countries.  Many thanks.

Hello Rhinopias220,

According to the CIA World Factbook, French is the official or one of
the official languages in the following countries in Africa.

Benin
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Central African Republic 
Chad
Comoros
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 
Congo, Republic of the  
Cote d'Ivoire
Djibouti  
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
Guinea  
Madagascar
Mali
Niger 
Rwanda
Senegal
Togo

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2098.html


Search criteria:
CIA World Factbook
Country Languages
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2098.html


I hope the information provided is helpful!

Best regards,
Bobbie7

Hello Rhinopias220,

You can completely disregard this comment if you want to, because it
is only very tangential to your question, which has been completely
answered.

These are the thoughts of a father whose daughter was also once that
age and of someone who has heard from a doctor who is by choice in
Francophone Africa for a couple of years, who is nonetheless surprised
by the actual conditions.

It is admirable and courageous of your daughter to want to spend a
year there.  Your question suggests, however, that you are not too
acquainted with the area.
I hope that you will look very seriously into the political and
cultural situation of the country she chooses to visit, and that you
will be absolutely certain about her living arrangements and security.
For a young girl, even living alone in the neighboring foreign country
can present unexpected situations (to use a neutral word).  On a
different continent, cultural shock can be debilitatitng.

Please excuse me for this comment if you feel that it is inapproprate.
Myoarin

There are also north African countries that have French as a main
language, such as Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. View the current
socio-economic and political conditions in African countries right
now, Tunisia and Morocco are probably the most stable and safest
French speaking African countries.