Latin Africa
Latin Africa refers to the linguistic and cultural region of African countries that speak a Romance Language. The languages spoken are primarily French and Portuguese. These countries either have a Romance Language as an official language, or an administrative language. Increasingly, the Romance Languages are being spoken as native languages in large metropolitan areas. [1][2] Latin Africa has various sub-divisions, including the largest sections that are Francophone African and Lusophone Africa.
The term was first used by Andre Fribourg in 1922, with his book "L'Afrique latine". In this book, this term only referred to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.[3]
The term was later used by Barthélémy Boganda in the 1950s.[4] His idea of a united group of Romance speaking nations was called the United States of Latin Africa.[5] While the term was not widely used after his death, in the early 2020's, the term has been picked up by YouTubers and online commentators.[6][7] This was in response to social media backlash regarding who is and who isn't 'Latino".[8][9][10]
The name Latin Africa was also used by Fidel Castro, in an attempt to draw similarities between Cuba and Angola.[11][12]
The terminology has also been used in comparison to Latin America by academics. [13]
Other international organizations, such as the Latin Union, have given support for this term as they included Romance Language speaking countries in Africa in the organization.[14][15]
Francophone Africa
| Country | Total Population | Romance Language Speaking Population | Total Percentage | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 47,435,000 | 15,589,000 | 32.86% | 2025 |
| Benin | 14,814,000 | 4,992,000 | 33.7% | 2025 |
| Burkina Faso | 24,075,000 | 5,499,000 | 22.84% | 2025 |
| Burundi | 14,390,000 | 1,250,000 | 8.68% | 2025 |
| Cabo Verde | 527,000 | 52,000 | 10.83% | 2025 |
| Cameroon | 29,879,000 | 12,267,000 | 41.06% | 2025 |
| Central African Republic | 5,513,000 | 1,345,000 | 24.39% | 2025 |
| Chad | 21,004,000 | 2,693,000 | 12.82% | 2025 |
| Comoros | 883,000 | 333,000 | 37.73% | 2025 |
| Congo | 6,484,000 | 3,981,000 | 61.4% | 2025 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 32,712,000 | 11,913,000 | 36.42% | 2025 |
| Djibouti | 1,184,000 | 592,000 | 50% | 2025 |
| DR Congo | 112,832,000 | 57,196,000 | 50.69% | 2025 |
| Egypt | 118,366,000 | 3,573,000 | 3.02% | 2025 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1,938,000 | 560,000 | 28.91% | 2025 |
| Gabon | 2,593,000 | 1,719,000 | 66.3% | 2025 |
| Gambia | 2,822,000 | 564,000 | 20.00% | 2025 |
| Ghana | 35,064,000 | 645,000 | 1.84% | 2025 |
| Guinea | 15,100,000 | 4,202,000 | 27.83% | 2025 |
| Guinea-Bissau | ||||
| Madagascar | 32,741,000 | 8,705,000 | 26.59% | 2025 |
| Mali | 25,199,000 | 5,028,000 | 19.95% | 2025 |
| Mauritania | 5,315,000 | 689,000 | 12.96% | 2025 |
| Mauritius | 1,268,000 | 921,000 | 72.65% | 2025 |
| Morocco | 38,431,000 | 13,912,000 | 36.2% | 2025 |
| Niger | 27,918,000 | 3,754,000 | 13.45% | 2025 |
| Rwanda | 14,569,000 | 748,000 | 5.14% | 2025 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | ||||
| Senegal | 18,932,000 | 5,250,000 | 27.73% | 2025 |
| Seychelles | 133,000 | 70,000 | 53.00% | 2025 |
| Togo | 9,722,000 | 3,998,000 | 41.12% | 2025 |
| Tunisia | 12,349,000 | 6,558,000 | 53.11% | 2025 |
Lusophone Africa
| Country | Population | Area (km2) | GDP (nominal) per capita | Percentage of Lusophones |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | 35,678,572 | 1.247.000 | 1.953,53 | 71% |
| Cape Verde | 587,925 | 4.033 | 3.293,23 | 87% |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1,468,777 | 28.050 | 14.637,01 | Unknown |
| Guinea-Bissau | 2,095,887 | 36.126 | 795,12 | 57% |
| Mozambique | 20,069,738 | 801.590 | 466,557 | 60% |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 204,454 | 963.5 | 526,7 | 91% |
| Total | 60,105,353 | 2,117,762 | 21,672,147 |
Hispanophone Africa
| Country | Population | Size (km2) | Capital | Percentage of Spanish speaking population | GDP | HDI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equatorial Guinea | 1.468.777 | 28.051 | Malabo | 87% | 25.988 | 145 |
| Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | 513.000 | 266.000 | El Aaiún | 25.988 | 20 |
References
- ^ "What Languages Are Spoken In Equatorial Guinea?".
- ^ Reite, Torun. "Language and spatiality in urban Mozambique: Ex-colonial language spread "from below"".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Andre, Fribourg. "L'Afrique latine. Maroc - Algérie - Tunisie, par André Fribourg ..."
- ^ "Death of a Strongman". Time Magazine. April 13, 1959.
- ^ RFI, RFI. "Quand Barthélémy Boganda rêvait d'États-Unis d'Afrique latine (5&6)".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Un Mundo Immenso, Un Mundo Immenso (Jun 5, 2025). "Who are really Latinos?".
- ^ Linguriosa, Linguriosa (May 19, 2024). "¿Quién es LATINO?".
- ^ Bernardo Ríos, Bernardo Ríos (4 May 2021). "Los latinos, la Romania y la clasificación de los romances".
- ^ Barragán, A.; Romerales, L. (5 September 2019). "¿Latino o hispano? Parece lo mismo, pero no es igual".
- ^ Wissbegierde, Wissbegierde. "Who are the real Latinos? | Does Latin America exist?".
- ^ Sarah M. Quesada, Sarah M. Quesada. "Keywords for Postcolonial Thought".
- ^ Tagoe, Duke. "We Are Latin Africans - Fidel Castro".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Hanneken, Jaime. "Infinite Latinité: French Imperial Discourse between L'Afrique Latine and America Latina".
- ^ thomasnumismatics, thomasnumismatics. "The Latin Union: a part of European numismatic history".
- ^ "Member countries of the Latin Union".