History of French and is a lingua franca in some regions, notably in Africa. The legacy of French as a living language outside Europe is mixed: it is nearly extinct in some former French colonies (Southeast Asia), while the language has changed to creoles, dialects or pidgins in the French departments in the West Indies, even though people there are still educated in standard French. On the other hand, many former French colonies have adopted French as an official language, and the total number of French speakers has increased, especially in Africa. In the Canadian province of Quebec, different laws have promoted the
Geographical distribution of French speakers French is the sole official language of Democratic Republic of Congo. About half of Kinshasa residents feel solidarity towards Francophone countries, and French is seen as important for education and relations with the government. It is also seen as important to be successful in life, along with English. French is the main language of education after third grade. French is one of two official languages of Djibouti, the other being Arabic. On social media, French was used on Facebook by 82% of Djiboutians in 2014. French is the sole official language of Gabon. According to a 1999 survey, French was