By Pr Amath Ndiaye, FASEG-UCAD.
The public debate in Africa often attributes to the CFA Franc (FCFA) the responsibility for underdevelopment and the maintenance of many African countries in the category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). However, a factual analysis of United Nations data shows that this accusation does not hold up to scrutiny.
According to the official list of LDCs established by the United Nations for the year 2024, Africa has 32 LDCs. Among them, only 10 countries belong to the CFA Franc zone, representing 31.25%. And if we exclude Senegal, which has been engaged in a process of exiting the LDC status since 2024, there are only 9 CFA countries out of 31 African LDCs, representing approximately 29%.
Therefore, more than 70% of African LDCs are outside the CFA zone, using their own national currencies and, for the most part, flexible exchange rate regimes.
This simple statistical observation is decisive: the CFA Franc cannot be the main cause of the existence of LDCs in Africa, since the overwhelming majority of African LDCs do not use the CFA Franc. In other words, underdevelopment is not primarily a question of monetary regime.
The true determinants of LDC status are well known:
low productive diversification,
dependence on raw materials,
insufficient human capital,
lack of infrastructure,
vulnerability to climate and security shocks,
economic mismanagement,
Corruption.
Experience also shows that the CFA Franc has rather contributed to macroeconomic stability, particularly through some of the lowest inflation rates in Africa, a necessary condition – though not sufficient – for sustainable development. The gradual exit of CFA countries from LDC status, such as Senegal, illustrates that the monetary framework is not a mechanical obstacle to development.
Blaming the CFA Franc for African underdevelopment is more of a political slogan than an economic analysis. LDCs exist mainly outside the CFA zone, and the African challenge is primarily productive, structural, and institutional, rather than monetary.
