Type | International public broadcaster |
---|---|
Country | |
Ownership | |
Owner | France Médias Monde (Government of France) |
History | |
Founded | 1945 (1975 as Radio France International) |
Coverage | |
Availability | Worldwide |
Affiliates | |
Links | |
Website |
Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world, along with Deutsche Welle, the BBC World Service and Voice of America.[1][2][non-primary source needed]
RFI broadcasts 24 hours per day around the world in French and in 16 other languages in FM, shortwave, medium wave, satellite and on its website. It is a channel of the state company France Médias Monde. The majority of shortwave transmissions are in French and Hausa but also includes some hours of Swahili, Portuguese, Mandinka, and Russian. RFI broadcasts to over 150 countries on 5 continents.[2][non-primary source needed] Africa is the largest part of radio listeners, representing 60% of the total audience in 2010.[3][non-primary source needed] In the Paris region, RFI comprises between 150,000 and 200,000 listeners. Its digital platforms attract an average of 24.6 million visits a month (2022 average) while 31.1 million followers stay connected via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and Youtube.[1][non-primary source needed]
In 2020, the audience was of 58.1 million listeners (up to 11.6 million compared to 2019, +25%), breaking down into 29.8 million in French-speaking Africa, 11 million in non-French speaking Africa, 2 million in the Maghreb region, 1.3 million in Europe, 13 million in the Americas and 1 million in Asia.[4][non-primary source needed]