CFA franc Definition
The CFA franc (in French: franc CFA, or just franc in everyday conversation if no ambiguity is possible) is a currency used in 12 formerly French-ruled African countries, as well as in Guinea-Bissau (former Portuguese colony) and in Equatorial Guinea (former Spanish colony).
CFA stood for Colonies franaises d'Afrique ("French colonies of Africa") between 1945 and 1958, and then for Communaut franaise d'Afrique ("French community of Africa") between 1958 (establishment of the French Fifth Republic) and the independence of these African countries at the beginning of the 1960s.