List of African Countries – Africa is geographically fortunate, as it is surrounded by a perennially flowing body of water. The continent exhibits a distinct resolve and boundary.
Africa is the second-largest and second-most-populous continent globally, following Asia. African countries are home to more people in the world, and in this article, you will see a detailed list of all the recognized independent African countries. Read on!
Note: Excluded from this list of all the recognized independent African countries and listed separately are Dependencies (or dependent territories, dependent areas) or Areas of Special Sovereignty (autonomous territories).
Africa has 54 recognized independent countries. Egypt possesses the unique feature of being transcontinental, having some of its land in Asia, but it is African politically, being an African Union member.
Algeria is the biggest African country by size, occupying 7% of the continent’s territory. Seychelles is the smallest nation by size, with 115 beautiful islands scattered around the eastern part of the mainland coast. Seychelles prides itself on being one of the most popular tourist destinations for beach holidays.
Moreover, Morocco, a land of great beauty, is the most popular tourist destination in Africa, followed by South Africa, Egypt, and Tunisia.
Alphabetical List of Countries in Africa
| S/N | Country | Country’s Capital | Subregion |
| 1 | Algeria | Algiers | Northern Africa |
| 2 | Angola | Luanda | Central Africa |
| 3 | Benin | Porto-Novo | Western Africa |
| 4 | Botswana | Gaborone | Southern Africa |
| 5 | Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | Western Africa |
| 6 | Burundi | Gitega | Eastern Africa |
| 7 | Côte d’Ivoire | Yamoussoukro | Western Africa |
| 8 | Cabo Verde | Praia | Western Africa |
| 9 | Cameroon | Yaoundé | Central Africa |
| 10 | Central African Republic | Bangui | Central Africa |
| 11 | Chad | N’Djamena | Central Africa |
| 12 | Comoros | Moroni | Eastern Africa |
| 13 | Djibouti | Djibouti | Eastern Africa |
| 14 | Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) | Kinshasa | Central Africa |
| 15 | Egypt | Cairo | Northern Africa |
| 16 | Equatorial Guinea | Malabo | Central Africa |
| 17 | Eritrea | Asmara | Eastern Africa |
| 18 | Eswatini | Mbabane (executive) and Lobamba (legislative) | Southern Africa |
| 19 | Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | Eastern Africa |
| 20 | Gabon | Libreville | Central Africa |
| 21 | Ghana | Accra | Western Africa |
| 22 | Guinea | Conakry | Western Africa |
| 23 | Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | Western Africa |
| 24 | Kenya | Nairobi | Eastern Africa |
| 25 | Lesotho | Maseru | Southern Africa |
| 26 | Liberia | Monrovia | Western Africa |
| 27 | Libya | Tripoli | Northern Africa |
| 28 | Madagascar | Antananarivo | Eastern Africa |
| 29 | Malawi | Lilongwe | Eastern Africa |
| 30 | Mali | Bamako | Western Africa |
| 31 | Mauritania | Nouakchott | Western Africa |
| 32 | Mauritius | Port Louis | Eastern Africa |
| 33 | Morocco | Rabat | Northern Africa |
| 34 | Mozambique | Maputo | Eastern Africa |
| 35 | Namibia | Windhoek | Southern Africa |
| 36 | Niger | Niamey | Western Africa |
| 37 | Nigeria | Abuja | Western Africa |
| 38 | Republic of the Congo | Brazzaville | Central Africa |
| 39 | Rwanda | Kigali | Eastern Africa |
| 40 | São Tomé and Príncipe | São Tomé | Central Africa |
| 41 | Senegal | Dakar | Western Africa |
| 42 | Seychelles | Victoria | Eastern Africa |
| 43 | Sierra Leone | Freetown | Western Africa |
| 44 | Somalia | Mogadishu | Eastern Africa |
| 45 | South Africa | Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), and Bloemfontein (judicial) | Southern Africa |
| 46 | South Sudan | Juba | Eastern Africa |
| 47 | Sudan | Khartoum | Northern Africa |
| 48 | Tanzania | Dodoma | Eastern Africa |
| 49 | The Gambia | Banjul | Western Africa |
| 50 | Togo | Lomé | Western Africa |
| 51 | Tunisia | Tunis | Northern Africa |
| 52 | Uganda | Kampala | Eastern Africa |
| 53 | Zambia | Lusaka | Eastern Africa |
| 54 | Zimbabwe | Harare | Eastern Africa |
Dependencies or other territories
- Mayotte [Dependency of France].
- Réunion [Dependency of France].
- Saint Helena [Dependency of United Kingdom].
- Western Sahara [Dependency of: (disputed)].
Also check: Labeled Map of Africa with Countries and Capitals
Top Facts about African countries
1. Africa is the world’s second-largest continent, both in terms of population and size.
2. In Africa, Islam is the most widely practiced religion, followed by Christianity. Arabic is still Africa’s most commonly spoken language.
3. Despite being the world’s second-largest continent, Africa has the world’s shortest coastline.
4. Africa is the world’s most centrally located continent. It is split across by the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude) and the equator (0 degrees latitude).
5. Nigeria is Africa’s largest country by population (over 200 million people), equal to around 18% of Africa’s overall population.
6. Africa is home to the world’s tallest and largest land animals: the giraffe and the African elephant.
7. About 2,000 languages and dialects are being used in Africa, each with its own regional accents, with Arabic being the most popular language on the continent.
8. Africa has the longest river in the world, the Nile, and the largest desert in the world, the Sahara.
9. Algeria is Africa’s largest nation by land area.
10. Ethiopia, the hottest country in the world, is located in Africa.
11. For thousands of years, the continent’s terrain was inaccessible and mysterious, earning it the moniker “Dark Continent.”
12. Cheetahs, lions, zebras, mongooses, elephants, giraffes, and addax are some of Africa’s most popular animals.
13. The Victoria Falls, situated on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia, is Africa’s biggest waterfall. It is 355 feet high and nearly a mile wide.
15. The continent is home to most of the world’s French-speaking people.
16. Angola has a greater Portuguese-speaking population than Portugal.
17. In Senegal, Africa, there is a pink river.
Also see: Africa Map with Capitals | African countries and Capitals
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