How many countries are there in Africa? There are 54 countries in Africa. This is a very big continent that spans 30.3 million km2. Furthermore, the Nations are grouped into 5 regions. These are Northern, Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. These regions are further subdivided into 54 countries and territories.
You will see in this list of countries in Africa that the largest country is Algeria while the smallest is Gabon (officially called the Gabonese Republic). When it comes to both size and population, Africa is second only to Asia. The continent has the most youthful population. In addition, it has the fastest growing population.
Niger, a country in West Africa, has the highest population growth in the world (in 2020) of 3.8%. The countries in Africa are also the most diverse in any continent. There are over 3,000 tribes who speak over 1,000 languages! Moreover, each region of Africa has its own culture, and sub-cultures according to the tribes.
Africa is the second-most populated continent in the world. It is estimated to have over 1.3 billion inhabitants who are spread over the 54 nations. Nigeria, in the West, is the most populous nation in Africa. The least populated country is the island nation called Seychelles, that is located in the Indian Ocean near East Africa.
How Many Countries In Africa: Full List of African Nations, Regions and Territories
The following is the full list of African nations and territories. They are arranged in alphabetical order.
- Algeria
- Angola
- Benin
- Botswana
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cape Verde (Cabo Verde)
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Congo-Brazzaville
- Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo-Kinshasa, formerly Zaire)
- Cote d’Ivoire
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Eswatini (Swaziland)
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Africa
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Fun fact: South Sudan is the youngest country in the world. The East African nation gained independence from Sudan in 2011. Despite being an oil exporter, South Sudan is one of the poorest countries in Africa and the world.
Western Sahara in the North and the British Indian Ocean Territory near Tanzania are two of the territories in the continent. There are two French territories in Africa too. These territories are small islands that are located close to the mainland, hence their association with the continent. St. Helena island lies in the South Atlantic Ocean (West of Africa) while the two French territories are found in the Indian Ocean, near the East African island nation of Madagascar.
- Saint Helena (British territory)
- Réunion Island (French Territory)
- Mayotte (French Territory)
Fun fact: Madagascar is the world’s fourth largest Island. The 3 bigger islands are the Danish territory of Greenland, New Guinea in Australia and Borneo, an Asian island.
List of Countries in Africa: North African Countries
There are 6 countries in Northern Africa, according to the UN, and one territory. Arabic is the most spoken language in the North. The countries of Northern Africa contribute about a third of the continent’s total GDP. Moreover, they are blessed with natural resources. Oil and natural gas are the biggest natural resources in the North.
The following is the list of North African countries and territories.
- Tunisia
- Egypt
- Libya
- Algeria
- Morocco
- Sudan
- Western Sahara (Territory)
Fun fact: Despite being the richest region in the continent, deserts occupy most of North Africa. The Sahara, the world’s largest hot desert, is located in North Africa. Tunisia is the northernmost country while Egypt is North Africa’s biggest economy. Northern Africa is also home to the oldest country in the continent: Egypt!
List of Countries in West Africa
There are over 15 countries in West Africa. The region has produced some of the famous footballers in the world.
Another distinguishing feature of Western Africa nations is that several of them have French as a national language. This includes Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte, d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Guinea and Equatorial Guinea. All in all, French is spoken in over half of all African nations: 29 countries.
- Nigeria
- Ghana
- Senegal
- Mauritania
- Chad
- Benin
- Guinea
- Guinea Bissau
- Liberia
- Ivory Coast
- Mali
- Niger
- Togo
- Burkina Faso
- Gambia
- Sierra Leone
- Cape Verde
- Saint Helena (British territory)
Fun fact: West Africa is home to the richest and most populated country in the continent, Nigeria. Nigerians make up almost half of the total population in West Africa. Moreover, the country has over 250 ethnic groups who speak over 500 languages!
Number of Central African Countries
The following is a list of central African countries. Most of the nations in this region have huge deposits of minerals. These include diamonds, uranium, copper, gold and oil. Gabon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea are OPEC members who are also some of the biggest oil producers in the continent.
Central Africa is also the birthplace of one of the popular allergy-free dogs. This is the famous African barkless dog – the non-shedding Basenji. However, some of these Central African nations are sometimes regarded as being in East or Southern region.
- Cameroon
- Angola
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Gabon
- Equatorial Guinea
- Congo
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Sao Tome and Principe
Fun fact: Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish speaking country in Africa. The small middle-African country is a leading exporter of oil and has one of the highest GDP per capita in the continent.
East African Countries List
There are 3 territories and over 15 countries in East Africa. Somalia is the easternmost country in the continent while Kenya is the biggest economy in East Africa. Agriculture is the main economic activity in this region. Tea, coffee, bananas and other fruits, vegetables, sisal, cotton and animal products are in plenty in the Eastern region.
Other major economic activities in Eastern Africa include fishing, financial services (such as M-Pesa) and tourism. The following is the list of East African countries and territories. Some of these countries are sometimes grouped under the Central or Southern region.
- Kenya
- Uganda
- Tanzania
- Rwanda
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Burundi
- Ethiopia
- Eritrea
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Zimbabwe
- Mozambique
- Zambia
- Seychelles
- Djibouti
- Comoros
- Seychelles
- Mauritius
- Réunion Island (Territory)
- Mayotte (Territory)
- British Indian Ocean Territory
Mayotte and Réunion Island are French territories that are geographically located very close to Africa. The two are among the 5 overseas departments and regions of France. The other 3 regions are Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean Sea, and French Guiana in South America.
Fun fact: Swahili (Kiswahili) is the most-spoken language in East Africa. Other popular languages are English in the South, Arabic in the North, and French in West and Central regions. These are only some of the over 1,500 languages spoken in the continent.
List of South African Countries
There are several countries in South Africa. The main economic activities here includes mining, tourism, forestry and livestock farming. Botswana and South Africa are leading exporters of minerals such as gold and diamonds. Other minerals found in the Southern end include platinum, chrome, vanadium and Manganese.
Some countries in the South are sometimes categorized under East and Central Africa. But the following nations are often grouped under the South African region.
- Angola
- Zambia
- Malawi
- Namibia
- Botswana
- Zimbabwe
- Mozambique
- Lesotho
- Eswatini (Swaziland)
- South Africa
Fun fact: South Africa is the biggest economy in Southern Africa. It is also the southernmost nation in the continent. There are two small landlocked countries that share borders with the country: Lesotho is completely encircled, while most of Swaziland is encircled, by the country.
List of African Countries and Capitals, Population and GDP
The following is a table of all African nations, their capital cities, population in 2019 and GDP per capita (2019). They are arranged in alphabetical order.
Country | Capital City | Population in Millions (2019) | GDP per capita US$ (2019) |
Algeria | Algiers | 43 | 3,948.3 |
Angola | Luanda | 31.8 | 2,973.6 |
Benin | Porto-Novo | 11.8 | 1,219.4 |
Botswana | Gaborone | 2.3 | 7,961.3 |
Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | 20.3 | 774.8 |
Burundi | Gitega | 11.5 | 261.2 |
Cape Verde (Cabo Verde) | Praia | 0.55 | 3,603.8 |
Cameroon | Yaounde | 25.9 | 1,497.9 |
Central African Republic | Bangui | 4.7 | 467.9 |
Chad | N’Djamena | 15.9 | 709.5 |
Comoros | Moroni | 0.85 | 1,393.5 |
Congo-Brazzaville | Brazzaville | 5.38 | 2,011.1 |
Democratic Republic of Congo | Kinshasa | 86.8 | 545.2 |
Cote d’Ivoire | Yamoussoukro | 25.7 | 2,286.2 |
Djibouti | Djibouti | 0.97 | 3,408.8 |
Egypt | Cairo | 100 | 3,020.0 |
Equatorial Guinea | Malabo | 1.35 | 8,131.9 |
Eritrea | Asmara | 3.2 (2011) | 642.5 (2011) |
Eswatini (Swaziland) | Mbabane | 1.15 | 3,837.0 |
Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | 112 | 857.5 |
Gabon | Libreville | 2.17 | 7,667.4 |
Gambia | Banjul | 2.35 | 751.3 |
Ghana | Accra | 30 | 2,202.1 |
Guinea | Conakry | 12.8 | 1,064.1 |
Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | 1.9 | 697.8 |
Kenya | Nairobi | 52.5 | 1,816.5 |
Lesotho | Maseru | 2.1 | 1,157.5 |
Liberia | Monrovia | 4.9 | 621.9 |
Libya | Tripoli | 6.8 | 7,683.8 |
Madagascar | Antananarivo | 26.7 | 522.2 |
Malawi | Lilongwe | 18.6 | 411.6 |
Mali | Bamako | 19.6 | 890.7 |
Mauritania | Nouakchott | 4.5 | 1,677.9 |
Mauritius | Port Louis | 1.3 | 11,203.5 |
Morocco | Rabat | 36 | 3,204.1 |
Mozambique | Maputo | 30 | 491.8 |
Namibia | Windhoek | 2.5 | 4,957.5 |
Niger | Niamey | 23 | 554.6 |
Nigeria | Abuja | 201 | 2,229.9 |
Rwanda | Kigali | 12.6 | 801.7 |
Sao Tome and Principe | Sao Tome | 0.2 | 1,994.9 |
Senegal | Dakar | 16 | 1,446.8 |
Seychelles | Victoria | 0.098 | 17,401.7 |
Sierra Leone | Freetown | 7.8 | 504.5 |
Somalia | Mogadishu | 15 | 126.9 (1990) |
South Africa | Pretoria | 58.5 | 6,001.4 |
South Sudan | Juba | 11 | 1,119.7 (2015) |
Sudan | Khartoum | 42.8 | 441.5 |
Tanzania | Dodoma | 58 | 1,122.1 |
Togo | Lome | 8 | 675.5 |
Tunisia | Tunis | 11.7 | 3,317.5 |
Uganda | Kampala | 44 | 776.8 |
Zambia | Lusaka | 17.9 | 1,291.3 |
Zimbabwe | Harare | 14.6 | 1,464.0 |
More Interesting Facts about cities in Africa:
- The largest city and former capital of Tanzania is Dar es Salaam.
- Abidjan is the de facto capital of cote d’Ivoire. But the administrative/ political capital is Yamoussoukro
- The capital of Equatorial Guinea, Malabo, is located on the island of Bioko, away from the mainland.
- Bujumbura is the largest city and former capital of Burundi.
- Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco. But the capital is Rabat.
- Lagos is the former capital of Nigeria
- Nairobi city is the capital of Kenya, and one of the 47 counties in Kenya.
- Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi. But the economic capital is the city of Blantyre.
- Cairo and Lagos are the largest cities in Africa by size and population respectively.
- South Africa has 3 capital cities: These cities are Pretoria (executive), Bloemfontein (judicial) and Cape Town (legislative). But the largest city is Johannesburg.
This is the full list of countries in Africa and regions. Contrary to what some foreigners assume, Africa is a continent – not a country. And it is a very big and vibrant continent. Lifestyles also vary greatly in this continent: from modern city life in the capital cities to pastoralism and small-scale agriculture in the villages.
Above all, Africans are proud of their cultures and traditions that are passed-on from one generation to the other. In Africa, it takes a village to raise a child.