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Countries of Africa

Countries by continent

Africa has 54 countries recognized by the UN, from the largest, Algeria (2.38 million km²), to the smallest, the Seychelles (459 km²). It is the second most populous continent on Earth, led by Nigeria with some 220 million inhabitants. This table lists the African countries and their capitals, with the population and area of each one; click on a column header to sort the list.

List of the 54 African countries and their capitals

Country Capital Population Area (km²)
Algeria AlgeriaAlgiers Algiers 46,814,3082,381,740 km² 2,381,740
Angola AngolaLuanda Luanda 37,885,8491,246,700 km² 1,246,700
Benin BeninPorto Novo Porto Novo 14,462,724114,760 km² 114,760
Botswana BotswanaGaborone Gaborone 2,521,139581,730 km² 581,730
Burkina Faso Burkina FasoOuagadougou Ouagadougou 23,548,781274,200 km² 274,200
Burundi BurundiBujumbura Bujumbura 14,047,78627,830 km² 27,830
Cameroon CameroonYaoundé Yaoundé 29,123,744475,440 km² 475,440
Cape Verde Cape VerdePraia Praia 524,8774,030 km² 4,030
Central African Republic Central African RepublicBangui Bangui 5,330,690622,980 km² 622,980
Chad ChadN'Djamena N'Djamena 20,299,1231,284,000 km² 1,284,000
Comoros ComorosMoroni Moroni 866,6281,861 km² 1,861
Democratic Republic of Congo Democratic Republic of CongoKinshasa Kinshasa 109,276,2652,344,860 km² 2,344,860
Djibouti DjiboutiDjibouti Djibouti 1,168,72223,200 km² 23,200
Egypt EgyptCairo Cairo 116,538,2581,001,450 km² 1,001,450
Equatorial Guinea Equatorial GuineaMalabo Malabo 1,892,51628,050 km² 28,050
Eritrea EritreaAsmara Asmara 3,535,603121,630 km² 121,630
Eswatini EswatiniMbabane Mbabane 1,242,82217,360 km² 17,360
Ethiopia EthiopiaAddis Ababa Addis Ababa 132,059,7671,136,240 km² 1,136,240
Gabon GabonLibreville Libreville 2,538,952267,670 km² 267,670
Gambia GambiaBanjul Banjul 2,759,98811,300 km² 11,300
Ghana GhanaAccra Accra 34,427,414238,533 km² 238,533
Guinea GuineaConakry Conakry 14,754,785245,860 km² 245,860
Guinea-Bissau Guinea-BissauBissau Bissau 2,201,35236,130 km² 36,130
Ivory Coast Ivory CoastYamoussoukro Yamoussoukro 31,934,230322,460 km² 322,460
Kenya KenyaNairobi Nairobi 56,432,944580,370 km² 580,370
Lesotho LesothoMaseru Maseru 2,337,42330,360 km² 30,360
Liberia LiberiaMonrovia Monrovia 5,612,817111,370 km² 111,370
Libya LibyaTripoli Tripoli 7,381,0231,759,540 km² 1,759,540
Madagascar MadagascarAntananarivo Antananarivo 31,964,956587,295 km² 587,295
Malawi MalawiLilongwe Lilongwe 21,655,286118,480 km² 118,480
Mali MaliBamako Bamako 24,478,5951,240,190 km² 1,240,190
Mauritania MauritaniaNouakchott Nouakchott 5,169,3951,030,700 km² 1,030,700
Mauritius MauritiusPort Louis Port Louis 1,259,5092,010 km² 2,010
Morocco MoroccoRabat Rabat 38,081,173446,550 km² 446,550
Mozambique MozambiqueMaputo Maputo 34,631,766799,380 km² 799,380
Namibia NamibiaWindhoek Windhoek 3,030,131824,290 km² 824,290
Niger NigerNiamey Niamey 27,032,4121,267,000 km² 1,267,000
Nigeria NigeriaAbuja Abuja 232,679,478923,770 km² 923,770
Republic of the Congo Republic of the CongoBrazzaville Brazzaville 6,332,961342,000 km² 342,000
Rwanda RwandaKigali Kigali 14,256,56726,340 km² 26,340
São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and PríncipeSão Tomé São Tomé 235,536960 km² 960
Senegal SenegalDakar Dakar 18,501,984196,710 km² 196,710
Seychelles SeychellesVictoria Victoria 121,354460 km² 460
Sierra Leone Sierra LeoneFreetown Freetown 8,642,02272,300 km² 72,300
Somalia SomaliaMogadishu Mogadishu 19,009,151637,660 km² 637,660
South Africa South AfricaPretoria Pretoria 64,007,1871,219,090 km² 1,219,090
South Sudan South SudanJuba Juba 11,943,408646,883 km² 646,883
Sudan SudanKhartoum Khartoum 50,448,9631,878,000 km² 1,878,000
Tanzania TanzaniaDodoma Dodoma 68,560,157947,300 km² 947,300
Togo TogoLomé Lomé 9,515,23656,790 km² 56,790
Tunisia TunisiaTunis Tunis 12,277,109163,610 km² 163,610
Uganda UgandaKampala Kampala 50,015,092241,550 km² 241,550
Zambia ZambiaLusaka Lusaka 21,314,956752,610 km² 752,610
Zimbabwe ZimbabweHarare Harare 16,634,373390,760 km² 390,760

FAQs about African countries

How many countries are there in Africa?

Africa has 54 sovereign countries recognized by the UN, making it the most politically fragmented continent. It covers about 30,370,000 km² with a population of 1.4 billion.

What is the largest country in Africa?

Algeria is the largest country in Africa by area (2.38 million km²). The African continent covers about 30,370,000 km², which is 20% of the world's land area.

Which is the most populous country in Africa?

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with over 220 million inhabitants. Africa is expected to reach 2.5 billion people by 2050.

What is the smallest country in Africa?

Seychelles is the smallest country in Africa with only 459 km². This Indian Ocean archipelago is known for its exceptional biodiversity and beaches.

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