List of Countries in Africa (Alphabetical Order)

As the second largest continent, Africa has an area of 30.3 million square kilometers, which represents 20.4 percent of the Earth’s land area. The name Africa derives from Roman times. In Roman times, “Africa” ​​was the name of the Carthage area of ​​present-day northeast Tunisia. Later, Africa became the name of the south coast of the Mediterranean and has been the name of the African continent since the Middle Ages.

Regions in Africa

• Western Africa
• Eastern Africa
• Northern Africa
• Central Africa
• Southern Africa

Geographically, the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar separate Africa from Europe to the north. Africa has land connection with Asia to the northeast; The Suez Canal is considered the distinction between the two continents. By the way, Africa is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and east, and the Red Sea to the northeast.

The highest mountain is Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, 5895 meters above sea level. The longest river is the Nile, which has a length of 6671 kilometers, and the largest lake is Lake Victoria in East Africa with a surface area of ​​68,800 square kilometers.

How Many Countries in Africa

Africa is often divided into the regions of North Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, South Africa and East Africa. The continent consists of 54 independent states and 8 territories. In addition, 2 states come with limited or lack of international recognition: Somaliland and Western Sahara. Three states are monarchies, and the rest are republics.

Africa’s largest country is Algeria; the least is the Seychelles. The Gambia is the smallest country on the African mainland.

Map of African Countries

Surrounded by the East Indian and West Atlantic Oceans, Africa means “place where the sun is hot” in Latin. See below for map of Africa and all state flags.

Although most countries are undeveloped, Africa is one of the best travel destinations in the world. Top destinations include Maasai Mara National Reserve (Kenya), Victoria Falls (Zambia), Pyramids of Giza (Egypt), Cape Town (South Africa) and Marrakech (Morocco).

Alphabetical List of All Countries in Africa

As of 2020, there are a total of 54 countries in Africa. Among all African countries, Nigeria is the largest one by population and Seychelles is the smallest. See the following for full list of African countries and dependencies in alphabetical order:

#	Flag	Country	Official Name	Population
1		Algeria	People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria	43,851,055
2		Angola	Republic of Angola	32,866,283
3		Benin	Republic of Benin	12,123,211
4		Botswana	Republic of Botswana	2,351,638
5		Burkina Faso	Burkina Faso	20,903,284
6		Burundi	Republic of Burundi	11,890,795
7		Cameroon	Republic of Cameroon	26,545,874
8		Cabo Verde	Republic of Cabo Verde (formerly Cape Verde)	555,998
9		Central African Republic	Central African Republic	4,829,778
10		Chad	Republic of Chad	16,425,875
11		Comoros	Union of the Comoros	869,612
12		Côte d’Ivoire	Republic of Côte d’Ivoire	26,378,285
13		Democratic Republic of the Congo	Democratic Republic of the Congo	89,561,414
14		Djibouti	Republic of Djibouti	988,011
15		Egypt	Arab Republic of Egypt	102,334,415
16		Equatorial Guinea	Republic of Equatorial Guinea	1,402,996
17		Eritrea	State of Eritrea	3,546,432
18		Eswatini	Kingdom of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)	1,163,491
19		Ethiopia	Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia	114,963,599
20		Gabon	Gabonese Republic	2,225,745
21		Gambia	Republic of the Gambia	2,416,679
22		Ghana	Republic of Ghana	31,072,951
23		Guinea	Republic of Guinea	13,132,806
24		Guinea-Bissau	Republic of Guinea-Bissau	1,968,012
25		Kenya	Republic of Kenya	53,771,307
26		Lesotho	Kingdom of Lesotho	2,142,260
27		Liberia	Republic of Liberia	5,057,692
28		Libya	State of Libya	6,871,303
29		Madagascar	Republic of Madagascar	27,691,029
30		Malawi	Republic of Malawi	19,129,963
31		Mali	Republic of Mali	20,250,844
32		Mauritania	Islamic Republic of Mauritania	4,649,669
33		Mauritius	Republic of Mauritius	1,271,779
34		Morocco	Kingdom of Morocco	36,910,571
35		Mozambique	Republic of Mozambique	31,255,446
36		Namibia	Republic of Namibia	2,540,916
37		Niger	Republic of the Niger	24,206,655
38		Nigeria	Federal Republic of Nigeria	206,139,600
39		Republic of the Congo	Republic of the Congo	5,240,011
40		Rwanda	Republic of Rwanda	12,952,229
41		Sao Tome and Principe	Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe	219,170
42		Senegal	Republic of Senegal	16,743,938
43		Seychelles	Republic of Seychelles	98,358
44		Sierra Leone	Republic of Sierra Leone	7,976,994
45		Somalia	Federal Republic of Somalia	15,893,233
46		South Africa	Republic of South Africa	59,308,701
47		South Sudan	Republic of South Sudan	11,193,736
48		Sudan	Republic of the Sudan	43,849,271
49		Tanzania	United Republic of Tanzania	59,734,229
50		Togo	Togolese Republic	8,278,735
51		Tunisia	Republic of Tunisia	11,818,630
52		Uganda	Republic of Uganda	45,741,018
53		Zambia	Republic of Zambia	18,383,966
54		Zimbabwe	Republic of Zimbabwe	14,862,935

Dependencies in Africa

Besides 54 independent nations, there are also two dependencies in Africa.

1. Réunion (France)
2. Saint Helena (U.K.)

Facts about Africa

• The Nile River can be seen from space.
• Hunger strikes thirty African countries with extreme force, especially those in the contiguous areas of the Sahara.
• Africa’s current political division took shape in the 1960’s and 1970’s, forming 54 independent countries.
• Africa is the only continent in the world cut by three parallels: the Equator Line, as well as the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.