54 nations, 5 regions
African Countries
From Cape Verde’s 590,000 people to Nigeria’s 228 million, from Algeria’s 2.4 million km² to the Seychelles’ 455 km². Every African country, organised by region.
How the continent is organised
The 54 UN-recognised African states divide into five regions: Northern, Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. Borders are a colonial inheritance — most were drawn between 1881 and 1914 by European powers with little reference to people on the ground. Many countries straddle multiple language families, climates and cultural worlds.
Where we have a country travel guide, the country name links to it. The rest are listed for reference.
By the numbers
- Southern Africa
- 10
- East Africa
- 14
- West Africa
- 16
- Central Africa
- 8
- North Africa
- 6
- Total
- 54
Southern Africa
Explore destinationsAngola
- Capital
- Luanda
- Population
- 37 M
- Language
- Portuguese
- Currency
- Kwanza (AOA)
Botswana
Guide- Capital
- Gaborone
- Population
- 2.7 M
- Language
- English, Setswana
- Currency
- Pula (BWP)
Eswatini
Guide- Capital
- Mbabane
- Population
- 1.2 M
- Language
- English, siSwati
- Currency
- Lilangeni (SZL)
Lesotho
Guide- Capital
- Maseru
- Population
- 2.3 M
- Language
- Sesotho, English
- Currency
- Loti (LSL)
Malawi
Guide- Capital
- Lilongwe
- Population
- 21 M
- Language
- Chichewa, English
- Currency
- Kwacha (MWK)
Mozambique
Guide- Capital
- Maputo
- Population
- 33 M
- Language
- Portuguese
- Currency
- Metical (MZN)
Namibia
Guide- Capital
- Windhoek
- Population
- 2.6 M
- Language
- English
- Currency
- Namibian Dollar (NAD)
South Africa
Guide- Capital
- Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein
- Population
- 62 M
- Language
- 11 official (incl. English, Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans)
- Currency
- Rand (ZAR)
Zambia
Guide- Capital
- Lusaka
- Population
- 20 M
- Language
- English (+ 7 regional)
- Currency
- Kwacha (ZMW)
Zimbabwe
Guide- Capital
- Harare
- Population
- 16 M
- Language
- 16 official (incl. English, Shona, Ndebele)
- Currency
- USD / ZiG
East Africa
Explore destinationsBurundi
- Capital
- Gitega
- Population
- 13 M
- Language
- Kirundi, French, English
- Currency
- Burundian Franc (BIF)
Comoros
- Capital
- Moroni
- Population
- 850,000
- Language
- Comorian, Arabic, French
- Currency
- Comorian Franc (KMF)
Djibouti
- Capital
- Djibouti
- Population
- 1.1 M
- Language
- French, Arabic
- Currency
- Djiboutian Franc (DJF)
Eritrea
- Capital
- Asmara
- Population
- 3.7 M
- Language
- Tigrinya, Arabic, English
- Currency
- Nakfa (ERN)
Ethiopia
Guide- Capital
- Addis Ababa
- Population
- 127 M
- Language
- Amharic, Oromo, Tigrinya
- Currency
- Birr (ETB)
Kenya
Guide- Capital
- Nairobi
- Population
- 55 M
- Language
- Swahili, English
- Currency
- Shilling (KES)
Madagascar
Guide- Capital
- Antananarivo
- Population
- 30 M
- Language
- Malagasy, French
- Currency
- Ariary (MGA)
Mauritius
- Capital
- Port Louis
- Population
- 1.3 M
- Language
- English, French, Creole
- Currency
- Mauritian Rupee (MUR)
Rwanda
Guide- Capital
- Kigali
- Population
- 14 M
- Language
- Kinyarwanda, English, French
- Currency
- Rwandan Franc (RWF)
Seychelles
- Capital
- Victoria
- Population
- 100,000
- Language
- Creole, English, French
- Currency
- Seychellois Rupee (SCR)
Somalia
- Capital
- Mogadishu
- Population
- 18 M
- Language
- Somali, Arabic
- Currency
- Somali Shilling (SOS)
South Sudan
- Capital
- Juba
- Population
- 11 M
- Language
- English
- Currency
- South Sudanese Pound (SSP)
Tanzania
Guide- Capital
- Dodoma
- Population
- 67 M
- Language
- Swahili, English
- Currency
- Tanzanian Shilling (TZS)
Uganda
Guide- Capital
- Kampala
- Population
- 48 M
- Language
- English, Swahili
- Currency
- Ugandan Shilling (UGX)
West Africa
Explore destinationsBenin
- Capital
- Porto-Novo
- Population
- 13 M
- Language
- French
- Currency
- West African CFA (XOF)
Burkina Faso
- Capital
- Ouagadougou
- Population
- 23 M
- Language
- French
- Currency
- West African CFA (XOF)
Cape Verde
- Capital
- Praia
- Population
- 590,000
- Language
- Portuguese, Crioulo
- Currency
- Cape Verdean Escudo (CVE)
Côte d’Ivoire
- Capital
- Yamoussoukro
- Population
- 29 M
- Language
- French
- Currency
- West African CFA (XOF)
Gambia
- Capital
- Banjul
- Population
- 2.7 M
- Language
- English
- Currency
- Dalasi (GMD)
Ghana
Guide- Capital
- Accra
- Population
- 34 M
- Language
- English
- Currency
- Cedi (GHS)
Guinea
- Capital
- Conakry
- Population
- 14 M
- Language
- French
- Currency
- Guinean Franc (GNF)
Guinea-Bissau
- Capital
- Bissau
- Population
- 2.1 M
- Language
- Portuguese
- Currency
- West African CFA (XOF)
Liberia
- Capital
- Monrovia
- Population
- 5.4 M
- Language
- English
- Currency
- Liberian Dollar (LRD)
Mali
- Capital
- Bamako
- Population
- 23 M
- Language
- French, Bambara
- Currency
- West African CFA (XOF)
Mauritania
- Capital
- Nouakchott
- Population
- 4.9 M
- Language
- Arabic
- Currency
- Ouguiya (MRU)
Niger
- Capital
- Niamey
- Population
- 27 M
- Language
- French
- Currency
- West African CFA (XOF)
Nigeria
Guide- Capital
- Abuja
- Population
- 228 M
- Language
- English (+ Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba)
- Currency
- Naira (NGN)
Senegal
Guide- Capital
- Dakar
- Population
- 18 M
- Language
- French, Wolof
- Currency
- West African CFA (XOF)
Sierra Leone
- Capital
- Freetown
- Population
- 8.6 M
- Language
- English, Krio
- Currency
- Leone (SLE)
Togo
- Capital
- Lomé
- Population
- 9.0 M
- Language
- French
- Currency
- West African CFA (XOF)
Central Africa
Explore destinationsCameroon
- Capital
- Yaoundé
- Population
- 28 M
- Language
- French, English
- Currency
- Central African CFA (XAF)
Central African Republic
- Capital
- Bangui
- Population
- 5.5 M
- Language
- Sango, French
- Currency
- Central African CFA (XAF)
Chad
- Capital
- N’Djamena
- Population
- 18 M
- Language
- French, Arabic
- Currency
- Central African CFA (XAF)
DR Congo
Guide- Capital
- Kinshasa
- Population
- 105 M
- Language
- French (+ Lingala, Swahili, Kikongo, Tshiluba)
- Currency
- Congolese Franc (CDF)
Equatorial Guinea
- Capital
- Malabo
- Population
- 1.7 M
- Language
- Spanish, French, Portuguese
- Currency
- Central African CFA (XAF)
Gabon
Guide- Capital
- Libreville
- Population
- 2.4 M
- Language
- French
- Currency
- Central African CFA (XAF)
Republic of Congo
- Capital
- Brazzaville
- Population
- 6.1 M
- Language
- French
- Currency
- Central African CFA (XAF)
São Tomé and Príncipe
- Capital
- São Tomé
- Population
- 230,000
- Language
- Portuguese
- Currency
- Dobra (STN)
North Africa
Explore destinationsAlgeria
- Capital
- Algiers
- Population
- 46 M
- Language
- Arabic, Berber
- Currency
- Algerian Dinar (DZD)
Egypt
Guide- Capital
- Cairo
- Population
- 110 M
- Language
- Arabic
- Currency
- Egyptian Pound (EGP)
Libya
- Capital
- Tripoli
- Population
- 7.0 M
- Language
- Arabic
- Currency
- Libyan Dinar (LYD)
Morocco
Guide- Capital
- Rabat
- Population
- 37 M
- Language
- Arabic, Berber
- Currency
- Dirham (MAD)
Sudan
- Capital
- Khartoum
- Population
- 48 M
- Language
- Arabic, English
- Currency
- Sudanese Pound (SDG)
Tunisia
Guide- Capital
- Tunis
- Population
- 12 M
- Language
- Arabic
- Currency
- Tunisian Dinar (TND)
A note on numbers. The 54 figure follows UN membership. Western Sahara is contested between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and is recognised by the African Union but not the UN. Somaliland operates as a de facto independent state but is internationally recognised as part of Somalia.