Countries in Africa

Africa has 54 independent countries. The largest is Algeria (2,381,741 km²), the smallest Seychelles, and Nigeria has the most people (232.7 million). 16 countries are landlocked. The list below gives each one with flag, capital, population and area.

Last updated: November 4, 2026

All 54 countries in Africa by population

#	Country	Capital	Population	Area
1	Nigeria	Abuja	232.7 million	923,768 km²
2	Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	132.1 million	1,104,300 km²
3	Egypt	Cairo	116.5 million	1,002,450 km²
4	DR Congo	Kinshasa	109.3 million	2,344,858 km²
5	Tanzania	Dodoma	68.6 million	945,087 km²
6	South Africa	Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein	64 million	1,221,037 km²
7	Kenya	Nairobi	56.4 million	580,367 km²
8	Sudan	Khartoum	50.4 million	1,886,068 km²
9	Uganda	Kampala	50 million	241,550 km²
10	Algeria	Algiers	46.8 million	2,381,741 km²
11	Morocco	Rabat	38.1 million	446,550 km²
12	Angola	Luanda	37.9 million	1,246,700 km²
13	Mozambique	Maputo	34.6 million	801,590 km²
14	Ghana	Accra	34.4 million	238,533 km²
15	Madagascar	Antananarivo	32 million	587,041 km²
16	Ivory Coast	Yamoussoukro	31.9 million	322,463 km²
17	Cameroon	Yaoundé	29.1 million	475,442 km²
18	Niger	Niamey	27 million	1,267,000 km²
19	Mali	Bamako	24.5 million	1,240,192 km²
20	Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou	23.5 million	272,967 km²
21	Malawi	Lilongwe	21.7 million	118,484 km²
22	Zambia	Lusaka	21.3 million	752,612 km²
23	Chad	N'Djamena	20.3 million	1,284,000 km²
24	Somalia	Mogadishu	19 million	637,657 km²
25	Senegal	Dakar	18.5 million	196,722 km²
26	Zimbabwe	Harare	16.6 million	390,757 km²
27	Guinea	Conakry	14.8 million	245,857 km²
28	Benin	Porto-Novo	14.5 million	112,622 km²
29	Rwanda	Kigali	14.3 million	26,338 km²
30	Burundi	Gitega	14 million	27,834 km²
31	Tunisia	Tunis	12.3 million	163,610 km²
32	South Sudan	Juba	11.9 million	619,745 km²
33	Sierra Leone	Freetown	8.6 million	71,740 km²
34	Togo	Lomé	8.4 million	56,785 km²
35	Libya	Tripoli	7.4 million	1,759,540 km²
36	Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	6.3 million	342,000 km²
37	Liberia	Monrovia	5.6 million	111,369 km²
38	Central African Republic	Bangui	5.3 million	622,984 km²
39	Mauritania	Nouakchott	5.2 million	1,030,700 km²
40	Eritrea	Asmara	3.5 million	117,600 km²
41	Namibia	Windhoek	3 million	825,615 km²
42	Gambia	Banjul	2.8 million	10,689 km²
43	Gabon	Libreville	2.5 million	267,668 km²
44	Botswana	Gaborone	2.5 million	582,000 km²
45	Lesotho	Maseru	2.3 million	30,355 km²
46	Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	2.2 million	36,125 km²
47	Equatorial Guinea	Malabo	1.9 million	28,051 km²
48	Mauritius	Port Louis	1.2 million	2,040 km²
49	Eswatini	Mbabane and Lobamba	1.2 million	17,364 km²
50	Djibouti	Djibouti	1.2 million	23,200 km²
51	Comoros	Moroni	866,600	1,862 km²
52	Cape Verde	Praia	524,900	4,033 km²
53	São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé	235,500	964 km²
54	Seychelles	Victoria	121,400	452 km²

Quiz: Flags of Africa

What people also ask

How many countries are in Africa?

54 independent countries. Dependent territories (overseas territories and the like) are not counted.

What is the largest country in Africa?

Algeria at 2,381,741 km², followed by DR Congo and Sudan.

What is the smallest country in Africa?

Seychelles at 452 km².

Which countries in Africa are landlocked?

Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Country data: mledoze/countries (ODbL); population: World Bank, 2024. Flags: flag-icons (MIT). Flag facts, look-alikes and riddles: the Quible app.