How Many Countries in Africa?

Countries In AfricaCurrently, there are between 47 and 55 countries on the continent of Africa. The most accurate count of countries for the continent of Africa is 54. This includes all internationally recognized territories and states on the continent.


The variation is a result of disputed territories and inconsistencies around the inclusion of island nations off the coast of Africa. The African Union recognizes 54 countries while the United Nations recognizes 54 as well. They, unfortunately, do not recognize the same 54 nations.  Both the United Nations and the African Union have slight variations in their inclusions of countries. For example, Morocco is part of the United Nations but not a member of the African Union. The recently created region of Western Sahara is recognized by the African Union but not by the United Nations.

Dividing Lines of Africa

The continent of Africa is bordered to the West by the Atlantic Ocean. To the East you will find the boundary set by the Indian Ocean. To the South, the Southern Ocean gives Africa is “V” shape. To the North, the Mediterranean Sea and Red Sea define its boundaries. Africa is one of the few continents that is mostly defined simply by the bodies of water which surround it.

List of Countries in Africa

African Country Capital City Population
 Algeria Algiers 39,667,203
 Angola Luanda 25,326,755
 Benin Porto-Novo 10,782,365
 Botswana Gaborone 2,176,741
 Burkina Faso Ouagadougou 18,450,347
 Burundi Bujumbura 9,824,320
 Cameroon Yaoundé 21,918,057
 Cape Verde Praia 525,662
 Central African Republic Bangui 4,900,413
 Chad N’Djamena 13,675,741
 Comoros Moroni 783,544
 Democratic Republic of the Congo Kinshasa 77,267,269
 Djibouti Djibouti 961,037
 Egypt Cairo 88,523,985
 Equatorial Guinea Malabo 1,996,227
 Eritrea Asmara 6,895,222
 Ethiopia Addis Ababa 99,391,145
 Gabon Libreville 1,873,230
 Gambia Banjul 2,022,474
 Ghana Accra 27,414,682
 Guinea Conakry 10,935,259
 Guinea-Bissau Bissau 1,788,088
 Ivory Coast Abidjan, Yamoussoukro 23,126,355
 Kenya Nairobi 45,533,204
 Lesotho Maseru 1,908,335
 Liberia Monrovia 4,046,007
 Libya Tripoli 6,278,522
 Madagascar Antananarivo 23,043,955
 Malawi Lilongwe 16,307,685
 Mali Bamako 17,796,125
 Mauritania Nouakchott 3,632,657
 Mauritius Port Louis 1,263,916
 Morocco Rabat 34,380,277
 Mozambique Maputo 28,013,037
 Namibia Windhoek 2,281,238
 Niger Niamey 18,880,785
 Nigeria Abuja 182,202,652
 Republic of the Congo Brazzaville 4,706,257
 Rwanda Kigali 11,324,426
 São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé 194,000
 Senegal Dakar 14,150,852
 Seychelles Victoria 970,457
 Sierra Leone Freetown 6,513,357
 Somalia Mogadishu 10,972,148
 South Africa Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Pretoria 5,495,724
 South Sudan Juba 12,519,321
 Sudan Khartoum 40,235,712
 Swaziland Mbabane 1,119,524
 Tanzania Dodoma 51,046,045
 Togo Lomé 7,065,418
 Tunisia Tunis 11,118,759
 Uganda Kampala 37,102,024
 Zambia Lusaka 15,474,644
 Zimbabwe Harare 13,503,963
Total 1,125,307,147


It may seem odd to have a to-be-determined count of countries on a continent, but in no way is the continent of Africa unique in this confusion.

Similar situations exist on the continent of Asia with Taiwan and on the continent of Europe with including the country of Kosovo.

Wondering where these countries are on a map? We recommend this Africa Map tool.

Leave a Comment