Africa

Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent. It covers approximately 30,370,000 km² (11.7 million square miles), approx. 20% of Earth’s total land area, and is home to roughly 1.4 billion people in 54 fully recognised countries. The equator runs directly through the middle of the continent, placing Africa in both the northern and southern hemispheres.

Where is Africa?

Africa sits south of Europe, separated by the narrow Strait of Gibraltar (just 14 km / 8.9 miles wide at its narrowest point). It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea and Indian Ocean to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the Southern Ocean to the south. The Suez Canal cuts Africa off from Asia at its north-eastern corner.

African geography

Africa is famously varied. The northern third is dominated by the Sahara, the largest hot desert on Earth at approx. 9 million km². South of the Sahara is the Sahel, a semi-arid transition belt. The equatorial centre holds tropical rainforests including the Congo Basin (the second-largest rainforest in the world). Eastern Africa is shaped by the Great Rift Valley, with its giant lakes and the towering peaks of Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m) and Mount Kenya. Southern Africa has the Kalahari and Namib deserts, the Drakensberg mountains, and the dramatic coastline of the Cape of Good Hope. The Nile, the world’s longest river at 6,650 km, flows north through ten African countries.

Regions of Africa

Africa is usually divided into five regions, each with its own character:

North Africa, Mediterranean coastline, Arabic-speaking, mostly Muslim. Includes Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia.
West Africa, coastal nations on the Atlantic. Includes Nigeria (Africa’s most populous country), Ghana, Senegal, and Ivory Coast.
Central Africa, the Congo Basin and rainforest belt. Includes the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, and the Central African Republic.
East Africa, safari country and the Horn of Africa. Includes Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Madagascar.
Southern Africa, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and the small kingdoms of Lesotho and Eswatini.

People, languages, and religions

More than 2,000 languages are spoken across Africa, about a third of the world’s total. The biggest by speaker count are Arabic, Swahili, Hausa, Yoruba, Amharic, and Igbo. English, French, and Portuguese are widely used as official languages, a legacy of European colonisation. The main religions are Christianity (mostly in central and southern Africa) and Islam (mostly in the north and the Sahel), alongside traditional indigenous beliefs.

Wildlife and famous landmarks

Africa is the home of the “Big Five” safari animals, lion, leopard, elephant, rhinoceros, and Cape buffalo, plus giraffes, hippos, gorillas, cheetahs, and zebras. Famous landmarks include the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Sphinx, Victoria Falls, the Serengeti, the Sahara dunes, Table Mountain, and the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela.

Explore African countries

Pick any of the 54 African countries below for its complete fact file, capital city, population, area, currency, language, religion, geography, famous landmarks, and a flag image.

The flag of Algeria: a field split vertically green and white, with a red crescent and star in the centre.

AlgeriaAlgeria is the largest country in Africa, around 80 per cent Sahara Desert, with almost its entire population living along the Mediterranean coast.

Capital city: Algiers
Population: about 46,000,000
Area: 2,381,741 km2 (919,595 square miles)

The flag of Angola: a red band above a black band with a gold half gearwheel, machete and star in the centre.

AngolaAngola is a large country on the Atlantic coast of southern Africa, rich in oil and diamonds, and the source of the river that creates the Okavango Delta.

Capital city: Luanda
Population: about 36,000,000
Area: 1,246,700 km2 (481,400 square miles)

The flag of Benin: a green vertical band at the hoist beside horizontal yellow and red bands.

BeninBenin is a narrow West African country running from the Atlantic to the Sahel. It was the seat of the Kingdom of Dahomey and is the birthplace of Vodun.

Capital city: Porto-Novo (official), with Cotonou the seat of government
Population: about 14,000,000
Area: 112,622 sq km (43,483 square miles)

The flag of Botswana: a light blue field crossed by a horizontal black band edged in white.

BotswanaBotswana is a landlocked southern African country largely covered by the Kalahari, with the Okavango Delta and the largest elephant population in Africa.

Capital city: Gaborone
Population: about 2,700,000
Area: 581,730 sq km 224,610 square miles)

The flag of Burkina Faso: a red band above a green band with a gold five-pointed star in the centre.

Burkina FasoBurkina Faso is a landlocked West African country of savannah and Sahel. Its name means land of upright people, and its capital hosts Africa's biggest film festival.

Capital city: Ouagadougou
Population: about 23,000,000
Area: 274,000 sq km 105,900 square miles)

The flag of Burundi: a white diagonal cross dividing red and green sections, with a white disc in the centre bearing three red stars.

BurundiBurundi is a small, hilly, landlocked country in East Africa beside Lake Tanganyika, and one of the most densely populated nations in Africa.

Capital city: Gitega (political), with Bujumbura the economic capital
Population: about 13,000,000
Area: 27,830 sq km (10,745 square miles)

The flag of Cameroon: three vertical bands of green, red and yellow with a gold star in the centre of the red band.

CameroonCameroon is a central African country nicknamed Africa in miniature for its range of landscapes, from Atlantic beaches to rainforest, mountains and Sahel.

Capital city: Yaoundé
Population: about 28,000,000
Area: 475,440 sq km 183,568 square miles)

The flag of Cape Verde: a blue field with white and red horizontal stripes and a ring of ten yellow stars.

Cape VerdeCape Verde is an Atlantic archipelago of ten volcanic islands off West Africa, with a Creole culture and a musical tradition known worldwide.

Capital city: Praia
Population: about 590,000
Area: 4,033 sq km 1.557 square miles)

The flag of the Central African Republic: blue, white, green and yellow horizontal bands crossed by a vertical red stripe, with a yellow star at the hoist.

Central African RepublicThe Central African Republic is a landlocked country near the middle of the continent, with northern savannah and southern rainforest rich in wildlife.

Capital city: Bangui
Population: about 5,700,000
Area: 622,98 sq km 240,535 square miles)

The flag of Chad: three vertical bands of dark blue, gold and red.

ChadChad is a large landlocked central African country stretching from the Sahara to savannah, named after Lake Chad, which has shrunk dramatically.

Capital city: N'Djamena
Population: about 18,000,000
Area: 1,284,000 sq km (496,000 square miles)

The flag of Comoros: four horizontal bands of yellow, white, red and blue with a green triangle at the hoist bearing a crescent and four stars.

ComorosComoros is a volcanic island nation in the Indian Ocean between Madagascar and Mozambique, known for the coelacanth and for ylang-ylang perfume oil.

Capital city: Moroni
Population: about 850,000
Area: 2,034 sq km (785 sq mi)

The flag of the Democratic Republic of Congo: a sky blue field crossed by a red diagonal stripe edged in yellow, with a yellow star in the top left.

Democratic Republic of CongoThe Democratic Republic of Congo is the second largest country in Africa, containing most of the Congo Basin rainforest and huge mineral reserves.

Capital city: Kinshasa
Population: about 102,000,000
Area: 2,344,860 km2

The flag of Djibouti: light blue and green horizontal bands with a white triangle at the hoist bearing a red star.

DjiboutiDjibouti is a small, hot country in the Horn of Africa guarding the entrance to the Red Sea, with Lake Assal, the lowest point on the continent.

Capital city: Djibouti
Population: about 1,100,000
Area: 23,200 km2

The flag of Egypt: three horizontal bands of red, white and black with a gold Eagle of Saladin in the centre.

EgyptEgypt is a mostly desert country in north-east Africa where nearly everyone lives along the Nile. It holds the pyramids and 3,000 years of ancient history.

Capital city: Cairo
Population: about 113,000,000
Area: 1,002,450 km2

The flag of Equatorial Guinea: green, white and red horizontal bands with a blue triangle at the hoist and the coat of arms in the centre.

Equatorial GuineaEquatorial Guinea is a small central African country split between a mainland region and islands in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the only African nation with Spanish as an official language.

Capital city: Malabo
Population: about 1,700,000
Area: 28,051 km2

The flag of Eritrea: green and blue triangles separated by a red triangle at the hoist bearing a gold olive wreath.

EritreaEritrea is a Red Sea country in the Horn of Africa with a high central plateau and hot coastal lowlands. It became independent from Ethiopia in 1993.

Capital city: Asmara
Population: about 3,700,000
Area: 117,600 km2

The flag of Eswatini: blue, yellow-edged red and blue horizontal bands with an Nguni shield, two spears and a staff across the centre.

EswatiniEswatini, formerly Swaziland, is a small landlocked kingdom between South Africa and Mozambique, and one of the last absolute monarchies in the world.

Capital city: Mbabane (administrative) and Lobamba (royal and legislative)
Population: about 1,200,000
Area: 17,364 km2

The flag of Ethiopia: three horizontal bands of green, yellow and red with a blue disc bearing a yellow star and rays in the centre.

EthiopiaEthiopia is a highland country in the Horn of Africa, the only one never colonised by a European power. It has its own calendar, script and the origins of coffee.

Capital city: Addis Ababa
Population: about 127,000,000
Area: 1,104,300 km2

The flag of Gabon: three horizontal bands of green, yellow and blue.

GabonGabon is a central African country on the equator, around 88 per cent rainforest, with 13 national parks and large populations of forest elephants and gorillas.

Capital city: Libreville
Population: about 2,400,000
Area: 267,668 km2

The flag of Ghana: three horizontal bands of red, gold and green with a black five-pointed star in the centre.

GhanaGhana is a West African country running from the Atlantic coast to northern savannah. It was the first sub-Saharan nation to gain independence, in 1957.

Capital city: Accra
Population: about 34,000,000
Area: 238,533 km2

The flag of Guinea: three vertical bands of red, yellow and green.

GuineaGuinea is a West African country where the Niger, Senegal and Gambia rivers all begin. It holds the largest bauxite reserves in the world.

Capital city: Conakry
Population: about 14,000,000
Area: 245,857 km2

The flag of Guinea-Bissau: a red vertical band at the hoist with a black star, beside horizontal yellow and green bands.

Guinea-BissauGuinea-Bissau is a small West African country of mangrove coast and the Bijagos archipelago, where hippos have adapted to living in salt water.

Capital city: Bissau
Population: about 2,200,000
Area: 36,125 km2

The flag of Ivory Coast: three vertical bands of orange, white and green.

Ivory CoastIvory Coast is a West African country and the world's largest cocoa producer, running from Atlantic coast through rainforest to northern savannah.

Capital city: Yamoussoukro
Population: about 29,000,000
Area: 322,463 km2

The flag of Kenya: black, red and green horizontal bands separated by white lines, with a red and white Maasai shield and two spears in the centre.

KenyaKenya is an East African country on the equator, running from the Indian Ocean to the highlands and the Great Rift Valley, famous for safari wildlife and long-distance runners.

Capital city: Nairobi
Population: about 55,000,000
Area: 580,367 km2

The flag of Lesotho: blue, white and green horizontal bands with a black mokorotlo hat in the centre.

LesothoLesotho is a mountainous kingdom entirely surrounded by South Africa. It is the only country in the world lying completely above 1,000 m.

Capital city: Maseru
Population: about 2,300,000
Area: 30,355 km2

The flag of Liberia: eleven red and white horizontal stripes with a blue square in the top left containing a single white star.

LiberiaLiberia is a West African country founded in 1822 by freed American slaves. It is the oldest republic in Africa and holds a large share of the Upper Guinean rainforest.

Capital city: Monrovia
Population: about 5,400,000
Area: 111,369 km2

The flag of Libya: red, black and green horizontal bands with a white crescent and star in the centre of the black band.

LibyaLibya is a large, mostly desert country in North Africa. Almost everyone lives along the Mediterranean coast, supplied with water pumped from beneath the Sahara.

Capital city: Tripoli
Population: about 7,000,000
Area: 1,759,540 km2

The flag of Madagascar: a white vertical band at the hoist beside horizontal red and green bands.

MadagascarMadagascar is the fourth largest island in the world, isolated off the coast of Africa for millions of years, so around 90 per cent of its wildlife lives nowhere else.

Capital city: Antananarivo
Population: about 30,000,000
Area: 587,041 km2

The flag of Malawi: three horizontal bands of black, red and green with a red rising sun on the black band.

MalawiMalawi is a small landlocked country in south-east Africa dominated by Lake Malawi, which holds more fish species than any other lake in the world.

Capital city: Lilongwe
Population: about 21,000,000
Area: 118,484 km2

The flag of Mali: three vertical bands of green, yellow and red.

MaliMali is a large landlocked West African country, around two thirds desert, with the Niger River as its lifeline and the historic city of Timbuktu.

Capital city: Bamako
Population: about 23,000,000
Area: 1,241,240 km2

The flag of Mauritania: a green field with a gold crescent and star in the centre and red bands at the top and bottom.

MauritaniaMauritania is a largely Saharan country in north-west Africa, known for its desert caravan towns, iron ore mining and the Eye of the Sahara.

Capital city: Nouakchott
Population: about 4,900,000
Area: 1,025,520 km2

The flag of Mauritius: four horizontal bands of red, blue, yellow and green.

MauritiusMauritius is a volcanic island nation in the Indian Ocean, ringed by coral reef, and the only place the dodo ever lived.

Capital city: Port Louis
Population: about 1,300,000
Area: 2,040 km2

The flag of Morocco: a red field with a green five-pointed interlaced star in the centre.

MoroccoMorocco is a North African country with Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert, known for its walled medina cities.

Capital city: Rabat
Population: about 37,000,000
Area: 446,550 km2

The flag of Mozambique: green, black and yellow horizontal bands with a red triangle at the hoist bearing a star, book, hoe and rifle.

MozambiqueMozambique is a long coastal country in south-east Africa with 2,500 km of Indian Ocean shoreline, coral reefs and the Zambezi River crossing its centre.

Capital city: Maputo
Population: about 33,000,000
Area: 801,590 km2

The flag of Namibia: a red diagonal band edged in white separating a blue upper triangle with a gold sun from a green lower triangle.

NamibiaNamibia is a sparsely populated country in south-west Africa with the ancient Namib Desert along its Atlantic coast and the Kalahari in the east.

Capital city: Windhoek
Population: about 2,600,000
Area: 824,268 km2

The flag of Niger: three horizontal bands of orange, white and green with an orange disc in the centre.

NigerNiger is a large landlocked West African country, over 80 per cent Sahara Desert, with most of its people living along the Niger River in the south.

Capital city: Niamey
Population: about 26,000,000
Area: 1,267,000 km2

The flag of Nigeria: three vertical bands of green, white and green.

NigeriaNigeria is the most populous country in Africa, stretching from coastal rainforest to the northern Sahel. It has over 500 languages and Africa's largest economy.

Capital city: Abuja
Population: about 224,000,000
Area: 923,768 km2

The flag of the Republic of Congo: a yellow diagonal band separating a green upper triangle from a red lower one.

Republic of CongoThe Republic of Congo is a central African country largely covered by rainforest, with its capital facing Kinshasa across the Congo River.

Capital city: Brazzaville
Population: about 6,000,000
Area: 342,000 km2

The flag of Rwanda: sky blue, yellow and green horizontal bands with a golden sun in the top right corner.

RwandaRwanda is a small, hilly, landlocked country in East Africa. Known as the land of a thousand hills, it is home to mountain gorillas in the Virunga volcanoes.

Capital city: Kigali
Population: about 14,000,000
Area: 26,338 km2

The flag of Sao Tome and Principe: green, yellow and green horizontal bands with two black stars on the yellow, and a red triangle at the hoist.

Sao Tome and PrincipeSao Tome and Principe is a two-island nation on the equator in the Gulf of Guinea, once the world's largest cocoa producer and now known for its rainforest wildlife.

Capital city: Sao Tome
Population: about 230,000
Area: 964 km2

The flag of Senegal: three vertical bands of green, yellow and red with a green five-pointed star in the centre.

SenegalSenegal is the westernmost country in mainland Africa. It almost entirely surrounds The Gambia and is known for its music, wrestling and Atlantic coast.

Capital city: Dakar
Population: about 18,000,000
Area: 196,722 km2

The flag of Seychelles: five bands of blue, yellow, red, white and green radiating from the bottom left corner.

SeychellesSeychelles is an Indian Ocean nation of 115 islands, including rare granite islands, giant tortoises and the enormous coco de mer seed.

Capital city: Victoria
Population: about 100,000
Area: 452 km2

The flag of Sierra Leone: three horizontal bands of green, white and blue.

Sierra LeoneSierra Leone is a West African country with rainforest, highlands and one of the world's largest natural harbours at Freetown, founded for freed slaves.

Capital city: Freetown
Population: about 8,600,000
Area: 71,740 km2

The flag of Somalia: a light blue field with a single large white five-pointed star in the centre.

SomaliaSomalia occupies the Horn of Africa and has the longest coastline of any mainland African country, with a long tradition of camel herding and oral poetry.

Capital city: Mogadishu
Population: about 18,000,000
Area: 637,657 km2

The flag of South Africa: a green horizontal Y shape edged in white and gold, separating red and blue bands, with a black triangle at the hoist.

South AfricaSouth Africa sits at the southern tip of the continent, with three capital cities and twelve official languages. It ended apartheid and held its first democratic election in 1994.

Capital city: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judicial)
Population: about 61,000,000
Area: 1,221,040 km2

The flag of South Sudan: black, red and green horizontal bands separated by white lines, with a blue triangle at the hoist bearing a gold star.

South SudanSouth Sudan is the world's newest country, independent since 2011. It is landlocked, crossed by the White Nile, and contains the vast Sudd wetland.

Capital city: Juba
Population: about 11,000,000
Area: 619,745 km2

The flag of Sudan: red, white and black horizontal bands with a green triangle at the hoist.

SudanSudan is a large north-east African country where the Blue and White Nile meet. It contains around 200 ancient pyramids built by the kingdom of Kush.

Capital city: Khartoum
Population: about 48,000,000
Area: 1,861,480 km2

The flag of Tanzania: a black diagonal band edged in gold, separating a green triangle from a blue one.

TanzaniaTanzania is an East African country containing Mount Kilimanjaro, the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and the island of Zanzibar.

Capital city: Dodoma
Population: about 67,000,000
Area: 945,087 km2

The flag of The Gambia: three horizontal bands of red, blue and green, with the blue separated from the others by thin white stripes.

The GambiaThe Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, a narrow strip following the Gambia River and almost entirely surrounded by Senegal.

Capital city: Banjul
Population: about 2,800,000
Area: 11,295 km2

The flag of Togo: five horizontal green and yellow stripes with a red square at the hoist bearing a white star.

TogoTogo is a long, narrow West African country running from a short Atlantic coast to northern savannah, known for its tower-house villages and phosphate mining.

Capital city: Lome
Population: about 9,000,000
Area: 56,785 km2

The flag of Tunisia: a red field with a white circle in the centre containing a red crescent and five-pointed star.

TunisiaTunisia is the northernmost country in Africa, with a Mediterranean coast, Atlas mountains and Sahara desert, and the ancient ruins of Carthage.

Capital city: Tunis
Population: about 12,500,000
Area: 163,610 km2

The flag of Uganda: six horizontal bands of black, yellow and red repeated twice, with a grey crowned crane on a white disc in the centre.

UgandaUganda is a landlocked East African country on the equator, home to around half the world's mountain gorillas and the source of the White Nile.

Capital city: Kampala
Population: about 48,000,000
Area: 241,550 km2

The flag of Zambia: a green field with an orange eagle above vertical red, black and orange stripes in the fly.

ZambiaZambia is a landlocked southern African country on a high plateau, sharing Victoria Falls with Zimbabwe and known for its copper mining and wildlife parks.

Capital city: Lusaka
Population: about 20,000,000
Area: 752,612 km2

The flag of Zimbabwe: seven horizontal stripes of green, gold, red and black, with a white triangle at the hoist bearing a red star and a soapstone bird.

ZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked southern African country on a high plateau, sharing Victoria Falls with Zambia and containing the stone ruins of Great Zimbabwe.

Capital city: Harare
Population: about 16,000,000
Area: 390,757 km2