North African Countries: Full List, Capitals, and Map

North Africa covers the northern portion of the African continent, although the exact boundaries of the region vary depending on the definition used.

In broad terms, it extends from the Atlantic coastline of Western Sahara in the west to the Red Sea shores of Egypt and Sudan in the east.

There is no single, universally accepted scope for the region, but several major classification systems share a similar core.

For clarity and consistency, this page follows the United Nations (UN) geoscheme, which defines Northern Africa as consisting of seven countries:

• Algeria
• Egypt
• Libya
• Morocco
• Sudan
• Tunisia
• Western Sahara*

*Western Sahara is a disputed territory. Morocco governs most of it in practice, but the United Nations treats it as a separate non-self-governing territory.

List of countries in North Africa

The UN geoscheme recognizes the following as part of the Northern Africa subregion:

For broader context, you can also explore how these nations compare in size and population across the continent.

Countries in Africa map

North Africa spans the vast Sahara Desert, the fertile Nile Valley, and the Mediterranean coastline, where it is separated from Southern Europe by the Mediterranean Sea.

The region extends from Morocco’s Atlantic shores across Libya’s desert basin to Egypt’s Red Sea border, with Sudan forming the southernmost part of the UN-defined subregion.

How Northern Africa is defined

UN geoscheme (most common)

This definition is used by the United Nations, World Bank, and most international statistical agencies.

It includes the seven countries listed above.

African Union

The African Union classifies Mauritania within its Northern Africa region and places Sudan in its Eastern Africa region.

This makes the AU definition slightly different from the UN version.

Physical or cultural definitions

Some geographic sources treat the Sahel, located south of the Sahara Desert, as the natural southern boundary of North Africa. Others extend the region to include nearby European territories that lie close to the African mainland.

These may include the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla, smaller Spanish coastal possessions, and nearby island groups such as Lampedusa and Lampione, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.

These broader interpretations appear mainly in cultural, historical, or geographic discussions rather than in statistical reporting.

Historical and cultural background

North Africa has been shaped by several major civilizations. Indigenous Berber communities have lived across the Maghreb since ancient times. The Nile Valley was home to the Ancient Egyptians and Nubian kingdoms.

From the seventh century onward, the spread of Islam and the arrival of Arabic-speaking populations reshaped the region’s cultural and linguistic identity.

Today North Africa retains strong ties with the Middle East and is often grouped with it under the term Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Global regions map

To help place Northern Africa within the wider UN classification system, the global regions map below shows how all world subregions are organized.

The UN geoscheme groups every member state into a clearly defined region, which allows for consistent comparisons across countries and continents. Antarctica is not included because the framework applies only to UN member states.

Within Africa, the UN recognizes five subregions: Northern Africa, Western Africa, Middle Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa.

In total, the geoscheme identifies 22 geographical subregions worldwide.