Central African Countries: Full List, Capitals, and Map

Central Africa is the central subregion of the African continent.

In the United Nations (UN) geoscheme, this area is officially referred to as Middle Africa.

As with other African regions, its exact boundaries vary depending on whether the definition is based on political groupings, statistical systems, or physical geography.

For clarity and consistency, this page follows the United Nations (UN) geoscheme, which classifies Central (Middle) Africa as consisting of nine sovereign countries.

List of Central African countries

• Angola
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Gabon
• Republic of the Congo
• São Tomé and Príncipe

This UN-defined version is the standard regional breakdown used in international statistics, development reporting, and global data comparisons.

Central African countries table

The UN geoscheme recognises the following sovereign states as part of the Middle Africa (Central Africa) subregion:

Countries in Africa map

Central Africa lies around the equatorial zone and is dominated by the Congo Basin, the second largest river basin and second largest rainforest on Earth.

Major rivers, especially the Congo River and its tributaries, form the core transport and settlement routes across much of the region.

How Central (Middle) Africa is defined

UN geoscheme (most common)

This is the definition used by:

• The United Nations
• The World Bank
• Most international statistical agencies

It includes the nine countries listed above and is the standard system used for population, land area, economic, health, and development data.

African Union

The African Union (AU) also recognises Central Africa as one of its five official continental regions. However, its regional classification differs slightly from the United Nations geoscheme.

Under the AU system, Burundi is grouped within Central Africa and Angola is assigned to Southern Africa, while the UN includes Angola in Central (Middle) Africa and places Burundi in Eastern Africa.

The AU regional structure is primarily used for:

• Institutional representation within AU bodies
• Political coordination
• Peace and security frameworks
• Regional development planning

ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States)

The Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) is the main regional organisation in Central Africa. Its member states include:

• Angola
• Burundi
• Cameroon
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Equatorial Guinea
• Gabon
• Republic of the Congo
• São Tomé and Príncipe

ECCAS is not a geographic definition of Central Africa. It is an organisation focused on:

• Economic cooperation
• Infrastructure development
• Political stability and conflict resolution

Its membership partly overlaps with the UN’s Middle Africa subregion and also includes Burundi, a country from Eastern Africa.

Physical geography definition

In physical geography, Central Africa is mainly defined by:

• The Congo Basin rainforest system
• The equatorial climate zone
• Extensive river networks and wetlands
• Inland plateaus and highlands around the basin

This version focuses on climate, ecosystems, and hydrology rather than political borders.

It is widely used in rainforest ecology, climate science, hydrology, and biodiversity research.

Global regions map

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

The UN geoscheme assigns every UN member state to a defined geographic region, allowing consistent international comparisons. Antarctica is excluded because the framework applies only to UN member states.

Within Africa, the UN recognises five subregions:

• Northern Africa
• Western Africa
• Middle Africa (Central Africa)
• Eastern Africa
• Southern Africa

Across the entire world, the geoscheme identifies 22 geographical subregions in total.