The 54 Countries in Africa in Alphabetical Order

Africa, the second-largest continent after Asia, covers approximately 30.3 million square kilometers (11.7 million square miles), representing about 20% of the Earth’s land area. As of 2024, it is home to over 1.5 billion people, making it the second most populous continent after Asia.

The African continent has clearly defined borders and consists of 54 recognized sovereign countries. The linguistic diversity, with over 3,000 languages spoken, is a testament to the distinct cultures of each country. Among the widely spoken languages are Arabic, Swahili, French, and English.

Geographically, the Atlantic Ocean borders Africa to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east. The largest African country by area is Algeria, with the Sahara taking up 80% of the country. Madagascar is one of the many significant islands associated with the continent.

Africa is projected to witness one of the fastest economic growths in 2024, with nine of the world’s 20 fastest-growing economies located on the continent.

Countries in Africa in alphabetical order

Here is the alphabetical list of the African country names with their capitals. We have also included the countries’ regions, the international standard for country codes (ISO 3166) and continents, as they may extend more than one continent.

Country	Country Capital	Country Code	Region	Continent
Algeria	Algiers	DZ	Northern Africa	Africa
Angola	Luanda	AO	Southwest Africa	Africa
Benin (Dahomey)	Porto-Novo	BJ	Western Africa	Africa
Botswana	Gaborone	BW	Southern Africa	Africa
Burkina Faso (Upper Volta)	Ouagadougou	BF	Western Africa	Africa
Burundi	Gitega (political capital), Bujumbura (commercial capital)	BI	Eastern Africa	Africa
Cabo Verde	Praia	CV	Western Africa	Africa
Cameroon	Yaoundé	CM	Western Africa	Africa
Central African Republic	Bangui	CF	Central Africa	Africa
Chad	N'Djamena	TD	Central Africa	Africa
Comoros	Moroni	KM	Eastern African Coast	Africa
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)	Yamoussoukro (legislative capital), Abidjan (administrative capital)	CI	Western Africa	Africa
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	CD	Central Africa	Africa
Djibouti	Djibouti city	DJ	Eastern Africa	Africa
Egypt	Cairo	EG	Northeastern Africa, Southwestern Asia	Africa, Asia
Equatorial Guinea	Malabo	GQ	Western Central Africa	Africa
Eritrea	Asmara	ER	Northeastern Africa	Africa
Eswatini (Swaziland)	Mbabane (administrative capital), Lobamba (royal and legislative capital)	SZ	Southern Africa	Africa
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	ET	Eastern Africa	Africa
Gabon	Libreville	GA	Central Africa	Africa
Gambia, The	Banjul	GM	Western Africa	Africa
Ghana	Accra	GH	Western Africa	Africa
Guinea	Conakry	GN	Western Africa	Africa
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	GW	Western Africa	Africa
Kenya	Nairobi	KE	Eastern Africa	Africa
Lesotho	Maseru	LS	Southern Africa	Africa
Liberia	Monrovia	LR	Western Africa	Africa
Libya	Tripoli	LY	Northern Africa	Africa
Madagascar	Antananarivo	MG	Southeastern Africa Coast	Africa
Malawi	Lilongwe	MW	Southeastern Africa	Africa
Mali	Bamako	ML	Western Africa	Africa
Mauritania	Nouakchott	MR	Western Africa	Africa
Mauritius	Port Louis	MU	Southern Africa	Africa
Morocco	Rabat	MA	Northern Africa	Africa
Mozambique	Maputo	MZ	Southeastern Africa	Africa
Namibia	Windhoek	NA	Southern Africa	Africa
Niger	Niamey	NE	Western Africa	Africa
Nigeria	Abuja	NG	Western Africa	Africa
Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	CG	Central Africa	Africa
Rwanda	Kigali	RW	Central Africa	Africa
São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé	ST	Central Africa	Africa
Senegal	Dakar	SN	Western Africa	Africa
Seychelles	Victoria	SC	Eastern African Coast	Africa
Sierra Leone	Freetown	SL	Western Africa	Africa
Somalia	Mogadishu	SO	Eastern Africa	Africa
South Africa	Pretoria (administrative capital), Bloemfontein (judicial capital), Cape Town (legislative capital)	ZA	Southern Africa	Africa
South Sudan	Juba	SS	East-Central Africa	Africa
Sudan	Khartoum	SD	Northeastern Africa	Africa
Tanzania	Dodoma	TZ	Eastern Africa	Africa
Togo	Lomé	TG	Western Africa	Africa
Tunisia	Tunis	TN	Northern Africa	Africa
Uganda	Kampala	UG	East-Central Africa	Africa
Zambia	Lusaka	ZM	South-Central Africa	Africa
Zimbabwe	Harare	ZW	Southern Africa	Africa

View all country names list.

How many countries are in Africa?

There are 54 countries in Africa today: Algeria, Angola, Benin (Dahomey), Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Republic of the Congo, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Depending on the source, some may claim there are 55 countries in Africa, as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) seeks international recognition as an independent nation.

United Nations members in Africa

The United Nations (UN) recognizes 54 African states:

1. Algeria
2. Angola
3. Benin
4. Botswana
5. Burkina Faso
6. Burundi
7. Cabo Verde
8. Cameroon
9. Central African Republic
10. Chad
11. Comoros
12. Congo
13. Côte d’Ivoire
14. Democratic Republic of the Congo
15. Djibouti
16. Egypt
17. Equatorial Guinea 
18. Eritrea
19. Eswatini
20. Ethiopia
21. Gabon
22. Gambia
23. Ghana
24. Guinea
25. Guinea-Bissau
26. Kenya
27. Lesotho
28. Liberia
29. Libya
30. Madagascar
31. Malawi
32. Mali
33. Mauritania
34. Mauritius
35. Morocco
36. Mozambique 
37. Namibia
38. Niger
39. Nigeria
40. Rwanda
41. Sao Tome and Principe
42. Senegal
43. Seychelles
44. Sierra Leone
45. Somalia
46. South Africa
47. South Sudan
48. Sudan
49. Togo
50. Tunisia
51. Uganda
52. United Republic of Tanzania
53. Zambia
54. Zimbabwe

The African Union member states

The African Union was launched in 2002 to support the economic, political, and social integration of Africa. It recognizes 55 union member states, which consist of the countries of the African continent.

The difference lies in the partially recognized state of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a self-declared state claiming authority over the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which is mostly under Moroccan control.

In comparison, the UN lists it as a non-self-governing territory. If you also recognize SADR, then there are 55 countries in Africa.

Learn about the other six continents here.