How Many Countries Are in Africa? (54)

54, and why some say 55

The United Nations recognizes 54 sovereign states on the African continent, following the UN's own M49 geographic classification. That is the number this site uses, and it is the number behind the Africa section of the Geography app. The extra name you sometimes see is Western Sahara, whose government in exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, is a full member of the African Union, making the AU's own membership count 55. Morocco disputes Western Sahara's sovereignty and controls most of its territory, and Morocco itself rejoined the African Union in 2017 after decades outside it in protest of the SADR's admission. The UN classifies Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory rather than a member state, which is why it sits outside the 54.

All 54, by subregion

Statisticians at the United Nations group Africa into five subregions: Northern Africa, Western Africa, Middle Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa. Eastern Africa is the most crowded, with 18 countries, and Western Africa is close behind with 16. Here is every country, sorted by subregion, with its capital.

Country	Capital	Subregion
Algeria	Algiers	Northern Africa
Egypt	Cairo	Northern Africa
Libya	Tripoli	Northern Africa
Morocco	Rabat	Northern Africa
Sudan	Khartoum	Northern Africa
Tunisia	Tunis	Northern Africa
Benin	Porto-Novo (Cotonou is the seat of government)	Western Africa
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou	Western Africa
Cabo Verde	Praia	Western Africa
Côte d'Ivoire	Yamoussoukro (Abidjan is the seat of government)	Western Africa
Gambia	Banjul	Western Africa
Ghana	Accra	Western Africa
Guinea	Conakry	Western Africa
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	Western Africa
Liberia	Monrovia	Western Africa
Mali	Bamako	Western Africa
Mauritania	Nouakchott	Western Africa
Niger	Niamey	Western Africa
Nigeria	Abuja	Western Africa
Senegal	Dakar	Western Africa
Sierra Leone	Freetown	Western Africa
Togo	Lome	Western Africa
Angola	Luanda	Middle Africa
Cameroon	Yaounde	Middle Africa
Central African Republic	Bangui	Middle Africa
Chad	N'Djamena	Middle Africa
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	Middle Africa
Equatorial Guinea	Malabo	Middle Africa
Gabon	Libreville	Middle Africa
Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	Middle Africa
São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé	Middle Africa
Burundi	Gitega	Eastern Africa
Comoros	Moroni	Eastern Africa
Djibouti	Djibouti	Eastern Africa
Eritrea	Asmara	Eastern Africa
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	Eastern Africa
Kenya	Nairobi	Eastern Africa
Madagascar	Antananarivo	Eastern Africa
Malawi	Lilongwe	Eastern Africa
Mauritius	Port Louis	Eastern Africa
Mozambique	Maputo	Eastern Africa
Rwanda	Kigali	Eastern Africa
Seychelles	Victoria	Eastern Africa
Somalia	Mogadishu	Eastern Africa
South Sudan	Juba	Eastern Africa
Tanzania	Dodoma	Eastern Africa
Uganda	Kampala	Eastern Africa
Zambia	Lusaka	Eastern Africa
Zimbabwe	Harare	Eastern Africa
Botswana	Gaborone	Southern Africa
Eswatini	Mbabane (Lobamba is the legislative capital)	Southern Africa
Lesotho	Maseru	Southern Africa
Namibia	Windhoek	Southern Africa
South Africa	Pretoria (executive; Cape Town legislative, Bloemfontein judicial)	Southern Africa

Largest, smallest, and youngest

By land area, Algeria is Africa's largest country at roughly 2.4 million square kilometers, more than four times the size of metropolitan France. By population, Nigeria leads the continent by a wide margin, with about 238 million people in 2025 according to UN estimates, more than double the next largest population. Seychelles, an archipelago nation off the East African coast, is the smallest African country by population, at well under 150,000 people. Africa's youngest country is South Sudan, which declared independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 and joined the United Nations five days later, becoming the continent's 54th and the world's 193rd member state.

Quick facts

Africa has 54 UN member states, following the UN's own geographic classification.
Western Sahara, an African Union member, is not recognized by the UN as a sovereign state, which is why AU counts run to 55.
Algeria is the largest African country by area; Nigeria is the most populous.
Seychelles is the smallest African country by population.
South Sudan, independent since 2011, is both Africa's and the world's youngest country.

Common questions

How many countries are in Africa in 2026?

Africa has 54 UN member countries. Some counts say 55 by including Western Sahara, whose government in exile is a member of the African Union but which the United Nations does not recognize as a sovereign state.

Why do some lists say Africa has 55 countries?

The African Union has 55 members because it admits Western Sahara's government in exile, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, alongside all 54 UN member states. The United Nations itself does not recognize Western Sahara as a sovereign country.

What is the largest country in Africa?

Algeria is the largest country in Africa by land area, at roughly 2.4 million square kilometers. It has been the largest country on the continent since South Sudan's independence changed the borders of Sudan in 2011.

What is the most populous country in Africa?

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country, with about 238 million people in 2025 according to UN estimates, well over double the population of the next largest country on the continent. It is also the most populous country in the world outside Asia and the Americas.

What is the youngest country in Africa?

South Sudan is the youngest country in Africa and in the world. It declared independence from Sudan on 9 July 2011 and joined the United Nations five days later, becoming the UN's 193rd member state.

How many countries are in Africa?