Countries of Africa

About Africa

Africa is the second-largest continent by both area and population, and the one with the most countries — 54 sovereign states. It stretches from the Mediterranean coast of Morocco and Egypt in the north to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, crossed by the Sahara, the world’s largest hot desert, and the equatorial rainforests of the Congo Basin. The Nile, the longest river system on Earth, and Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest free-standing mountain, are among its natural icons.

Home to more than 1.4 billion people speaking over 2,000 languages, Africa is the world’s youngest continent by median age and one of its fastest-growing regions. Its nations range from vast countries like Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to island states such as Seychelles and Cape Verde, offering an extraordinary diversity of cultures, landscapes and economies.

Africa in figures

• The largest country by area is Algeria (2,381,741 km²) and the smallest is the Seychelles (459 km²).
• Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt are the most populous, together home to 32% of the people in Africa; the Seychelles has the fewest inhabitants (134,959).
• The most densely populated country is Mauritius, with about 620 people per km²; the most sparsely populated is Namibia (3.8 per km²).
• By GDP per person in 2024, the Seychelles is the richest (US$18,365) and Burundi the poorest (US$216) — a gap of 85 to 1.
• The Seychelles has the highest Human Development Index (0.848) and South Sudan the lowest (0.388).
• 16 countries are landlocked and 6 are island nations.

Regions of Africa

Countries.World groups the 54 countries of Africa into 5 regions, listed here by number of countries; within each region, countries are ordered by population.