All 54 African Countries and Capitals

Name: Download the African Countries CSV
Creator: Geography Games

Ziga StrausPublished 7 August 2026

Close-up of a vintage globe highlighting Africa and the Middle East with intricate geography details.

Africa has 54 countries, more than any other continent, and their capitals are among the most rewarding geography knowledge you can build, precisely because most people never learn them. This list groups all 54 sovereign states by region with their capital cities, and flags the capitals that are not the famous city everyone assumes.

African Countries

UN member states; the African Union counts 55 by including Western Sahara

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Need the full list as data for a worksheet, quiz app, or content research? Download all 54 countries with region, capital, and notes.

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Northern Africa: 6 Countries

Country	Capital	Notes
Algeria	Algiers	Largest country in Africa by area
Egypt	Cairo	A new administrative capital is under construction east of Cairo
Libya	Tripoli	Mediterranean coast
Morocco	Rabat	Casablanca is the largest city
Sudan	Khartoum	At the confluence of the Blue and White Nile
Tunisia	Tunis	Northernmost capital in Africa

Algeria
CapitalAlgiers
Notes
Largest country in Africa by area
Egypt
CapitalCairo
Notes
A new administrative capital is under construction east of Cairo
Libya
CapitalTripoli
NotesMediterranean coast
Morocco
CapitalRabat
NotesCasablanca is the largest city
Sudan
CapitalKhartoum
Notes
At the confluence of the Blue and White Nile
Tunisia
CapitalTunis
NotesNorthernmost capital in Africa

West Africa: 16 Countries

Country	Capital	Notes
Benin	Porto-Novo	Cotonou is the seat of government
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou	Sahel
Cabo Verde	Praia	Atlantic island state
Gambia	Banjul	Smallest country on the African mainland
Ghana	Accra	Gulf of Guinea
Guinea	Conakry	Atlantic coast
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	Atlantic coast
Ivory Coast	Yamoussoukro	Abidjan is the de facto capital and largest city
Liberia	Monrovia	Named after US president James Monroe
Mali	Bamako	On the Niger River
Mauritania	Nouakchott	Saharan Atlantic coast
Niger	Niamey	On the Niger River
Nigeria	Abuja	Purpose-built capital since 1991; Lagos is the largest city
Senegal	Dakar	Westernmost capital on the African mainland
Sierra Leone	Freetown	Founded as a settlement for freed slaves
Togo	Lomé	Gulf of Guinea

Benin
CapitalPorto-Novo
Notes
Cotonou is the seat of government
Burkina Faso
CapitalOuagadougou
NotesSahel
Cabo Verde
CapitalPraia
NotesAtlantic island state
Gambia
CapitalBanjul
Notes
Smallest country on the African mainland
Ghana
CapitalAccra
NotesGulf of Guinea
Guinea
CapitalConakry
NotesAtlantic coast
Guinea-Bissau
CapitalBissau
NotesAtlantic coast
Ivory Coast
CapitalYamoussoukro
Notes
Abidjan is the de facto capital and largest city
Liberia
CapitalMonrovia
Notes
Named after US president James Monroe
Mali
CapitalBamako
NotesOn the Niger River
Mauritania
CapitalNouakchott
NotesSaharan Atlantic coast
Niger
CapitalNiamey
NotesOn the Niger River
Nigeria
CapitalAbuja
Notes
Purpose-built capital since 1991; Lagos is the largest city
Senegal
CapitalDakar
Notes
Westernmost capital on the African mainland
Sierra Leone
CapitalFreetown
Notes
Founded as a settlement for freed slaves
Togo
CapitalLomé
NotesGulf of Guinea

Central Africa: 9 Countries

Country	Capital	Notes
Angola	Luanda	Atlantic coast
Cameroon	Yaoundé	Douala is the largest city
Central African Republic	Bangui	On the Ubangi River
Chad	N'Djamena	Sahel
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	Faces Brazzaville across the Congo River
Equatorial Guinea	Malabo	The capital sits on the island of Bioko, not the mainland
Gabon	Libreville	Atlantic coast
Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	The closest pair of capitals in the world, with Kinshasa
São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé	Gulf of Guinea island state

Angola
CapitalLuanda
NotesAtlantic coast
Cameroon
CapitalYaoundé
NotesDouala is the largest city
Central African Republic
CapitalBangui
NotesOn the Ubangi River
Chad
CapitalN'Djamena
NotesSahel
Democratic Republic of the Congo
CapitalKinshasa
Notes
Faces Brazzaville across the Congo River
Equatorial Guinea
CapitalMalabo
Notes
The capital sits on the island of Bioko, not the mainland
Gabon
CapitalLibreville
NotesAtlantic coast
Republic of the Congo
CapitalBrazzaville
Notes
The closest pair of capitals in the world, with Kinshasa
São Tomé and Príncipe
CapitalSão Tomé
NotesGulf of Guinea island state

East Africa: 18 Countries

Country	Capital	Notes
Burundi	Gitega	Capital since 2019; Bujumbura remains the economic capital
Comoros	Moroni	Indian Ocean island state
Djibouti	Djibouti City	Capital shares its name with the country
Eritrea	Asmara	Highland capital
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	Hosts the African Union headquarters
Kenya	Nairobi	East African hub
Madagascar	Antananarivo	Indian Ocean island state
Malawi	Lilongwe	Capital since 1975
Mauritius	Port Louis	Indian Ocean island state
Mozambique	Maputo	Indian Ocean coast
Rwanda	Kigali	African Great Lakes
Seychelles	Victoria	Smallest African country by area
Somalia	Mogadishu	Horn of Africa
South Sudan	Juba	Independent since 2011, the newest country in the world
Tanzania	Dodoma	Dar es Salaam is the largest city and former capital
Uganda	Kampala	On the shores of Lake Victoria
Zambia	Lusaka	Landlocked
Zimbabwe	Harare	Landlocked

Burundi
CapitalGitega
Notes
Capital since 2019; Bujumbura remains the economic capital
Comoros
CapitalMoroni
NotesIndian Ocean island state
Djibouti
CapitalDjibouti City
Notes
Capital shares its name with the country
Eritrea
CapitalAsmara
NotesHighland capital
Ethiopia
CapitalAddis Ababa
Notes
Hosts the African Union headquarters
Kenya
CapitalNairobi
NotesEast African hub
Madagascar
CapitalAntananarivo
NotesIndian Ocean island state
Malawi
CapitalLilongwe
NotesCapital since 1975
Mauritius
CapitalPort Louis
NotesIndian Ocean island state
Mozambique
CapitalMaputo
NotesIndian Ocean coast
Rwanda
CapitalKigali
NotesAfrican Great Lakes
Seychelles
CapitalVictoria
NotesSmallest African country by area
Somalia
CapitalMogadishu
NotesHorn of Africa
South Sudan
CapitalJuba
Notes
Independent since 2011, the newest country in the world
Tanzania
CapitalDodoma
Notes
Dar es Salaam is the largest city and former capital
Uganda
CapitalKampala
NotesOn the shores of Lake Victoria
Zambia
CapitalLusaka
NotesLandlocked
Zimbabwe
CapitalHarare
NotesLandlocked

Southern Africa: 5 Countries

Country	Capital	Notes
Botswana	Gaborone	Landlocked
Eswatini	Mbabane	Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital
Lesotho	Maseru	Completely surrounded by South Africa
Namibia	Windhoek	Between the Namib and Kalahari deserts
South Africa	Pretoria	Cape Town is the legislative and Bloemfontein the judicial capital

Botswana
CapitalGaborone
NotesLandlocked
Eswatini
CapitalMbabane
Notes
Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital
Lesotho
CapitalMaseru
Notes
Completely surrounded by South Africa
Namibia
CapitalWindhoek
Notes
Between the Namib and Kalahari deserts
South Africa
CapitalPretoria
Notes
Cape Town is the legislative and Bloemfontein the judicial capital

African capitals punish the "biggest city" assumption even harder than US state capitals do. Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to purpose-built Abuja in 1991. Ivory Coast officially moved to Yamoussoukro in 1983, but nearly every embassy stayed in Abidjan. Tanzania designated Dodoma while Dar es Salaam kept the business. Benin governs from Cotonou while Porto-Novo holds the title, and Burundi moved its capital back to Gitega as recently as 2019.

Capitals That Are Not the Biggest City

Country	The Capital	The City People Guess
Nigeria	Abuja	Lagos
Ivory Coast	Yamoussoukro	Abidjan
Tanzania	Dodoma	Dar es Salaam
Morocco	Rabat	Casablanca or Marrakesh
Benin	Porto-Novo	Cotonou
Burundi	Gitega	Bujumbura
Cameroon	Yaoundé	Douala
South Africa	Pretoria	Johannesburg or Cape Town

Nigeria
The CapitalAbuja
The City People GuessLagos
Ivory Coast
The CapitalYamoussoukro
The City People GuessAbidjan
Tanzania
The CapitalDodoma
The City People GuessDar es Salaam
Morocco
The CapitalRabat
The City People GuessCasablanca or Marrakesh
Benin
The CapitalPorto-Novo
The City People GuessCotonou
Burundi
The CapitalGitega
The City People GuessBujumbura
Cameroon
The CapitalYaoundé
The City People GuessDouala
South Africa
The CapitalPretoria
The City People GuessJohannesburg or Cape Town

Methodology and Sources

This list covers the 54 African UN member states. Western Sahara is excluded as a disputed territory, though the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is an African Union member, which is why AU counts reach 55. Somaliland, a de facto state within the borders of Somalia, is also excluded. Regional groupings follow the UN geoscheme, which places Angola in Central Africa and Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique in East Africa; informal usage often calls these Southern Africa.

Fifty-four countries is a real challenge

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Written by

Ziga Straus

I build and run Geography Games on my own, from the games and the artwork to these articles. Everything here is checked against published references, and each article lists its sources at the bottom so you can verify any figure yourself rather than taking my word for it.

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