Map of Africa

Africa is home to 54 sovereign countries with a combined population of about 1,460,640,780 people—roughly 18% of the world total—and a total land area of about 30,051,294 km² (11,602,869 sq mi), some 22% of the world’s land. Its most populous nation is Nigeria (around 223,800,000 people), while the least populous is Seychelles.

The largest country in Africa by area is Algeria at about 2,381,741 km², and the smallest is Seychelles at about 452 km². Of the 54 countries, 16 are landlocked and 6 are island nations with no land borders. The continent is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean.

On average each country in Africa covers about 556,505 km² and is home to about 27,048,903 people, though the real spread is wide. The three most populous—Nigeria, DR Congo and Ethiopia—together account for roughly 31% of everyone living on the continent.

The countries of Africa use 42 different official currencies and recognise 47 languages between them; the most widely shared is the West African CFA franc (XOF, Fr), official in 8 of them. At the smaller end of the scale, the three least populous countries are Seychelles, Sao Tome and Principe and Cabo Verde.

Taken together, Africa has an average population density of about 49 people per km², and 38 of its 54 countries have a sea coastline. Local clocks across the continent run from UTC-01:00 to UTC+04:00. The country sharing land borders with the most neighbours is DR Congo, with 9.

Africa’s countries span from roughly -30° to 34° latitude and -23° to 58° longitude, giving the continent its particular reach across the globe. Every nation is listed below in alphabetical order with its capital city. Start typing in the search box to filter the list instantly, or browse the other continents and the world’s oceans to compare regions across the planet. Open any Africa country below to see its own interactive map, capital, land borders and complete set of facts.