Geography of the Countries of Africa

List of Africa's Countries Based on Land Area

map of africa

 

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The continent of Africa is the world's second-largest based on land area and population just after Asia. It has a population of around one billion people (as of 2009) and covers 20.4% of the Earth's land area. Africa is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
Africa is known for its biodiversity, varied topography, culture, and varied climate. The continent straddles the equator and encompasses the entire tropical band. Africa's northern and southernmost countries also stretch out of the tropics (from 0° to 23.5° N and S latitude) and into the northern and southern temperate latitudes (latitudes above the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn).
As the world's second-largest continent, Africa is divided into 53 officially recognized countries. The following is a list of Africa's countries ordered by land area. For reference, the country's population and capital city have also been included.
1) Sudan
Area: 967,500 square miles (2,505,813 sq km)
Population: 39,154,490
Capital: Khartoum
2) Algeria
Area: 919,594 square miles (2,381,740 sq km)
Population: 33,333,216
Capital: Algiers
3) Democratic Republic of the Congo
Area: 905,355 square miles (2,344,858 sq km)
Population: 63,655,000
Capital: Kinshasa
4) Libya
Area: 679,362 square miles (1,759,540 sq km)
Population: 6,036,914
Capital: Tripoli
5) Chad
Area: 495,755 square miles (1,284,000 sq km)
Population: 10,146,000
Capital: N'Djamena
6) Niger
Area: 489,191 square miles (1,267,000 sq km)
Population: 13,957,000
Capital: Niamey
7) Angola
Area: 481,353 square miles (1,246,700 sq km)
Population: 15,941,000
Capital: Luanda
8) Mali
Area: 478,840 square miles (1,240,192 sq km)
Population: 13,518,000
Capital: Bamako
9) South Africa
Area: 471,455 square miles (1,221,037 sq km)
Population: 47,432,000
Capital: Pretoria
10) Ethiopia
Area: 426,372 square miles (1,104,300 sq km)
Population: 85,237,338
Capital: Addis Ababa
11) Mauritania
Area: 396,955 square miles (1,030,700 sq km)
Population: 3,069,000
Capital: Nouakchott
12) Egypt
Area: 386,661 square miles (1,001,449 sq km)
Population: 80,335,036
Capital: Cairo
13) Tanzania
Area: 364,900 square miles (945,087 sq km)
Population: 37,849,133
Capital: Dodoma
14) Nigeria
Area: 356,668 square miles (923,768 sq km)
Population: 154,729,000
Capital: Abuja
15) Namibia
Area: 318,695 square miles (825,418 sq km)
Population: 2,031,000
Capital: Windhoek
16) Mozambique
Area: 309,495 square miles (801,590 sq km)
Population: 20,366,795
Capital: Maputo
17) Zambia
Area: 290,585 square miles (752,614 sq km)
Population: 14,668,000
Capital: Lusaka
18) Somalia
Area: 246,200 square miles (637,657 sq km)
Population: 9,832,017
Capital: Mogadishu
19) Central African Republic
Area: 240,535 square miles (622,984 sq km)
Population: 4,216,666
Capital: Bangui
20) Madagascar
Area: 226,658 square miles (587,041 sq km)
Population: 18,606,000
Capital: Antananarivo
21) Botswana
Area: 224,340 square miles (581,041 sq km)
Population: 1,839,833
Capital: Gaborone
22) Kenya
Area: 224,080 square miles (580,367 sq km)
Population: 34,707,817
Capital: Nairobi
23) Cameroon
Area: 183,569 square miles (475,442 sq km)
Population: 17,795,000
Capital: Yaoundé
24) Morocco
Area: 172,414 square miles (446,550 sq km)
Population: 33,757,175
Capital: Rabat
25) Zimbabwe
Area: 150,872 square miles (390,757 sq km)
Population: 13,010,000
Capital: Harare

26) Republic of the Congo
Area: 132,046 square miles (342,000 sq km)
Population: 4,012,809
Capital: Brazzaville
27) Côte d'Ivoire
Area: 124,502 square miles (322,460 sq km)
Population: 17,654,843
Capital: Yamoussoukro
28) Burkina Faso
Area: 105,792 square miles (274,000 sq km)
Population: 13,228,000
Capital: Ouagadougou
29) Gabon
Area: 103,347 square miles (267,668 sq km)
Population, 1,387,000
Capital: Libreville
30) Guinea
Area: 94,925 square miles (245,857 sq km)
Population: 9,402,000
Capital: Conakry
31) Ghana
Area: 92,098 square miles (238,534 sq km)
Population: 23,000,000
Capital: Accra
32) Uganda
Area: 91,135 square miles (236,040 sq km)
Population: 27,616,000
Capital: Kampala
33) Senegal
Area: 75,955 square miles (196,723 sq km)
Population: 11,658,000
Capital: Dakar
34) Tunisia
Area: 63,170 square miles (163,610 sq km)
Population: 10,102,000
Capital: Tunis
35) Malawi
Area: 45,746 square miles (118,484 sq km)
Population: 12,884,000
Capital: Lilongwe
36) Eritrea
Area: 45,405 square miles (117,600 sq km)
Population: 4,401,000
Capital: Asmara
37) Benin
Area: 43,484 square miles (112,622 sq km)
Population: 8,439,000
Capital: Porto Novo
38) Liberia
Area: 43,000 square miles (111,369 sq km)
Population: 3,283,000
Capital: Monrovia
39) Sierra Leone
Area: 27,699 square miles (71,740 sq km)
Population: 6,144,562
Capital: Freetown
40) Togo
Area: 21,925 square miles (56,785 sq km)
Population: 6,100,000
Capital: Lomé
41) Guinea-Bissau
Area: 13,948 square miles (36,125 sq km)
Population: 1,586,000
Capital: Bissau
42) Lesotho
Area: 11,720 square miles (30,355 sq km)
Population: 1,795,000
Capital: Maseru
43) Equatorial Guinea
Area: 10,830 square miles (28,051 sq km)
Population: 504,000
Capital: Malabo
44) Burundi
Area: 10,745 square miles (27,830 sq km)
Population: 7,548,000
Capital: Gitega (changed from Bujumbura in December 2018)
45) Rwanda
Area: 10,346 square miles (26,798 sq km)
Population: 7,600,000
Capital: Kigali
46) Djibouti
Area: 8,957 square miles (23,200 sq km)
Population: 496,374
Capital: Djibouti
47) Swaziland
Area: 6,704 square miles (17,364 sq km)
Population: 1,032,000
Capital: Lobamba and Mbabane
48) Gambia
Area: 4,007 square miles (10,380 sq km)
Population: 1,517,000
Capital: Banjul
49) Cape Verde
Area: 1,557 square miles (4,033 sq km)
Population: 420,979
Capital: Praia
50) Comoros
Area: 863 square miles (2,235 sq km)
Population: 798,000
Capital: Moroni
51) Mauritius
Area: 787 square miles (2,040 sq km)
Population: 1,219,220
Capital: Port Louis
52) São Tomé and Príncipe
Area: 380 square miles (984 sq km)
Population: 157,000
Capital: São Tomé
53) Seychelles
Area: 175 square miles (455 sq km)
Population: 88,340
Capital: Victoria

References

Wikipedia. (2010, June 8). Africa- Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa

Wikipedia. (2010, June 12).  and Territories- Wikipedia, the Free EncyclopediaList of African Countries. Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_countries_and_territories

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Briney, Amanda. "Geography of the Countries of Africa." ThoughtCo, Aug. 28, 2020, thoughtco.com/geography-of-the-countries-of-africa-1434326. Briney, Amanda. (2020, August 28). Geography of the Countries of Africa. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-of-the-countries-of-africa-1434326 Briney, Amanda. "Geography of the Countries of Africa." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-of-the-countries-of-africa-1434326 (accessed March 19, 2024).