We explain how many countries Africa has and what their capitals are. Also, in which regions they are grouped and maps of the African continent.
In Africa there are 54 sovereign nations, two states with limited recognition and two dependent territories.
What are the countries and capitals of Africa?
Africa is a continent composed of 54 countries, which are sovereign and independent States. Most of them were European colonies during the 19th and 20th centuries, mainly of Great Britain, France, Holland, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Italy.
The African continent has an area of 30,300,000 square kilometres, making it the second largest continent on the planet. It is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and separated from Asia by the Red Sea and the Isthmus of Suez.
The total population of the continent amounts to 1.32 billion inhabitants, which represents 16.5% of the total world population. The most populated countries are Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt.
List of countries and capitals of Africa
African regions
The African continent is made up of six different regions:
- Northern or North Africa. It covers the countries in the north of the continent, many of which have Mediterranean borders. This region has a Mediterranean climate along its coast, steppe or semi-cold in the high regions and desert in the vicinity of the Sahara, a desert that occupies a good part of the region. It is an area whose countries maintain close relations with Europe, in part due to its colonial past and its immense tourism and oil potential.
- The Sahel. It covers five countries that have a large part of their territory occupied by the Sahara desert. The region is inhabited by nomadic pastoralists and agricultural communities. Livestock and subsistence agriculture, trade, and oil and gold extraction are the main economic activities in the area.
- West or West Africa. It covers thirteen countries, which occupy almost a fifth of the area of Africa. It is a region of extensive plains, of immense archaeological importance, given that agriculture began there around 5000 BC. c.
- Central Africa. It covers nine countries. This region is dominated by the Congo River and has great agricultural and mining potential, as well as enormous linguistic diversity.
- Eastern or Eastern Africa. It covers sixteen countries. This region is home to the continent’s highest mountains, Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 metres high) and Mount Kenya (5,199 metres high). The region’s main economic activities are agriculture and the steel industry.
- Southern or Southern Africa. It covers five countries. This region has, along with the central African region, some of the oldest cultures in the world. In addition, it has important deposits of valuable metals, such as vanadium, uranium, iron and gold, as well as diamonds.
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