Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area and 20% of its land area.With 1.3 billion people as of 2018, it accounts for about 16% of the world's human population. The continent is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Isthmus of Suez and the Red Sea to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.
The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos. It contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states (countries), four territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition.
The majority of the continent and its countries are in the Northern Hemisphere, with a substantial portion and number of countries in the Southern Hemisphere.
See the List of African Countries & Dependency by Population
(Come back soon to see more details about all of them as well as places to discover while you work & travel)
Nigeria
Population: 206,139,589
Land Area: 910,770 km²
Currency: Nigerian Naira (NGN, ₦)
Official Language: English
Capital: Abuja
Ethiopia
Population 114,963,588
Land Area: 1,000,000 km²
Currency: Ethiopian Birr (ETB)
Official Language: Amharic
Capital: Addis-Abeba
Egypt
Population: 102,334,404
Land Area: 995,450 km²
Currency: Egyptian Pound ( E£, EGP)
Official Language: English
Capital: Cairo
DR Congo
Population: 89,561,403
Land Area: 2,267,050 km²
Currency: Congolese Franc (CDF)
Official Language: French
Capital: Kinshasa
Tanzania
Population: 59,734,218
Land Area: 885,800 km²
Currency: Tanzania Shilling (TSh)
Official Language: English & Swahili
Capital: Dodoma
South Africa
Population: 59,308,690
Land Area: 1,213,090 km²
Currency: Rand (R)
Official Language: Afrikaans & English
Capital: Pretoria
Kenya
Population: 53,771,296
Land Area: 569,140 km²
Currency: Kenyan shilling (KES)
Official Language: Swahili
Capital: Nairobi
Uganda
Population: 45,741,007
Land Area: 199,810 km²
Currency: Ugandan shilling (USh)
Official Language: English & Swahili
Capital: Kampala
Algeria
Population: 43,851,044
Land Area: 2,381,740 km²
Currency: The dinar دج
Official Language: Arabic & Berber
Capital: Algiers
Sudan
Population: 43,849,260
Land Area: 1,765,048 km²
Currency: Sudanese pound (SDG)
Official Language: Arabic & English
Capital: Khartoum
Morocco
Population: 36,910,560
Land Area: 446,300 km²
Currency: The Moroccan dirham .د.م.
Official Language: Arabic & Berber
Capital: Rabat
Angola
Population: 32,866,272
Land Area: 1,246,700 km²
Currency: The Angolan Kwanza (Kz)
Official Language: Portuguese
Capital: Luanda
Mozambique
Population: 31,255,435
Land Area: 786,380 km²
Currency: Mozambican Metical (MTn)
Official Language: Portuguese
Capital: Maputo
Ghana
Population: 31,072,940
Land Area: 227,540 km²
Currency: The Ghanaian cedi (GH₵)
Official Language: English
Capital: Accra
Madagascar
Population: 27,691,018
Land Area: 581,795 km²
Currency: The ariary (Ar)
Official Language: French & Malagasy
Capital: Antananarivo
Cameroon
Population: 26,545,863
Land Area: 472,710 km²
Currency: CFA franc or FCFA
Official Language: English & French
Capital: Yaoundé
Côte d'Ivoire
Population: 26,378,274
Land Area: 318,000 km²
Currency: West African CFA franc (XOF)
Official Language: French
Capital: Yamoussoukro
Niger
Population: 24,206,644
Land Area: 1,266,700 km²
Currency: The Naira (₦)
Official Language: French
Capital: Niamey
Burkina Faso
Population: 20,903,273
Land Area: 273,600 km²
Currency: The West African CFA franc (XOF)
Official Language: French
Capital: Ouagadougou
Mali
Population: 20,250,833
Land Area: 1,220,190 km²
Currency: The Malian franc (MAF)
Official Language: French & Arabic
Capital: Bamako
Malawi
Population: 19,129,952
Land Area: 94,280 km²
Currency: kwacha (MK)
Official Language: English & Chewa
Capital: Lilongwe
Zambia
Population : 18,383,955
Land Area: 743,390 km²
Currency: The Zambian Kwacha (ZK)
Official Language: English
Capital: Lusaka
Senegal
Population: 16,743,927
Land Area: 192,530 km²
Currency: West African CFA franc (XOF)
Official Language: French
Capital: Dakar
Chad
Population: 16,425,864
Land Area: 1,259,200 km²
Currency: Central African Franc (FCFA)
Official Language: Arabic & French
Capital: N'Djamena
Somalia
Population: 15,893,222
Land Area: 627,340 km²
Currency: The Somali shilling (Sh)
Official Language: Somali & Arabic
Capital: Mogadishu
Zimbabwe
Population: 14,862,924
Land Area: 386,850 km²
Currency: Zimbabwean dollar ($)
Official Language: English, Kalanga & 16 mores
Capital: Harare
Guinea
Population: 13,132,795
Land Area: 245,720 km²
Currency: The Guinean franc (FG)
Official Language: French
Capital: Conakry
Rwanda
Population: 12,952,218
Land Area: 24,670 km²
Currency: Rwandan Franc (FRW, RF, R₣)
Official Language: English
Capital: Kigali
Benin
Population: 12,123,200
Land Area: 112,760 km²
Currency: West African Franc (CFA)
Official Language: French
Capital: Porto-Novo
Burundi
Population: 11,890,784
Land Area: 25,680 km²
Currency: The franc (FBU)
Official Language: Kirundi
Capital: Gitega
Tunisia
Population: 11,818,619
Land Area: 155,360 km²
Currency: The dinar د.ت
Official Language: Tunisian & Arabic
Capital: Tunis
South Sudan
Population: 11,193,725
Land Area: 610,952 km²
Currency: The South Sudanese pound (SS£)
Official Language: English
Capital: Juba
Togo
Population: 8,278,724
Land Area: 54,390 km²
Currency: West African Franc (CFA)
Official Language: French
Capital: Lomé
Sierra Leone
Population: 7,976,983
Land Area: 72,180 km²
Currency: Sierra Leonean Leone (Le)
Official Language: English & Krio
Capital: Freetown
Libya
Population: 6,871,292
Land Area: 1,759,540 km²
Currency: Libyan dinar (LD) & ل.د
Official Language: Standard Arabic
Capital: Tripoli
Congo
Population: 5,518,087
Land Area: 341,500 km²
Currency: Central African franc (XAF)
Official Language: French
Capital: Brazzaville
Liberia
Population: 5,057,681
Land Area: 96,320 km²
Currency: Liberian Dollar, $
Official Language: English
Capital: Monrovia
Central African Republic
Population: 4,829,767
Land Area: 622,980 km²
Currency: Central African Franc (CFA)
Official Language: French & Sango
Capital: Bangui
Mauritania
Population: 4,649,658
Land Area: 1,030,700 km²
Currency: The ouguiya UM; Arabic: أوقية
Official Language: Arabic
Capital: Nouakchott
Eritrea
Population: 3,546,421
Land Area: 101,000 km²
Currency: The Eritrean Nakfa (Nkf)
Official Language: Italian
Capital: Asmara
Namibia
Population: 2,540,905
Land Area: 823,290 km²
Currency: The Namibian dollar (N$)
Official Language: English, Afrikaans
Capital: Windhoek
Gambia
Population: 2,416,668
Land Area: 10,120 km²
Currency: Dalasi (GMD)
Official Language: English, Mandingo
Capital: Banjul
Botswana
Population: 2,351,627
Land Area: 566,730 km²
Currency: Botswana Pula (P)
Official Language: English & Setswana
Capital: Gaborone
Gabon
Population: 2,225,734
Land Area: 257,670 km²
Currency: The Central African Franc (Fr)
Official Language: French
Capital: Libreville
Lesotho
Population: 2,142,249
Land Area: 30,360 km²
Currency: Lesotho loti (L) or M
Official Language: Sesotho; English
Capital: Maseru
Guinea-Bissau
Population: 1,968,001
Land Area: 28,120 km²
Currency: The West African franc (CFA)
Official Language: Portuguese
Capital: Bissau
Equatorial Guinea
Population: 1,402,985
Land Area: 28,050 km²
Currency: The West African franc (CFA)
Official Language: Spanish; Portuguese
Capital: Malabo
Mauritius
Population: 1,271,768
Land Area: 2,030 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Eswatini
Population: 1,160,164
Land Area: 17,200 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Djibouti
Population: 988,000
Land Area: 23,180 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Réunion
Population: 895,312
Land Area: 2,500 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Comoros
Population: 869,601
Land Area: 1,861 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Western Sahara
Population: 597,339
Land Area: 266,000 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Cabo Verde
Population: 555,987
Land Area: 4,030 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Mayotte
Population: 272,815
Land Area: 375 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Sao Tome & Principe
Population: 219,159
Land Area: 960 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Seychelles
Population: 98,347
Land Area: 460 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital:
Saint Helena
Population: 6,077
Land Area: 390 km²
Currency:
Official Language:
Capital: