How Many Countries are There in Africa

Tap to Read ➤ Kulbhushaan Raghuvanshi

Africa is the second-largest continent after Asia, and is also one of the most disputed territories. Here we learn many things about this controversial continent and list out its countries.

Africa is the world's second-largest continent after Asia; it also holds the honor of being the second-most populous continent after Asia. With an area about 30.2 million km, counting the adjacent islands, Africa covers about 6% of the Earth's total surface, and about 20.4% of the land area. It also forms around 14.72% of the world's total population.

Man has, since a long time, been obsessed with Africa and the various theories related to it. Almost everyone on this planet knows about Africa, even small kids, because educational channels like Discovery and National Geographic broadcast a large chunk of their documentaries from Africa.

Check any program about animals and tribal people on Discovery or Nat Geo, the content would be coming from Africa or any of its surrounding islands. In spite of being so famous, Africa is still the poorest continent in the world. Let's see some amazing facts about this fascinating continent which will help us understand Africa more.

Facts about Countries in the African Continent

From the Sahara Desert to Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa is a continent where you'll find everything in extremes. It is a continent where some countries still have minerals and natural resources in abundance while some are as barren as the Dead Sea. Here are some astonishing facts about this continent.

Cairo is the largest city in Africa with over nine million inhabitants. Africa is the birthplace of the human species. The river Nile is the longest river in the world. Lake Victoria is the largest lake in Africa. South America and Africa were connected millions of years ago, but due to the movement of the tectonic plates, they moved away.

The Sahara Desert in Africa is the largest desert in the world. Africa produces 50% of the diamonds in the world. Human fossils have been found in Africa which have been dated over four million years old and some seven million years old. The first dominant human civilization was found in Africa and they were the 'Egyptians' in 3,300 BC.

The largest mountain in Africa is Mt. Kilimanjaro, with a height of 19,317 feet. Arabs made Africa their home in the 7th century AD and spread Islam throughout the continent. Africa is the poorest continent on Earth. In the early 18th and 19th century, European powers colonized Africa. Most countries in Africa gained independence in the early 20th century.

How Many Countries are There in the African Continent

There are 54 countries in Africa which includes the disputed territory of Western Sahara. The islands of Madagascar, the Comoros, Mauritius, Cape Verde, Sao Tome, Principe and the Seychelles are now recognized as independent nations.

African countries and their capitals

Country - Capital Algeria - Algiers Angola - Luanda Benin - Porto-Novo Botswana - Gaborone Burkina Faso - Ouagadougou Burundi - Bujumbura Cameroon- Yaounde Cape Verde - Praia Central African Republic - Bangui Chad - N'Djamena Democratic Republic of Congo - Kinshasa Republic of Congo - Brazzaville

Cote d'Ivoire - Yamoussoukro Egypt - Cairo Equatorial Guinea - Malabo Eritrea - Asmara Ethiopia - AddisAbaba Gabon - Libreville Ghana - Accra Guinea-Bissau - Bissau Kenya - Nairobi Lesotho - Maseru Liberia - Monrovia Libya - Tripoli Madagascar - Antananarivo Malawi - Lilongwe Mali - Bamako Mauritania - Nouakchott Mauritius - Port Louis Morocco - Rabat

Mozambique - Maputo Niger - Niamey Nigeria - Abuja Republic of Djibouti - Djibouti Republic of Guinea - Conakry Republic of Namibia - Windhoek Republic of South Sudan - Juba Republic of Sudan - Khartoum Republic of Tunisia - Tunis Rwanda - Kigali Sao Tome and Principe - São Tomé Senegal - Dakar Seychelles - Victoria Sierra Leone - Freetown Somalia - Mogadishu

Somaliland - Hargeisa South Africa - Pretoria Swaziland - Mbabane Tanzania - Dodoma The Gambia - Banjul Togo - Lomé Uganda - Kampala Union of Comoros - Moroni Zambia - Lusaka Zimbabwe - Harare

Note: Comoros, Cape Verde, Mauritius, São Tomé & Príncipe, and Seychelles, although not a part of the main African landmass, are a part of the African subcontinent. Western Sahara, bordered to the north by Morocco, is an occupied territory with El Aaiún as its official capital.

So the continent of Africa houses all these countries and their people. Apart from its rich culture and geographical locations, Africa is also famous for its wildlife safaris, so ensure that you guys check that one out too.