Africa is one of the 7 continents of the world. Africa has the second-largest population in the world, with an estimated 1 billion inhabitants. This constitutes almost 15% of the world’s population (2009 census). Africa is considered to be the ancestral home of mankind. This lesson contains some brief facts listing all of the African countries, their capital, and the president as well as what they are known for.
There are 55 countries in Africa, all of which are members of the African Union, a political and economic grouping of countries. With a growing population of over 1.2 billion, and having much of the mineral and material resources left on Earth, Africa plays an ever more important part in the world economy.
Africa is blessed with beautiful natural features ranging from very colorful landscapes and different weather contrasts. Due to its beautiful landscape, traditions, the wildlife, the people and culture, it has become one of the most preferred travel destinations in the world.
The abundance of heat, a favorable climate and slightly dissected relief of Africa are the most important prerequisites for possible rapid economic growth.
LIST OF SUB REGIONS IN AFRICA ACCORDING TO UN
The five UN sub-regions include:
NORTH AFRICA
This is the region surrounding the northern portion of the Africa continent, it occupies over 10 million square kilometers on the mainland. Due to its Mediterranean climate, the countries in this sub-region of Africa are very convenient. It’s surrounded by the Sahara desert.
They are one of the most preferred destinations for tourist from around the world
North Africa Countries, Captial, their president and what they are known for
1. Country: Algeria
Capital: Algiers
President: Abdelmajid Tebboune
What they are known for: Tourism, Fossil fuel, Cherries and Date. Also, largest exporter of oat.
2. Country: Egypt
Capital: Cairo
President: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
What they are known for: Ancient civilization
3. Country: Libya
Capital: Tripoli
President: Fayez al-Sarraj
What they are known for: Ancient Greek and Roman ruins and also, it’s Sahara landscapes
4. Country: Morocco
Capital: Rabat
President: Monarch – Mohammed VI, King of Morocco (1999–present)
What they are known for: Morocco is popular due to the regular influx of tourist to the nation. The country has two climatic condition namely; Mediterranean and Subtropical.
5. Country: Sudan
Capital: Khartoum
President: Omar al-Bashir (1989–present)
What they are known for: Tourism
6. Country: Tunisia
Capital: Tunis
President: Beji Caid Essebsi (2014–present)
What they are known for: Olive oil production
7. Country: Mauritania
Capital: Nouakchott
President: Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz (2009-present)
What they are known for: Oceans and Tourist destination
EAST AFRICA
This region of Africa is one of the most populous region, it has a population of approximately 300 million people. All of the countries in this region was colonized by Europeans except for Ethiopia. Although, reports show that Italians occupied the country in the 19th century but they were not successful in controlling the country.
Since the end of the colonial rule in Africa, Eastern African countries have all experienced major changes in areas such as education, construction, tourism, and other sectors. With their distinct cultures and practices, it has become one of the most visited regions in Africa.
Countries, Capital, president and what they are known for
1. Country: Kenya
Capital: Nairobi
President: Uhuru Kenyatta (2013–present)
What they are known for: Scenic Landscape and vast wildlife reserve
2. Country: Uganda
Capital: Kampala
President: Yoweri Museveni (1986–present)
What they are known for: Agricultural exports
3. Country: Tanzania
Capital: Dodoma
President: John Magufuli (2015–present)
What they are known for: Tourism, Agriculture, Mining and Fishing activities
4. Country: Rwanda
Capital: Kigali
President: Paul Kagame (2000–present)
What they are known for: Tea production
5. Country: Burundi
Capital: Bujumbura
President: Pierre Nkurunziza (2005–present)
What they are known for: Abundant wildlife and green habitations
6. Country: South Sudan
Capital: Juba
President: Salva Kiir Mayardit (2005–present)
What they are known for: Oil exportation ( largest in Africa )
7. Country: Ethiopia
Capital: Djibouti
President: Sahle-Work Zewde (2018–present)
What they are known for: Cattle rearing, birds and distance race running
8. Country: Djibouti
Capital: Djibouti
President: Ismaïl Omar Guelleh (1999–present)
What they are known for: Natural minerals and landscapes
9. Country: Eritrea
Capital: Asmara
President: Isaias Afwerki (1991–present)
What they are known for:
10. Country: Somalia
Capital: Mogadishu
President: Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (2017–present)
What they are known for:
11. Country: Mozambique
Capital: Maputo
President: Filipe Nyusi (2015–present)
What they are known for: Seafoods and music
12. Country: Malawi
Capital: Lilongwe
President: Peter Mutharika (2014–present)
What they are known for: Tourism, wildlife and beaches
13. Country: Madagascar
Capital: Antananarivo
President: Rivo Rakotovao (2018–present)
What they are known for: Wildlife and culture
14. Country: Zambia
Capital: Lusaka
President: Edgar Lungu (2015–present)
What they are known for: Victoria falls, River Zambezi, wildlife and culture
15. Country: Zimbabwe
Capital: Harare
President: Emmerson Mnangagwa (2017–present)
What they are known for:
16. Country: Comoros
Capital: Moroni
President: Azali Assoumani (2016 – present)
What they are known for: Fragrant plant life and scenic beauty
17. Country: Mauritius
Capital: Port Louis
President: Barlen Vyapoory (2018–present)
What they are known for: White beaches and sloppy landscape
18. Country: Seychelles
Capital: Victoria
President: Danny Faure (2016–present)
What they are known for: Beaches and exotic sea life
CENTRAL AFRICA
Central African region, popularly called Middle Africa due to the restructuring of Africa into sub-regions by the United Nations.
Countries, capitals, their presidents and what they are known for
1. Country: Angola
Capital: Luanda
President: João Lourenço (2017–present)
What they are known for: Oil deposits ( Kuwait of Africa ), Diamond, Gold, and Agriculture
2. Country: Cameroon
Capital: Yaoundé
President: Paul Biya (1982–present)
What they are known for: Cocoa exportation, natural mineral deposits and livestock farming
3. Country: The Central African Republic
Capital: Bangui
President: Faustin-Archange Touadéra (2016–present)
What they are known for: Tourism, forest elephants and other wildlife
4. Country: Chad
Capital: N’Djamena
President: Idriss Deby (1990-present)
What they are known for: Lake Chad, agriculture
5. Country: The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Capital: Kinshasa
President: Joseph Kabila (2004 – present)
What they are known for: Natural resources
6. Country: Republic of the Congo
Capital: Brazzaville
President: Denis Sassou Nguesso (1997 – present)
What they are known for: Deposits of Diamond, copper, etc.
7. Country: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
Capital: Malabo
President: Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (1979 – present)
What they are known for: Wildlife
8. Country: Gabon
Capital: Libreville
President: Ali Bongo Ondimba (2009–present)
What they are known for: Oil production and forest preservation
Country: The Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe
9. Capital: Sao Tome
President: Evaristo Carvalho (2016-present)
What they are known for: Coffee plantation
WESTERN AFRICA
Western African or the West Africa region is one of the beautiful places in the entire African continent. Regardless of the varying natural attraction sites; the beauty of the place is in the uniqueness of the people. This article will show you the countries that make up the West African region, their capitals, current president and what they are known for.
Countries, Capitals, their presidents and what they are known for.
1. Country: Republic of the Niger
Capital: Niamey
President: Mahamadou Issoufou (2011–present)
What they are known for: Uranium deposits and livestock farming
2. Country: Republic of Mali
Capital: Bamako
President: Ibrahim Boubacar Keita (2013–present)
What they are known for: Agriculture and mining
3. Country: Nigeria
Capital: Abuja
President: Muhammadu Buhari (2015–present)
What they are known for: Oil and gas, agriculture and tourism
4. Country: Côte d’Ivoire
Capital: Yamoussoukro (political) and Abidjan (economic)
President: Alassane Ouattara (2010 – present)
What they are known for: Cocoa ( world largest exporter of cocoa beans )
5. Country: Burkina Faso
Capital: Ouagadougou
President: Roch Marc Christian Kabore (2015–present)
What they are known for: Agricultural exports
6. Country: Ghana
Capital: Accra
President: Nana Akufo-Addo (2017 – present)
What they are known for: Gold, cocoa and oil deposits
Country: Guinea Republic
7. Capital: Conakry
President: Alpha Conde (2010-present)
What they are known for: Bauxite, gold and diamond deposits
8. Country: Benin
Capital: Porto-Novo
President: Patrice Talon (2016-present)
What they are known for: Cotton and palm oil exportation
9. Country: Liberia
Capital: Monrovia
President: George Weah (2018-present)
What they are known for: Rubber and timber exports
10. Country: Senegal
Capital: Dakar
President: Macky Sall (2012-present)
What they are known for: Commodity and natural resources
11. Country: Sierra Leone
Capital: Freetown
President: Julius Maada Bio (2018–present)
What they are known for: Agriculture and mining
12. Country: Togo
Capital: Lome
President: Faure Gnassinge (2005–present)
What they are known for: Agricultural products exportation
13. Country: Guinea Bissau
Capital: Bissau
President: Jose Mario Vaz (2014-present)
What they are known for: Agriculture
14. Country: Gambia
Capital: Banjul
President: Adama Barrow (2017 – present)
What they are known for: Agricultural exportation
14. Country: Cabo Verde
Capital: Praia
President: Jorge Carlos Fonseca (2011-present)
What they are known for: Tropical climate, volcanic island and cuisine
SOUTHERN AFRICA
Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent according to the United Nations system of geographical areas with a number of independent states including South Africa and Namibia. The region has a wide variety of eco-regions with a large amount of forest life species.
1. Country: Botswana
Capital: Gaborone
President: Mokgweetsi Masisi (2018–present)
What they are known for: Safari’s, diamond mining
2. Country: Lesotho
Capital: Maseru
President: Monarch – Letsie III, King of Lesotho (1996–present)
What they are known for: Tourism, beautiful landscapes
3. Country: Namibia
Capital: Windhoek
President: Hage Geingob (2015–present)
What they are known for: Tourism, wildlife reserves, and skeleton coast
4. Country: South Africa
Capital: Pretoria
President: Cyril Ramaphosa (2018–present)
What they are known for: Tourism, agriculture, science and technology
5. Country: Swaziland
Capital: Mbabane
President: Monarch – Mswati III, King of Swaziland (1986–present)
What they are known for: Tourist destination
Author
Abbey Johnson has a Masters degree as an engineer and has over 3 years of teaching and research experience. He is happiest when on a bike and is also interested in electric energy and computer Science.