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African countries, their capitals, their presidents and what they are known for

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

East Africa

Central Africa

West Africa

Southern Africa

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 Profile

bola
John Aina Ajibola 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.

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African countries, their capitals, their presidents and what they are known for

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