Largest Countries in Africa 2024

Africa is the second-largest continent on Earth by total geographical area, with 54 independent nations and 10 dependent territories covering an estimated 30,365,000 km2 (11,724,000 mi²). Even though it extends deep into the Southern Hemisphere, Africa contains the most equatorial nations.

The continent’s size, shape, and position all contribute to its remarkable variety of landscapes, climates, animal life, and raw materials. Which African nations have the greatest populations? The following are some of them:

Africa’s top 10 largest countries, listed by total area:

• Algeria — 2,384,741 km² (919,595 mi²)
• Congo (Democratic Republic of) — 2,344,860 km² (905,356 mi²)
• Sudan — 1,854,105 km² (715,874 mi²)
• Libya — 1,759,540 km² (679,362 mi²)
• Chad — 1,284,000 km² (495,755 mi²)
• Niger — 1,267,000 km² (489,191 mi²)
• Angola — 1,246,700 km² (481,354 mi²)
• Mali — 1,240,190 km² (478,840 mi²)
• South Africa — 1,219,090 km² (470,693 mi²)
• Ethiopia — 1,136,242 km² (438,705 mi²)

Algeria, with over 44 million inhabitants and an area of about 2,381,741 km² (919,595 mi²), is the biggest nation in Africa and the tenth largest in the world.

Algeria lies in North Africa, and it shares a Mediterranean coast with Morocco and a Sahara Desert interior with Mauritania. Algeria has a bright future since it is the most developed nation on the African continent and the third most developed country in Africa as a whole.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) follows closely behind Algeria. Although it is about the same area as Algeria at 2,344,860 km² (905,356 mi²), with 92 million inhabitants, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has more than twice as many.

In contrast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is not as developed and has been plagued by regional violence and political turmoil for more than a century.

Top 10 Smallest Countries in Africa (by total area):

1. Seychelles — 460 km² (178 mi²)
2. Sao Tome — 960 km² (371 mi²)
3. Comoros — 1,861 km² (719 mi²)
4. Mauritius — 2,040 km² (788 mi²)
5. Cabo Verde / Cape Verde — 4,030 km² (1,556 mi²)
6. Gambia — 11,300 km² (4,363 mi²)
7. Eswatini — 17,360 km² (6,703 mi²)
8. Djibouti — 23,200 km² (8,958 mi²)
9. Rwanda — 26,340 km² (10,170 mi²)
10. Burundi — 27,830 km² (10,745 mi²)

Seychelles, including over a hundred islands in the Indian Ocean, is the smallest African republic by land area. Seychelles is a small country, with a total area of about 460 square kilometres (178 square miles) and a population of only 98,908.

Despite its small size, Seychelles has the highest GDP per capita of any African country (behind only Mauritius, another island nation) and is the second most developed nation in Africa.

Also See: Largest Airports in the World 2022

For the avoidance of doubt, let it be known that the aforementioned list only contains sovereign states.

Several sites, such as the French territory of Mayotte (374 km² / 144 mi²) and the Spanish territory of the Canary Islands (7,493 km² / 2,893 mi²), would be in the top 10 if dependent territories were included.