A late afternoon summer thunderstorm over Johannesburg, typical of the highveld climate, seen from the far north of the city. Joburg’s original city centre can be seen in the middle, on the far horizon, while the newer Sandton CBD is in the nearer distance, towards the left. (Ryanj93 / CC BY SA 4.0)

Click graphic to enlarge.

South Africa’s long coastline – some 2,800 kilometres – influences much of the climate. On the west coast is the cold Atlantic Ocean, and the warmer Indian Ocean on the south and east.

Starting at the hot and arid desert border with Namibia in the northwest, South Africa’s coastline runs south  down the cold Skeleton Coast, around the Cape Peninsula to Cape Agulhas. This is the southernmost tip of Africa, said to be where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet. In fact, it’s here, slightly offshore, that two coastal currents meet, currents that determine the different coastal climates. The cold Benguela current sweeps the west coast, and the warm Agulhas current the east.

From Cape Agulhas the coastline moves east and slowly northwards, and the climate becomes warmer and wetter. The Western Cape’s pretty green Garden Route gives way to the forested Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape, and then humid subtropical KwaZulu-Natal coast, famous for its beaches. In the northeast, the coast reaches the border of Mozambique.

Running along most of the coast is a narrow low-lying strip of land, which soon gives way to a higher plateau – the Great Escarpment. The high altitude of South Africa’s interior means the country is generally much cooler than southern hemisphere countries at the same latitude, such as Australia.

 Sun and rain

Late afternoon sunshine falls on quiver trees in the dry scrubland of the Northern Cape. (South African Tourism / CC BY 2.0)

Data source: South African Weather Service

South Africa is famous for its sunshine – an average of 2,500 hours of sun every year. It’s a dry country, classified as semi-arid. The average annual rainfall for the whole of South Africa is about 464 mm. The world average is about 860mm.

Most of South Africa gets rain only in the summer. The region around the Cape Peninsula, including Cape Town, has a Mediterranean climate: cold and miserable rain in winter, balanced by glorious clear-sky summers. But Cape Town is most famous for its relentless year-round wind, which blows from either southeast or the northwest.

KwaZulu-Natal’s coast and areas of the Mpumalanga lowlands get warm rain all year.

The great inland Karoo plateau, where rocky hills rise from scrubland, is dry, and gets drier in the northwest towards the Kalahari desert. It’s a region of extremes: very hot in summer and icy in winter.

The eastern Karoo gives way to the flat landscape of the Free State, which gets a little more rain.

The highveld region north of the Vaal River is wetter, with milder weather and less extreme subtropical heat. Johannesburg lies at 1,740 metres above sea level, and has an annual rainfall of 760 millimetres. Winters on the highveld are cold, but snow is rare.

Further north and east the highveld drops down into the lowveld. Temperatures rise, and the land turns to typical bushveld, the habitat of South Africa’s wildlife.

South Africa is in the southern hemisphere, so midwinter is in the middle of the year and high summer in December and January.

Spring – September, October, November

In the early spring, flowers bloom across the arid landscape of the Namaqualand region of the Northern Cape. (South African Tourism / CC BY 2.0)

Click graphic to enlarge.

In spring South Africa warms up from the top down. It quickly gets very hot in the far north province of Limpopo, and the desert regions of the Northern Cape and North West.

The southwest stays cold and wet well into spring, typical of its Mediterranean climate. The coast in the south and west gradually gets more rain, and humidity rises.

In the rest of the country the weather gets pleasantly warm and sunny, before the summer rains begin.

The rains, generally mid-afternoon thundershowers, start in about mid-October.

Summer – December, January, February

Rain clouds build up over farmland in the Magaliesberg region of North West province towards the end of a warm summer’s day. (Storm Signal / CC BY SA 2.0)

Click graphic to enlarge.

Over much of South Africa, summer means warm, sunny weather – often with afternoon thunderstorms that clear quickly, leaving a warm and earthy smell in the air.

The arid regions of the central Karoo and Northern Cape get very hot, with some relief in more rain. Northern Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal are also often exhaustingly hot.

The Northern Cape – a province of weather extremes – gets the hottest weather, and the temperature records. In 1948 the mercury hit 51.7°C (125°F) in the Kalahari near the town of Upington.

The high altitude of the interior plateau keeps average summer temperatures below 30°C, so summer is warm without being oppressive.

Summer is the season of rain in most of South Africa, changing much of the country from khaki to green. It’s mostly warm rain, delivered in short and drenching storms. The Cape Peninsula in the southwest is the exception, staying clear-skied and sunny all through summer.

Autumn – March, April, May

The vineyards of the Constantia wine estate near Cape Town show their autumn colours. (Tim Snell / CC BY ND 2.0)

Click graphic to enlarge.

In autumn South Africa’s weather comes into its own. The days are still long and warm, getting chillier – but still brisk and sunny – in the early morning and evening.

The rainy season comes to an end in autumn, leaving the skies clear and the sun shining. By May most of South Africa has settled into its dry season, which will last through winter and well into spring.

Autumn comes at the end of the dry season on the Cape Peninsula, thanks to the region’s Mediterranean climate.

Here the autumn weather is beautiful, with hot sunny days and warm, balmy nights. It’s only in May, a month from winter, that the rains begin again.

Winter – June, July, August

Winter snow on the mountains surrounding the Hex River Valley in the Western Cape. Mountain snowfall generally means freezing conditions across the rest of the country. (Mary Alexander / CC BY SA 4.0)

Click graphic to enlarge.

South Africa’s winter is mostly pleasant sunny weather with cloudless blue skies, punctuated now and then by a few days of cold fronts.

In the high interior plateau winter days are dry and sunny, with clear skies and crisp air. The nights are chilly. Temperatures only drop to freezing when a cold front sweeps in.

Cold fronts mean heavy snow on the mountains of the Western Cape and Northern Cape, and on the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg. When it snows on the mountains, icy weather quickly spreads to the rest of the country.

The coldest place in South Africa is the Northern Cape town of Sutherland, in the western Roggeveld Mountains. Here midwinter temperatures can drop to -15°C (5°F).

The Western Cape gets all of its rain in winter. The winter weather in Cape Town is always cold, wet and unpleasantly windy.

By contrast, the hot, humid KwaZulu-Natal coast, and the lowveld of Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, offer lovely winter weather with still, sunny and warm days.

Researched and written by Mary Alexander.
Updated July 2025.
Comments? Email mary1alexander@gmail.com

The post South Africa’s weather and climate appeared first on South Africa Gateway.

Rice fields and hillscapes encircle a village near Toamasina in the Atsinanana region of eastern Madagascar. (Mariusz Kluzniak, CC BY-NC-ND)

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Africa

The iconic Blue Marble image of Earth was taken with a hand-held Hasselblad camera by a Nasa astronaut on the Apollo 17 mission to the moon in December 1972. In this, the most famous and often reproduced photo of our planet, Africa dominates. Africa is our second-largest continent, taking up over 20% – one-fifth – of the world’s land area.
Photo credit Nasa Earth Observatory

Surface area: 29,648,481 square kilometres
Population: 1.5 billion
Population density: 51.3 people per square kilometre
Gross domestic product (GDP): US$2.9-trillion
GDP per person: US$2,014
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 1.3 billion tonnes | 3.9% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.9 tonnes | 0.2 x world average

Algeria

Dusk falls over Constantine, an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of northern Algeria.
Photo credit Mariusz Kluzniak

ALGERIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Northern Africa
Population: 46.8 million | 3.1% of Africa’s population
Population density: 19.7 people per square kilometre | 0.4 x African average
Surface area: 2,381,741 square kilometres | 8% of Africa
Capital city: Algiers

ALGERIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Upper middle income
Currency: Algerian dinar (DZD)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $191.9 billion | 6.7% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $4,273.90 | 2.1 x African average
Agriculture: 13.3% of economy
Industry: 38% of economy
Services and other: 48.7% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 12.1%
Share of women in the labour force: 16.9%
Share of men in the labour force: 67.1%

ALGERIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Italy 26.5% | France 12.7% | Spain 11.7%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 22.4% | France 11.1% | Italy 7.2%
Exports value: $57.4 billion | 9.9% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $44.6 billion | 6.5% of Africa’s imports

ALGERIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 28.8% (2012) | Africa rank: 54th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: High | Score 0.763 | Africa rank: 3rd out of 54 | Global rank: 96th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.601 | Africa rank: 3rd out of 51 | Global rank: 89th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.443 | Africa rank: 9th out of 49 | Global rank: 114th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 13% | Africa rank: 35th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 7% | Public opinion: 19%
Women in national parliament hold 7.9% of seats
Urbanisation: 73.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Internet access: 71.2% of inhabitants use the internet

ALGERIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 0.8% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 146 million tonnes | 11.2% of African total | 0.4% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 3.3 tonnes | 3.7 x African average | 0.8 x world average

ALGERIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Arabic and Berber
Other languages: English and French
Colonised by: France 1830-1962
Independence: 1962 – from France
World Heritage Site: The Tassili n’Ajjer sandstone plateau in the Sahara is one of the richest prehistoric rock art sites in the world, with more than 15,000 rock paintings and engravings dated from 12,000 years ago to the first centuries of the common era.

Angola

Angola’s Serra da Leba high mountain pass lies at 1,845 metres (6,053 feet) above sea level in the province of Huíla, in the southeast of the country.
Photo credit JB Dodane

ANGOLA: OVERVIEW
Region: Middle Africa
Population: 37.9 million | 2.5% of Africa’s population
Population density: 30.4 people per square kilometre | 0.6 x African average
Surface area: 1,246,700 square kilometres | 4.2% of Africa
Capital city: Luanda

ANGOLA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: kwanza (AOA)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $113.3 billion | 3.9% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $3,183.70 | 1.6 x African average
Agriculture: 13.7% of economy
Industry: 45.1% of economy
Services and other: 41.1% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 14.1%
Share of women in the labour force: 72.7%
Share of men in the labour force: 77.6%

ANGOLA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 42.7% | India 10% | France 7.1%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 16% | Portugal 10.7% | South Korea 9.2%
Exports value: $40.3 billion | 6.9% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $22.1 billion | 3.2% of Africa’s imports

ANGOLA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 63.6% (2019) | Africa rank: 3rd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.616 | Africa rank: 19th out of 54 | Global rank: 148th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.36 | Africa rank: 27th out of 51 | Global rank: 142nd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.515 | Africa rank: 23rd out of 49 | Global rank: 139th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 42% | Africa rank: 10th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 50% | Public opinion: 35%
Urbanisation: 66.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.1% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 38.6% of seats
Internet access: 39.3% of inhabitants use the internet

ANGOLA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 53% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 14.5 million tonnes | 1.1% of African total | 0.04% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.4 tonnes | 0.4 x African average | 0.1 x world average

ANGOLA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: Portuguese
Other languages: Kikongo, Chokwe, Umbundu, Kimbundu, Nganguela and Kwanyama
Colonised by: Portugal 1575-1975
Independence: 1975 – from Portugal
World Heritage site: M’banza Kongo, capital of the Kingdom of Kongo, which flourished as one of the largest states in southern Africa from the 14th to the 19th century.

Benin

In Possotomè, an arrondissement in the Mono department of Benin, a man takes part in the massive Vodun dance competition held every year by people from villages scattered along the shores of Lake Aheme.
Photo credit Adam Cohn

BENIN: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 14.5 million | 1% of Africa’s population
Population density: 128.3 people per square kilometre | 2.5 x African average
Surface area: 114,763 square kilometres | 0.4% of Africa
Capital city: Porto-Novo

BENIN: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: CFA franc, Central Bank of West African States (XOF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $17.4 billion | 0.6% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,302.90 | 0.6 x African average
Agriculture: 29.6% of economy
Industry: 18.7% of economy
Services and other: 51.6% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 1.4%
Share of women in the labour force: 56.8%
Share of men in the labour force: 68.8%

BENIN: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Bangladesh 37.2% | India 15.4% | Pakistan 7.2%
Major import partners (share of imports): India 17.1% | China 12.8% | France 8.6%
Exports value: $1.1 billion | 0.2% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $3.9 billion | 0.6% of Africa’s imports

BENIN: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 49.8% (2022) | Africa rank: 39th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.515 | Africa rank: 36th out of 54 | Global rank: 173rd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.316 | Africa rank: 40th out of 51 | Global rank: 158th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.573 | Africa rank: 34th out of 49 | Global rank: 153rd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 29% | Africa rank: 17th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 42% | Public opinion: 16%
Urbanisation: 47.9% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.2% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 26.6% of seats
Internet access: 33.8% of inhabitants use the internet

BENIN: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 27.4% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 5.4 million tonnes | 0.4% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.4 tonnes | 0.4 x African average | 0.1 x world average

BENIN: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Fon and Yoruba
Colonised by: Portugal 1472-1892 | France 1892-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: The Royal Palaces of Abomey, the seat of a dynasty of 12 kings who ruled the powerful Kingdom of Abomey from 1625 to 1900.

Botswana

Botswana’s Okavango Delta, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is one of the three largest inland deltas in the world, all found in Africa. It was once part of the ancient Lake Makgadikgadi, an inland sea that emptied out and dried up between 20,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Photo credit Pavel Špindler

BOTSWANA: OVERVIEW
Region: Southern Africa
Population: 2.5 million | 0.2% of Africa’s population
Population density: 4.4 people per square kilometre | 0.09 x African average
Surface area: 582,000 square kilometres | 2% of Africa
Capital city: Gaborone

BOTSWANA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Upper middle income
Currency: pula (BWP)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $20.4 billion | 0.7% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $7,737.70 | 3.8 x African average
Agriculture: 1.9% of economy
Industry: 39.4% of economy
Services and other: 58.8% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 23.5%
Share of women in the labour force: 59.8%
Share of men in the labour force: 69.3%

BOTSWANA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): United Arab Emirates 29.8% | Belgium 17.9% | India 12.3%
Major import partners (share of imports): South Africa 65% | Namibia 7.7% | Canada 4.9%
Exports value: $5.5 billion | 0.9% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $6.4 billion | 0.9% of Africa’s imports

BOTSWANA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 56.9% (2016) | Africa rank: 16th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: High | Score 0.731 | Africa rank: 8th out of 54 | Global rank: 111th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.509 | Africa rank: 8th out of 51 | Global rank: 110th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.49 | Africa rank: 14th out of 49 | Global rank: 127th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 53% | Africa rank: 4th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 54% | Public opinion: 51%
Urbanisation: 70.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 8.1% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 11.1% of seats
Internet access: 77.3% of inhabitants use the internet

BOTSWANA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 26.7% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 6.2 million tonnes | 0.5% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 2.4 tonnes | 2.7 x African average | 0.6 x world average

BOTSWANA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: English
Other languages: Setswana
Colonised by: Britain 1885-1966
Independence: 1966 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: Known as the ”Louvre of the Desert”, Tsodilo in the Kalahari Desert contains over 4,500 well-preserved rock paintings produced over the past 100,000 years.

Burkina Faso

The Grand Mosque in the city of Bobo-Dioulasso, in the southeast of Burkina Faso. Possibly the largest example of Sudano-Sahelian architecture in the country, the mosque was built in the 1880s as a part of political agreement between the king of Sya and Islamic religious leader Almamy Sidiki Sanou.
Photo credit QIV

BURKINA FASO: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 23.5 million | 1.6% of Africa’s population
Population density: 86.1 people per square kilometre | 1.7 x African average
Surface area: 274,200 square kilometres | 0.9% of Africa
Capital city: Ouagadougou

BURKINA FASO: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: CFA franc, Central Bank of West African States (XOF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $19.2 billion | 0.7% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $845.80 | 0.4 x African average
Agriculture: 22.9% of economy
Industry: 33.7% of economy
Services and other: 43.4% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 4.9%
Share of women in the labour force: 57.3%
Share of men in the labour force: 72.6%

BURKINA FASO: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Switzerland 67.6% | United Arab Emirates 8.5% | Mali 6%
Major import partners (share of imports): Côte d’Ivoire 13.9% | China 13.7% | Russia 8.9%
Exports value: $4.5 billion | 0.8% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $5.9 billion | 0.9% of Africa’s imports

BURKINA FASO: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 52.5% (2022) | Africa rank: 33rd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.459 | Africa rank: 47th out of 54 | Global rank: 186th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.273 | Africa rank: 46th out of 51 | Global rank: 164th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.555 | Africa rank: 29th out of 49 | Global rank: 146th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 10% | Africa rank: 40th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 10% | Public opinion: 10%
Urbanisation: 30% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 5.2% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 16.9% of seats
Internet access: 19.9% of inhabitants use the internet

BURKINA FASO: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 22.5% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 5.2 million tonnes | 0.4% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

BURKINA FASO: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Mòoré, Fulani, Dioula
Colonised by: France 1896-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: The 1,000-year-old Ruins of Loropéni, an imposing stone fortress that was the centre of the trans-Saharan gold trade from the 14th to 17th century.

Burundi

The shores of Lake Tanganyika with Burundi’s capital of Bujumbura in the distance.
Photo credit Michael Foley

BURUNDI: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 14 million | 0.9% of Africa’s population
Population density: 541.3 people per square kilometre | 10.6 x African average
Surface area: 27,834 square kilometres | 0.09% of Africa
Capital city: Gitega

BURUNDI: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Burundi franc (BIF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $4 billion | 0.14% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $312.90 | 0.2 x African average
Agriculture: 36.5% of economy
Industry: 19% of economy
Services and other: 44.7% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 0.8%
Share of women in the labour force: 78.8%
Share of men in the labour force: 78.8%

BURUNDI: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): United Arab Emirates 28% | Democratic Republic of the Congo 18.6% | Switzerland 9.5%
Major import partners (share of imports): Saudi Arabia 14.7% | China 14.1% | United Arab Emirates 13.9%
Exports value: $183 million | 0.03% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $1.2 billion | 0.2% of Africa’s imports

BURUNDI: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 52.6% (2021) | Africa rank: 32nd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.439 | Africa rank: 48th out of 54 | Global rank: 187th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.286 | Africa rank: 43rd out of 51 | Global rank: 161st out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.501 | Africa rank: 18th out of 49 | Global rank: 132nd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 10% | Africa rank: 40th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 10% | Public opinion: 10%
Urbanisation: 13.4% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 5.1% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 38.2% of seats
Internet access: 11.3% of inhabitants use the internet

BURUNDI: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 10.9% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 0.8 million tonnes | 0.06% of African total | 0.002% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.1 tonnes | 0.1 x African average | 0.02 x world average

BURUNDI: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: French and Kurundi
Colonised by: Germany 1899-1916 | Belgium 1916-1962
Independence: 1962 – from Belgium
Heritage Site:: The royal domain of Gishora was founded by the Mwami Ntare Rugamba in the first half of the 19th century after its victory over the rebel leader Ntibirangwa.

Cabo Verde (Cape Verde)

The São Miguel region in northeastern part of Santiago, the largest island in the Cabo Verde archipelago.
Photo credit Rey Perezoso

CABO VERDE: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 525,000 | 0.3% of Africa’s population
Population density: 130.2 people per square kilometre | 2.5 x African average
Surface area: 4,033 square kilometres | 0.01% of Africa
Capital city: Praia

CABO VERDE: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Upper middle income
Currency: Cape Verde escudo (CVE)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $2.3 billion | 0.08% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $3,902.60 | 1.9 x African average
Agriculture: 4.3% of economy
Industry: 19.4% of economy
Services and other: 76.3% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 11.9%
Share of women in the labour force: 51.1%
Share of men in the labour force: 64.6%

CABO VERDE: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Spain 57.6%, Italy 20.1%, Portugal 18.8%
Major import partners (share of imports): Portugal 45.2%, Spain 8.6%, Togo 6.7%
Exports value: $49 million | 0.008% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $928 million | 0.1% of Africa’s imports

CABO VERDE: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 56.3% (2015) | Africa rank: 19th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.668 | Africa rank: 13rd out of 54 | Global rank: 135th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.478 | Africa rank: 9th out of 51 | Global rank: 116th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.298 | Africa rank: 3rd out of 49 | Global rank: 77th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 68% | Africa rank: 1st out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 55% | Public opinion: 80%
Women in national parliament hold 38.9% of seats
Urbanisation: 66.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 6.5% of GDP
Internet access: 72.1% of inhabitants use the internet

CABO VERDE: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 11.4% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 600,000 tonnes | 0.05% of African total | 0.002% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 1 tonne | 1.1 x African average | 0.2 x world average

CABO VERDE: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Portuguese
Other languages: Cape Verdean Creole
Colonised by: Portugal 1462-1975
Independence: 1975 – from Portugal
World Heritage Site: Cidade Velha, built in the 1460s as the first European town in the tropics. The founding of the town marked a decisive step in Europe’s colonisation of Africa.

Cameroon

The Mandara Mountains near Rhumsiki in the Far North Province of Cameroon. Sixteen 15th-century archaeological sites have been identified in Mandara region. Known as Diy-gid-biy (or “place of chiefly residence”), these granite strongholds have been described as the most remarkable indigenous stone-built structures in sub-Saharan Africa outside the Horn and the southern African Zimbabwe complex.
Photo credit Krishna Naudin

CAMEROON: OVERVIEW
Region: Middle Africa
Population: 29.1 million | 1.9% of Africa’s population
Population density: 62.5 people per square kilometre | 1.2 x African average
Surface area: 475,650 square kilometres | 1.6% of Africa
Capital city: Yaoundé

CAMEROON: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: CFA franc, Bank Of Central African States (XAF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $44.3 billion | 1.5% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,588.50 | 0.8 x African average
Agriculture: 18.3% of economy
Industry: 27.4% of economy
Services and other: 54.3% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 3.7%
Share of women in the labour force: 67.2%
Share of men in the labour force: 76.6%

CAMEROON: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 25.9% | Netherlands 12.4% | India 9.7%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 17% | France 9% | India 7.2%
Exports value: $4.5 billion | 0.8% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $8.9 billion | 1.3% of Africa’s imports

CAMEROON: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 56.2% (2022) | Africa rank: 20th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.588 | Africa rank: 23rd out of 54 | Global rank: 155th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.361 | Africa rank: 25th out of 51 | Global rank: 140th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.558 | Africa rank: 30th out of 49 | Global rank: 149th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 8% | Africa rank: 46th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 4% | Public opinion: 11%
Urbanisation: 57% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.8% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 33.9% of seats
Internet access: 43.9% of inhabitants use the internet

CAMEROON: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 42.9% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 6.5 million tonnes | 0.5% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

CAMEROON: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: French and English
Other languages: 55 Afro-Asiatic languages, two Nilo-Saharan languages, 173 Niger-Congo languages, Camfranglais
Colonised by: Germany 1884-1916 | Britain 1916-1961 | France 1919-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France | 1961 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: The Dja Faunal Reserve is one of Africa’s largest and best-protected rain forests, almost completely surrounded by the Dja River and sheltering 107 mammal species, five of them threatened.

Central African Republic

The centre of Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is on the other side of the Oubangui river, at left.
Photo credit Alllexxxis

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: OVERVIEW
Region: Middle Africa
Population: 5.3 million | 0.4% of Africa’s population
Population density: 8.6 people per square kilometre | 0.2 x African average
Surface area: 622,984 square kilometres | 2.1% of Africa
Capital city: Bangui

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: CFA franc, Bank Of Central African States (XAF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $2.4 billion | 0.08% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $429.40 | 0.2 x African average
Agriculture: 33.4% of economy
Industry: 21.8% of economy
Services and other: 44.9% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 6.2%
Share of women in the labour force: 63.4%
Share of men in the labour force: 77.9%

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): United Arab Emirates 40.9% | Pakistan 19.8% | Italy 12.6%
Major import partners (share of imports): Cameroon 40.2% | United States 9.7% | France 8.1%
Exports value: $127 million | 0.02% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $543 million | 0.08% of Africa’s imports

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 57.1% (2021) | Africa rank: 15th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.414 | Africa rank: 52nd out of 54 | Global rank: 191st out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.253 | Africa rank: 48th out of 51 | Global rank: 166th out of 169
LGBT equality index: 29% | Africa rank: 17th out of 54
Urbanisation: 41.8% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 1.9% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 11.4% of seats
Internet access: 7.5% of inhabitants use the internet

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 35.8% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 0.2 million tonnes | 0.02% of African total | 0.0006% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.04 tonnes | 0.04 x African average | 0.01 x world average

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: French and Sango
Colonised by: France 1894-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park, whose importance of derives from its wealth of flora and fauna.

Chad

In northeastern Chad, nomads water their camels in the Guelta Archei on the Ennedi Plateau, a sandstone bulwark in the middle of the Sahara. A “guelta”, from Arabic, refers to a water source running at the bottom of the valley or canyon. (Image: © Hannes Rada

CHAD: OVERVIEW
Region: Middle Africa
Population: 20.3 million | 1.3% of Africa’s population
Population density: 16.1 people per square kilometre | 0.3 x African average
Surface area: 1,284,000 square kilometres | 4.3% of Africa
Capital city: N’Djamena

CHAD: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: CFA franc, Bank Of Central African States (XAF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $16.8 billion | 0.6% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $947.90 | 0.5 x African average
Agriculture: 29.7% of economy
Industry: 49% of economy
Services and other: 21.3% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 0.9%
Share of women in the labour force: 48.4%
Share of men in the labour force: 72.1%

CHAD: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): United Arab Emirates 25.9% | China 20.7% | Germany 18.7%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 26.5% | United Arab Emirates 15.2% | Cameroon 11.8%
Exports value: $3.8 billion | 0.7% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $1.4 billion | 0.2% of Africa’s imports

CHAD: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 52.5% (2022) | Africa rank: 34th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.416 | Africa rank: 51st out of 54 | Global rank: 190th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.252 | Africa rank: 49th out of 51 | Global rank: 167th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.67 | Africa rank: 47th out of 49 | Global rank: 169th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 14% | Africa rank: 30th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 14% | Public opinion: 14%
Urbanisation: 23.3% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.9% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 26.4% of seats
Internet access: 12.2% of inhabitants use the internet

CHAD: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 3.3% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 2.2 million tonnes | 0.2% of African total | 0.007% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.1 tonnes | 0.1 x African average | 0.02 x world average

CHAD: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: French and Arabic
Colonised by: France 1900-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: The Lakes of Ounianga, a series of lakes in the Sahara Desert.

Comoros

The fishing harbour of Moroni on Grande Comore. Moroni is the capital of the island and of the Comoros archipelago. In the background is the Ancienne Mosquée de Vendredi (Old Friday Mosque), built in 1427.
Photo credit IWRM AIO SIDS

COMOROS: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 867,000 | 0.06% of Africa’s population
Population density: 465.7 people per square kilometre | 9.1 x African average
Surface area: 2,235 square kilometres | 0.008% of Africa
Capital city: Moroni

COMOROS: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Comorian franc (KMF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $1.2 billion | 0.04% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,489.80 | 0.7 x African average
Agriculture: 38% of economy
Industry: 9.5% of economy
Services and other: 52.5% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 5.6%
Share of women in the labour force: 33.1%
Share of men in the labour force: 55.4%

COMOROS: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): India 24.8% | Tanzania 21.4% | France 19.6%
Major import partners (share of imports): United Arab Emirates 44.1% | France 11.3% | Pakistan 9.7%
Exports value: $54 million | 0.009% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $387 million | 0.06% of Africa’s imports

COMOROS: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 58.7% (2014) | Africa rank: 9th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.603 | Africa rank: 20th out of 54 | Global rank: 152nd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.356 | Africa rank: 29th out of 51 | Global rank: 144th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.501 | Africa rank: 18th out of 49 | Global rank: 132nd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 17% | Africa rank: 26th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 15% | Public opinion: 19%
Urbanisation: 29.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.5% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 16.7% of seats
Internet access: 16.4% of inhabitants use the internet

COMOROS: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 17.5% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 0.5 million tonnes | 0.04% of African total | 0.002% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.6 tonnes | 0.7 x African average | 0.14 x world average

COMOROS: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Comorian, Arabic and French
Colonised by: France 1841-1975
Independence: 1975 – from France

Congo, Democratic Republic (DRC)

A view of the twin Congo capitals, facing each other across the Congo River. In this 2003 photo taken from the International Space Station, the smaller city of Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo, is at upper left. The much larger grey area at lower left is Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The cities lie at the point where the Congo River becomes navigable upstream, widening to the east into Pool Malebo – previously named Stanley Pool, in honour of himself, by the brutal 19th century British-American explorer Henry Morton Stanley, who prospected the region on behalf of King Leopold II of Belgium.
Photo credit Nasa Earth Observatory

DRC: OVERVIEW
Region: Middle Africa
Population: 109.3 million | 7.2% of Africa’s population
Population density: 48.2 people per square kilometre | 0.9 x African average
Surface area: 2,345,410 square kilometres | 7.9% of Africa
Capital city: Kinshasa

DRC: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Congolese franc (CDF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $62.6 billion | 2.2% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $631.80 | 0.3 x African average
Agriculture: 17.9% of economy
Industry: 49.8% of economy
Services and other: 32.3% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 4.5%
Share of women in the labour force: 62.6%
Share of men in the labour force: 68.9%

DRC: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 47.1% | Singapore 8.7% | China, Hong Kong SAR 7.9%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 26.5% | South Africa 11.5% | United Arab Emirates 10%
Exports value: $15 billion | 2.6% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $13.5 billion | 2% of Africa’s imports

DRC: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 58.5% (2020) | Africa rank: 10th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.522 | Africa rank: 34th out of 54 | Global rank: 171st out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.341 | Africa rank: 31st out of 51 | Global rank: 146th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.604 | Africa rank: 42nd out of 49 | Global rank: 162nd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 22% | Africa rank: 23rd out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 35% | Public opinion: 8%
Urbanisation: 45% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.7% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 12.8% of seats
Internet access: 27.2% of inhabitants use the internet

DRC: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 55.2% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 3.3 million tonnes | 0.3% of African total | 0.01% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.04 tonnes | 0.04 x African average | 0.01 x world average

DRC: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili, Tshiluba
Colonised by: King Leopold II of Belgium (as his private property) 1877-1908 | Belgium 1908-1960
Independence: 1960 – from Belgium
World Heritage Site: The 490,000-hectare Garamba National Park covers vast grass savannahs and woodlands interspersed with gallery forests and marshland.

Congo, Republic

The Basilica of Saint Anne in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, is a Catholic church built in the 1940s using a mix of European and African design styles. The massive green-tiled building is 85 metres long, with a transept 45 metres wide and a 22-metre-high arch.
Photo © Tom Robertson

CONGO REPUBLIC: OVERVIEW
Region: Middle Africa
Population: 6.3 million | 0.4% of Africa’s population
Population density: 18.5 people per square kilometre | 0.4 x African average
Surface area: 342,000 square kilometres | 1.2% of Africa
Capital city: Brazzaville

CONGO REPUBLIC: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: CFA franc, Bank Of Central African States (XAF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $15.3 billion | 0.5% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $2,570.10 | 1.3 x African average
Agriculture: 8.9% of economy
Industry: 44% of economy
Services and other: 47.1% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 19.5%
Share of women in the labour force: 66.9%
Share of men in the labour force: 68.8%

CONGO REPUBLIC: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 45.8% | Côte d’Ivoire 8.6% | Togo 7.5%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 19.6% | France 12.5% | Belgium 9%
Exports value: $4.6 billion | 0.8% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $3.6 billion | 0.5% of Africa’s imports

CONGO REPUBLIC: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 61.7% (2012) | Africa rank: 7th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.649 | Africa rank: 15th out of 54 | Global rank: 138th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.426 | Africa rank: 15th out of 51 | Global rank: 128th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.565 | Africa rank: 32nd out of 49 | Global rank: 151st out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 30% | Africa rank: 16th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 44% | Public opinion: 17%
Urbanisation: 67.4% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.9% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 14.6% of seats
Internet access: 36.2% of inhabitants use the internet

CONGO REPUBLIC: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 64.2% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 4.3 million tonnes | 0.3% of African total | 0.01% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.7 tonnes | 0.8 x African average | 0.17 x world average

CONGO REPUBLIC: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Kituba, Lingala
Colonised by: France 1880-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France

Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

An aerial view of the district of Plateau in the Côte d’Ivoire capital of Abidjan.
Photo credit Basile Zoma, UN Photo

CÔTE D’IVOIRE: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 31.9 million | 2.1% of Africa’s population
Population density: 100.4 people per square kilometre | 2 x African average
Surface area: 322,462 square kilometres | 1.1% of Africa
Capital city: Yamoussoukro

CÔTE D’IVOIRE: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: CFA franc, Central Bank of West African States (XOF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $70 billion | 2.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $2,486.40 | 1.2 x African average
Agriculture: 17.8% of economy
Industry: 24.2% of economy
Services and other: 58% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 2.4%
Share of women in the labour force: 56.5%
Share of men in the labour force: 72.2%

CÔTE D’IVOIRE: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Mali 8.9% | Netherlands 8.7% | Switzerland 8.1%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 14.4% | Nigeria 12.1% | France 6.7%
Exports value: $8.9 billion | 1.5% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $19.7 billion | 2.9% of Africa’s imports

CÔTE D’IVOIRE: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 54.5% (2022) | Africa rank: 25th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.582 | Africa rank: 24th out of 54 | Global rank: 157th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.35 | Africa rank: 30th out of 51 | Global rank: 145th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.589 | Africa rank: 39th out of 49 | Global rank: 159th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 25% | Africa rank: 21st out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 35% | Public opinion: 14%
Urbanisation: 51.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.5% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 13.4% of seats
Internet access: 38.4% of inhabitants use the internet

CÔTE D’IVOIRE: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 8.6% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 13.8 million tonnes | 1.1% of African total | 0.04% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.5 tonnes | 0.6 x African average | 0.12 x world average

CÔTE D’IVOIRE: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Baoulé, Sénoufo, Yacouba, Agni, Attié, Guéré, Bété, Dioula, Abé, Mahou, Wobé, Lobi and others
Colonised by: France 1893-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: The historic town of Grand-Bassam, the first capital of Côte d’Ivoire, is an example of a late 19th-century colonial town planned with quarters specialising in commerce, administration, and different housing for Europeans and Africans.

Djibouti

Lake Assal, a crater lake in the Afar Triangle, lies on the northern tip of the Great Rift Valley. At 155 metres (509 feet) below sea level, the lake is the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest on Earth after the Dead Sea and Sea of Galilee. With no water outflow, the lake is 10 times more saline than the sea, the second most saline body of water on the planet, and holds the world’s largest salt reserve.
Photo credit Fishercd, Wikimedia Commons

DJIBOUTI: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 1.2 million | 0.08% of Africa’s population
Population density: 50.4 people per square kilometre | 1 x African average
Surface area: 23,200 square kilometres | 0.08% of Africa
Capital city: Djibouti

DJIBOUTI: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Djibouti franc (DJF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $4 billion | 0.14% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $3,571.80 | 1.8 x African average
Agriculture: 1.4% of economy
Industry: 12% of economy
Services and other: 86.6% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 26%
Share of women in the labour force: 18.5%
Share of men in the labour force: 46.1%

DJIBOUTI: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 38.6% | United States 15.6% | India 11.5%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 31.4% | Saudi Arabia 19.2% | United Arab Emirates 15.3%
Exports value: $468 million | 0.08% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $1.8 billion | 0.3% of Africa’s imports

DJIBOUTI: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 45% (2017) | Africa rank: 45th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.513 | Africa rank: 38th out of 54 | Global rank: 175th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.341 | Africa rank: 31st out of 51 | Global rank: 146th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.481 | Africa rank: 12nd out of 49 | Global rank: 122nd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 35% | Africa rank: 13rd out of 54
Urbanisation: 77.9% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.8% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 26.2% of seats
Internet access: 65% of inhabitants use the internet

DJIBOUTI: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 0.3% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 0.4 million tonnes | 0.03% of African total | 0.001% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.4 tonnes | 0.4 x African average | 0.1 x world average

DJIBOUTI: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: French, Arabic
Other languages: Somali, Afar
Colonised by: France 1894-1977
Independence: 1977 – from France
National heritage site: The Abourma petroglyphs, several thousand Neolithic images carved in cave walls depicting humans, wildlife, hunting and warfare, dating back to 3,000 BCE.

Egypt

A view of the Nile River and Egypt’s capital city of Cairo from the Cairo Tower at sunset.
Photo credit Ville Miettinen

EGYPT: OVERVIEW
Region: Northern Africa
Population: 116.5 million | 7.7% of Africa’s population
Population density: 117.1 people per square kilometre | 2.3 x African average
Surface area: 1,002,000 square kilometres | 3.4% of Africa
Capital city: Cairo

EGYPT: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Egyptian pound (EGP)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $409.3 billion | 14.3% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $3,687.80 | 1.8 x African average
Agriculture: 11.5% of economy
Industry: 34.4% of economy
Services and other: 54.1% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 6.3%
Share of women in the labour force: 16.5%
Share of men in the labour force: 71.3%

EGYPT: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Türkiye 9% | Italy 7.5% | Saudi Arabia 6.4%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 15.6% | United States 6.5% | Saudi Arabia 6.3%
Exports value: $42.1 billion | 7.2% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $83.2 billion | 12.1% of Africa’s imports

EGYPT: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 35.6% (2018) | Africa rank: 51st out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: High | Score 0.754 | Africa rank: 4th out of 54 | Global rank: 100th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.582 | Africa rank: 5th out of 51 | Global rank: 98th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.398 | Africa rank: 7th out of 49 | Global rank: 101st out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 10% | Africa rank: 40th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 5% | Public opinion: 15%
Urbanisation: 42.7% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.9% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 27.7% of seats
Internet access: 72.2% of inhabitants use the internet

EGYPT: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 0.04% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 227.7 million tonnes | 17.5% of African total | 0.7% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 2.1 tonnes | 2.3 x African average | 0.5 x world average

EGYPT: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Arabic
Other languages: Egyptian Arabic
Colonised by: Britain 1882-1952
Independence: 1952 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: Ancient Thebes, with its temples and palaces at Karnak and Luxor, and the necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, is a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization at its height.

Equatorial Guinea

Fishing boats, beach and rock formation on Annobón Island. Equatorial Guinea is made up of three geographic parts: the mainland on the African continent, the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea, and Annobón, a small volcanic island south of the equator.
Photo credit Embassy of Equatorial Guinea

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: OVERVIEW
Region: Middle Africa
Population: 1.9 million | 0.1% of Africa’s population
Population density: 67.5 people per square kilometre | 1.3 x African average
Surface area: 28,052 square kilometres | 0.09% of Africa
Capital city: Malabo

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Upper middle income
Currency: CFA franc, Bank Of Central African States (XAF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $11.8 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $7,025.70 | 3.5 x African average
Agriculture: 2.6% of economy
Industry: 52.8% of economy
Services and other: 44.7% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 8.5%
Share of women in the labour force: 51.7%
Share of men in the labour force: 59.5%

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 22.7% | India 13% | Netherlands 10.5%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 17.7% | Spain 14.6% | Gabon 12.7%
Exports value: $4.7 billion | 0.8% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $1.1 billion | 0.2% of Africa’s imports

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 54.4% (2006) | Africa rank: 26th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.674 | Africa rank: 12nd out of 54 | Global rank: 133rd out of 193
LGBT equality index: 38% | Africa rank: 11th out of 54
Urbanisation: 72.6% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 0.3% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 32% of seats
Internet access: 66.8% of inhabitants use the internet

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 87% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 6.8 million tonnes | 0.5% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 4.2 tonnes | 4.7 x African average | 1 x world average

EQUATORIAL GUINEA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese
Other languages: Fang, Bube, Combe, West African Pidgin English, Annobonese, Igbo
Colonised by: Portugal 1472-1778 | Spain 1778-1968
Independence: 1968 – from Spain
National heritage site: Iron Age burial sites on the Island of Corisco, also known as Mandji, with intact 1,500-year-old tombs containing artefacts such as axes, spears, anklets, bracelets and unbroken pots.

Eritrea

A man looks out from a carriage on the Eritrean railway line between the capital of Asmara and the coastal city of Massawa. Built between between 1887 and 1932, Eritrea’s rail system still uses vintage rolling stock.
Photo credit Andrea Moroni

ERITREA: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 3.8 million | 0.3% of Africa’s population
Population density: 31.9 people per square kilometre | 0.6 x African average
Surface area: 117,600 square kilometres | 0.4% of Africa
Capital city: Asmara

ERITREA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Nakfa (ERN)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $2.3 billion | 0.08% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $594.50 | 0.3 x African average
Agriculture: 17.1% of economy
Industry: 21.6% of economy
Services and other: 61.2% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 6.5%
Share of women in the labour force: 39.1%
Share of men in the labour force: 79.5%

ERITREA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 45.9% | United Arab Emirates 39.7% | South Korea 9.6%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 31.8% | United Arab Emirates 24.8% | Türkiye 9%
Exports value: $620.4 million | 0.1% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $1.2 billion | 0.2% of Africa’s imports

ERITREA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 54.7% (1997) | Africa rank: 24th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.503 | Africa rank: 41st out of 54 | Global rank: 178th out of 193
LGBT equality index: 5% | Africa rank: 51st out of 54
Urbanisation: 41.1% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.0% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 22% of seats
Internet access: 8.3% of inhabitants use the internet

ERITREA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 15% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 1.4 million tonnes | 0.1% of African total | 0.004% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.3 tonnes | 0.3 x African average | 0.1 x world average

ERITREA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Languages: Tigrinya, Arabic, Tigre, Kunama, Saho, Bilen, Nara, Afar, English
Colonised by: Italy 1880-1941 | Britain 1941-1952 | Ethiopia 1952-1991
Independence: 1952 – from Britain | 1991 – from Ethiopia
World Heritage Site: The historic perimeter of Asmara represents perhaps the most concentrated and intact assemblage of Modernist architecture in the world. Its urban design has remained untouched since the 1930s.

Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)

Hillscape in the Malolotja Nature Reserve, Eswatini.
Photo credit Julien Lagarde

Note: In 2018 the country changed its name from Swaziland, a relic of British colonialism, to Eswatini (sometimes spelled eSwatini).

ESWATINI: OVERVIEW
Region: Southern Africa
Population: 1.2 million | 0.08% of Africa’s population
Population density: 69.4 people per square kilometre | 1.4 x African average
Surface area: 17,364 square kilometres | 0.06% of Africa
Capital city: Mbabane (administrative)

ESWATINI: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Lilangeni (SZL)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $4.7 billion | 0.2% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $3,458.60 | 1.7 x African average
Agriculture: 6.4% of economy
Industry: 46.1% of economy
Services and other: 47.5% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 24.4%
Share of women in the labour force: 48.3%
Share of men in the labour force: 62.9%

ESWATINI: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): South Africa 67.9% | Kenya 5.6% | Nigeria 3.9%
Major import partners (share of imports): South Africa 72.4% | China 9.7% | India 2.7%
Exports value: $2.0 billion | 0.3% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $1.8 billion | 0.3% of Africa’s imports

ESWATINI: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 66.3% (2017) | Africa rank: 2nd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.695 | Africa rank: 11th out of 54 | Global rank: 126th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.431 | Africa rank: 14th out of 51 | Global rank: 127th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.484 | Africa rank: 13rd out of 49 | Global rank: 124th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 28% | Africa rank: 19th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 28% | Public opinion: 27%
Urbanisation: 24.7% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 6.4% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 23% of seats
Internet access: 31.3% of inhabitants use the internet

ESWATINI: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 32% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 1.3 million tonnes | 0.1% of African total | 0.004% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 1.1 tonnes | 1.2 x African average | 0.3 x world average

ESWATINI: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: siSwati, English
Colonised by: Britain 1906-1968
Independence: 1968 – from Britain
National heritage site: Ngwenya Mine is the site of the world’s earliest mining activity, and its iron ore deposits one of the oldest geological formations in the world.

Ethiopia

Fasilides Castle in the walled Fasil Ghebbi fortress of Gondar, a city in northern Ethiopia. The fortress was built at the behest of Fasilides, emperor of Ethiopia from 1632 to 18 October 1667.
Photo credit Eric Fortin

ETHIOPIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 129.5 million | 8.6% of Africa’s population
Population density: 120.0 people per square kilometre | 2.3 x African average
Surface area: 1,104,300 square kilometres | 3.7% of Africa
Capital city: Addis Ababa

ETHIOPIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Not classified
Currency: Birr (ETB)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $156.1 billion | 5.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,206.20 | 0.6 x African average
Agriculture: 34.0% of economy
Industry: 23.0% of economy
Services and other: 43.0% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 4.8%
Share of women in the labour force: 78.7%
Share of men in the labour force: 89.1%

ETHIOPIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports):
Major import partners (share of imports):
Exports value: $4.1 billion | 0.7% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $14.2 billion | 2.1% of Africa’s imports

ETHIOPIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 50.6% (2016) | Africa rank: 38th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.497 | Africa rank: 43rd out of 54 | Global rank: 180th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.326 | Africa rank: 37th out of 51 | Global rank: 153rd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.497 | Africa rank: 17th out of 49 | Global rank: 131st out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 12% | Africa rank: 39th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 10% | Public opinion: 13%
Urbanisation: 23.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 4.5% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 39% of seats
Internet access: 20.6% of inhabitants use the internet

ETHIOPIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 12% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 17.6 million tonnes | 1.3% of African total | 0.05% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.1 tonnes | 0.1 x African average | 0 x world average

ETHIOPIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Languages: Amharic, Afar, Harari, Oromo, Somali, Tigrinya
World Heritage Site: Ruins of the ancient city of Aksum, once the most powerful state between the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia.

Gabon

An aerial view of the coastal city of Libreville, the capital of Gabon. Libreville was established by French colonialists in 1849 and settled with freed slaves.
Photo credit Kennedy8kp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

GABON: OVERVIEW
Region: Central Africa
Population: 2.4 million | 0.2% of Africa’s population
Population density: 9.6 people per square kilometre | 0.2 x African average
Surface area: 267,700 square kilometres | 0.9% of Africa
Capital city: Libreville

GABON: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Upper middle income
Currency: Central African CFA franc (XAF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $22.1 billion | 0.8% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $8,734.50 | 4.3 x African average
Agriculture: 5.1% of economy
Industry: 51.5% of economy
Services and other: 43.5% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 21.5%
Share of women in the labour force: 47.9%
Share of men in the labour force: 62.1%

GABON: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 24.5% | India 10.7% | Cameroon 8%
Major import partners (share of imports): France 14.1% | Singapore 12.1% | China 11.3%
Exports value: $6.7 billion | 1.1% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $3.4 billion | 0.5% of Africa’s imports

GABON: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 44.4% (2017) | Africa rank: 46th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: High | Score 0.733 | Africa rank: 7th out of 54 | Global rank: 108th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.558 | Africa rank: 6th out of 51 | Global rank: 101st out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.505 | Africa rank: 21st out of 49 | Global rank: 135th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 25% | Africa rank: 21st out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 36% | Public opinion: 13%
Urbanisation: 89.7% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.9% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 21% of seats
Internet access: 62.0% of inhabitants use the internet

GABON: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 89% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 6.2 million tonnes | 0.5% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 2.6 tonnes | 2.8 x African average | 0.7 x world average

GABON: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: French
Other languages: Fang, Myene, Punu, Nzebi
Colonised by: France 1885-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: The Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda demonstrates an unusual interface between dense and well-conserved tropical rainforest and relict savannah environments with a great diversity of species, including endangered large mammals.

The Gambia

A dance festival in Dankunku, Central River, the Gambia. The tiny country’s rich music and dance traditions are the product of very diverse influences.
Photo credit Kevin Sharp

THE GAMBIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 2.9 million | 0.2% of Africa’s population
Population density: 264.5 people per square kilometre | 5.1 x African average
Surface area: 11,300 square kilometres | 0.04% of Africa
Capital city: Banjul

THE GAMBIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Dalasi (GMD)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $2.1 billion | 0.07% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $696.40 | 0.3 x African average
Agriculture: 20.9% of economy
Industry: 17.2% of economy
Services and other: 61.9% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 9.6%
Share of women in the labour force: 55.8%
Share of men in the labour force: 74.8%

THE GAMBIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Mali 44.7% | China 29.1% | Senegal 10.9%
Major import partners (share of imports): Togo 25.5% | Côte d’Ivoire 12.4% | China 7.6%
Exports value: $106.0 million | 0.02% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $484.4 million | 0.07% of Africa’s imports

THE GAMBIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 53.6% (2021) | Africa rank: 28th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.524 | Africa rank: 33rd out of 54 | Global rank: 170th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.329 | Africa rank: 35th out of 51 | Global rank: 151st out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.578 | Africa rank: 35th out of 49 | Global rank: 154th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 3% | Africa rank: 53rd out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 2% | Public opinion: 4%
Urbanisation: 63.9% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.6% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 10% of seats
Internet access: 30.0% of inhabitants use the internet

THE GAMBIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 48% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 0.8 million tonnes | 0.06% of African total | 0.002% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.3 tonnes | 0.3 x African average | 0.1 x world average

THE GAMBIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: English
Other languages: Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, Serer, Jola
Colonised by: Britain 1821-1965
Independence: 1965 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: Kunta Kinteh Island and related sites present a testimony to the main periods and facets of the encounter between Africa and Europe along the River Gambia, a continuum stretching from pre-colonial and pre-slavery times to independence.

Ghana

Hair braiding at Makola Market in Accra, the capital of Ghana.
Photo credit Fiona Graham, WorldRemit, CC BY-SA 2.0.

GHANA: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 34.1 million | 2.3% of Africa’s population
Population density: 142.0 people per square kilometre | 2.7 x African average
Surface area: 238,500 square kilometres | 0.8% of Africa
Capital city: Accra

GHANA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: cedi (GHS)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $74.3 billion | 2.6% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $2,177.10 | 1.1 x African average
Agriculture: 18.6% of economy
Industry: 33.8% of economy
Services and other: 47.6% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 4.3%
Share of women in the labour force: 66.5%
Share of men in the labour force: 73.9%

GHANA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Switzerland 18.2% | South Africa 11.7% | United Arab Emirates 10.2% | Major import partners (share of imports): China 18.7% | Netherlands 9.6% | India 6.4%
Exports value: $14.3 billion | 2.3% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $13.9 billion | 2.1% of Africa’s imports

GHANA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 57.3% (2017) | Africa rank: 14th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.628 | Africa rank: 17th out of 54 | Global rank: 143rd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.399 | Africa rank: 18th out of 51 | Global rank: 132nd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.514 | Africa rank: 22nd out of 49 | Global rank: 138th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 19% | Africa rank: 25th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 20% | Public opinion: 18%
Urbanisation: 58.6% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 4.4% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 14% of seats
Internet access: 68.2% of inhabitants use the internet

GHANA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 41% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 13.1 million tonnes | 1.0% of African total | 0.04% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.4 tonnes | 0.4 x African average | 0.1 x world average

GHANA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: English
Other languages: Asante Twi, Dagaare, Dagbani, Dangme, Ewe, Ga, Gonja, Kasem, Fante, Akuapem Twi, Nzema, Wasa, Talensi, Frafra, Hausa
Colonised by: Portugal 1482–1642 | Britain 1821-1957
Independence: 1957 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: The Asante Traditional Buildings, found to the north-east of Kumasi, are the last material remains of the great Asante civilization that reached its high point in the 18th century.

Guinea

Fisherwomen on the banks of the Niger River in the Kankan region of northeastern Guinea, on the Mali border.
Photo credit Julien Harnels

GUINEA: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 14.2 million | 0.9% of Africa’s population
Population density: 58.2 people per square kilometre | 1.1 x African average
Surface area: 245,800 square kilometres | 0.8% of Africa
Capital city: Conakry

GUINEA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Guinean franc (GNF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $20.6 billion | 0.7% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,450.40 | 0.7 x African average
Agriculture: 19.2% of economy
Industry: 38.5% of economy
Services and other: 42.3% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 4.6%
Share of women in the labour force: 63.9%
Share of men in the labour force: 78.6%

GUINEA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 48.7% | United Arab Emirates 23.2% | India 19.3%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 40.2% | India 8.5% | Netherlands 6.8%
Exports value: $7.9 billion | 1.3% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $5.9 billion | 0.9% of Africa’s imports

GUINEA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 45.9% (2019) | Africa rank: 44th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.5 | Africa rank: 42nd out of 54 | Global rank: 179th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.302 | Africa rank: 41st out of 51 | Global rank: 159th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.609 | Africa rank: 43rd out of 49 | Global rank: 163rd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 15% | Africa rank: 28th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 16% | Public opinion: 14%
Urbanisation: 39.1% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.6% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 30% of seats
Internet access: 39.9% of inhabitants use the internet

GUINEA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 27% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 3.4 million tonnes | 0.3% of African total | 0.01% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

GUINEA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Maninka, Fula, Susu
Colonised by: France 1898-1958
Independence: 1958 – from France
World Heritage Site: Mount Nimba, rising above the surrounding savannah, its slopes covered by dense forest at the foot of grassy mountain pastures, harbours rich flora and fauna that includes endemic species such as the viviparous toad.

Guinea-Bissau

A false-colour composite satellite image of the rivers, coast and islands of Guinea-Bissau. Infrared, red and blue light wavelengths bring out details of the complex patterns of the country’s shallow coastal waters, where silt carried by the Geba and other rivers washes out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo credit Nasa/USGS EROS Data Center, CC BY 2.0

GUINEA-BISSAU: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 2.2 million | 0.15% of Africa’s population
Population density: 78.3 people per square kilometre | 1.5 x African average
Surface area: 36,125 square kilometres | 0.12% of Africa
Capital city: Bissau

GUINEA-BISSAU: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: CFA franc, Central Bank of West African States (XOF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $1.6 billion | 0.05% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $747.80 | 0.4 x African average
Agriculture: 32.3% of economy
Industry: 14% of economy
Services and other: 53.7% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 3.1%
Share of women in the labour force: 48.8%
Share of men in the labour force: 63.4%

GUINEA-BISSAU: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): India 84.1% | Chile 4.5% | Côte d’Ivoire 2.8%
Major import partners (share of imports): Portugal 32.7% | Senegal 17.7% | China 14.9%
Exports value: $465 million | 0.08% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $257 million | 0.04% of Africa’s imports

GUINEA-BISSAU: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 49.3% (2022) | Africa rank: 40th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.514 | Africa rank: 37th out of 54 | Global rank: 174th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.331 | Africa rank: 34th out of 51 | Global rank: 150th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.632 | Africa rank: 45th out of 49 | Global rank: 166th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 32% | Africa rank: 14th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 40% | Public opinion: 24%
Women in national parliament hold 9.8% of seats
Urbanisation: 43.8% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.6% of GDP
Internet access: 31.6% of inhabitants use the internet

GUINEA-BISSAU: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 70.1% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 300,000 tonnes | 0.02% of African total | 0.0009% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

GUINEA-BISSAU: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: Portuguese
Other languages: Guinea-Bissau Creole (Kriol), Balanta, Fula, Mandjak, Mandinka, Papel, French
Colonised by: Portugal 1474-1973
Independence: 1973 – from Portugal
National heritage site: The Archipelago of Bijagos, consisting of 88 islands and islets, is the most biodiverse region of Guinea-Bissau.

Kenya

A panoramic view of Nairobi, Kenya’s capital and commercial centre. The city proper has a population of 3.1-million people, and its wider metropolitan area 6.5-million. Nairobi’s name comes from the Maasai “enkare nairobi”, or “cool water”, a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city.
Photo credit Babak Fakhamzadeh

KENYA: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 57.0 million | 3.8% of Africa’s population
Population density: 100.6 people per square kilometre | 1.9 x African average
Surface area: 580,400 square kilometres | 1.9% of Africa
Capital city: Nairobi

KENYA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Kenyan shilling (KES)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $113.4 billion | 3.9% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,989.20 | 1.0 x African average
Agriculture: 21.2% of economy
Industry: 17.3% of economy
Services and other: 61.5% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 5.7%
Share of women in the labour force: 67.7%
Share of men in the labour force: 75.8%

KENYA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Uganda 11.1% | United States 9.2% | Netherlands 8%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 18.2% | United Arab Emirates 16.4% | India 10.1%
Exports value: $6.8 billion | 1.1% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $19.2 billion | 2.9% of Africa’s imports

KENYA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 53.3% (2021) | Africa rank: 30th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.628 | Africa rank: 17th out of 54 | Global rank: 143rd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.456 | Africa rank: 12nd out of 51 | Global rank: 122nd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.526 | Africa rank: 27th out of 49 | Global rank: 143rd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 21% | Africa rank: 24th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 24% | Public opinion: 19%
Urbanisation: 30.4% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 5.1% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 23% of seats
Internet access: 29.0% of inhabitants use the internet

KENYA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 7% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 16.6 million tonnes | 1.2% of African total | 0.05% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.3 tonnes | 0.3 x African average | 0.1 x world average

KENYA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: English, Kiswahili
Colonised by: Britain 1888-1962
Independence: 1963 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: The Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests, 11 fortified villages set in forested land running over 200 kilometres along the coast. Known as kayas, the sites were first settled by the Mijikenda people in about 1560.

Lesotho

Dark clouds and sunshine in the Lesotho lowlands, close to the Fouriesburg border post into South Africa. These are just foothills in comparison to the rest of the mountainous country. Lesotho is the only country in the world which lies, in its entirety, over a kilometre above sea level. In fact, over 80% of its land is at an elevation of 1,800 metres or higher.
Photo credit Andrew Ashton

LESOTHO: OVERVIEW
Region: Southern Africa
Population: 2.3 million | 0.2% of Africa’s population
Population density: 77 people per square kilometre | 1.5 x African average
Surface area: 30,355 square kilometres | 0.1% of Africa
Capital city: Maseru

LESOTHO: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: loti (LSL)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $2.3 billion | 0.08% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $992.00 | 0.5 x African average
Agriculture: 7.1% of economy
Industry: 34.7% of economy
Services and other: 58.2% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 16.1%
Share of women in the labour force: 57.4%
Share of men in the labour force: 72.8%

LESOTHO: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): South Africa 50.4% | United States 26.2% | Belgium 19.1%
Major import partners (share of imports): South Africa 77.4% | China 6.2% | Taiwan 4.2%
Exports value: $825 million | 0.1% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $1.8 billion | 0.3% of Africa’s imports

LESOTHO: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 58.4% (2018) | Africa rank: 11th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.55 | Africa rank: 31st out of 54 | Global rank: 167th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.357 | Africa rank: 28th out of 51 | Global rank: 143rd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.534 | Africa rank: 28th out of 49 | Global rank: 144th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 43% | Africa rank: 9th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 53% | Public opinion: 32%
Urbanisation: 28.6% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 6.1% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 25% of seats
Internet access: 47% of inhabitants use the internet

LESOTHO: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 1.1% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 3.2 million tonnes | 0.2% of African total | 0.01% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 1.4 tonnes | 1.6 x African average | 0.3 x world average

LESOTHO: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: English, Sesotho
Colonised by: Britain 1868-1966
Independence: 1966 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: The Maloti Drakensberg Transboundary World Heritage Site is known for its rock art and mountain landscape.

Liberia

The coastal city of Monrovia, Liberia’s capital and largest city. Monrovia is named after American president James Monroe (1758 – 1831), a prominent supporter of the colonisation of Liberia by the resettlement of freed slaves.
Photo credit JB Dodane

LIBERIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 5.6 million | 0.4% of Africa’s population
Population density: 58.3 people per square kilometre | 1.1 x African average
Surface area: 111,369 square kilometres | 0.4% of Africa
Capital city: Monrovia

LIBERIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Liberian dollar (LRD)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $3.3 billion | 0.1% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $615.80 | 0.3 x African average
Agriculture: 74% of economy
Industry: 8.6% of economy
Services and other: 17.5% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 2.8%
Share of women in the labour force: 72.6%
Share of men in the labour force: 81.5%

LIBERIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Switzerland 31% | United Kingdom 13.2% | France 8.6%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 38.5% | Singapore 20% | South Korea 15.1%
Exports value: $717 million | 0.1% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $2.6 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s imports

LIBERIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 50.8% (2016) | Africa rank: 37th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.51 | Africa rank: 40th out of 54 | Global rank: 177th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.326 | Africa rank: 37th out of 51 | Global rank: 153rd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.646 | Africa rank: 46th out of 49 | Global rank: 167th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 16% | Africa rank: 27th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 24% | Public opinion: 9%
Urbanisation: 51.6% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.6% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 11% of seats
Internet access: 30.1% of inhabitants use the internet

LIBERIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 78.8% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 0.6 million tonnes | 0.05% of African total | 0.002% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.1 tonnes | 0.1 x African average | 0.02 x world average

LIBERIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: English
National heritage site: Providence Island is a former trade post and was the first point of arrival for freed American Slaves. The guitar-shaped island has a cement pillar and concrete floor believed to be the first concrete work in the history of the country, as well as an ancient water well and an old docking platform for incoming canoes and ships. On the site is also a 250-year-old cotton tree, the oldest in Liberia.

Libya

In the ancient desert oasis town of Ghadames in northwestern Libya, buildings are designed with thick walls of mud, lime, and palm tree trunks to withstand the Sahara’s extremes of heat and cold. Covered alleyways between dwellings help cut the summer heat.
Photo credit Luca Galuzzi

LIBYA: OVERVIEW
Region: Northern Africa
Population: 7.4 million | 0.5% of Africa’s population
Population density: 4.4 people per square kilometre | 0.09 x African average
Surface area: 1,676,198 square kilometres | 5.7% of Africa
Capital city: Tripoli

LIBYA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Upper middle income
Currency: Libyan dinar (LYD)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $40.5 billion | 1.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $5,950.50 | 3 x African average
Agriculture: 3.7% of economy
Industry: 43.8% of economy
Services and other: 52.5% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 18.1%
Share of women in the labour force: 35%
Share of men in the labour force: 61.6%

LIBYA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Italy 22.1% | Germany 14.3% | Spain 8.6%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 17.6% | Türkiye 14.7% | Italy 8.3%
Exports value: $25.1 billion | 4.3% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $11.9 billion | 1.7% of Africa’s imports

LIBYA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 30.9% (2008) | Africa rank: 53rd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: High | Score 0.721 | Africa rank: 9th out of 54 | Global rank: 115th out of 193
Gender inequality index: Score 0.253 | Africa rank: 2nd out of 49 | Global rank: 65th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 13% | Africa rank: 35th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 8% | Public opinion: 19%
Urbanisation: 80.4% of inhabitants live in cities
:% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 16.5% of seats
Internet access: 88.4% of inhabitants use the internet

LIBYA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 0.1% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 43.5 million tonnes | 3.3% of African total | 0.1% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 6.5 tonnes | 7.2 x African average | 1.5 x world average

LIBYA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Arabic
Other languages: Libyan Arabic, Tamazight, Italian
Colonised by: Italy 1911-1943
Independence: 1947 – from Italy
World Heritage Site: Cyrene was one of the principal cities in the ancient Hellenic world.

Madagascar

The Avenue of the Baobabs near Morondava in western Madagascar. There are nine species of baobab tree in the world, and six of them are only found in Madagascar. Of the rest, two are on the mainland of Africa, and one in Australia. (Frank Vassen, CC BY 2.0)

MADAGASCAR: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 32 million | 2.1% of Africa’s population
Population density: 54.9 people per square kilometre | 1.1 x African average
Surface area: 587,041 square kilometres | 2% of Africa
Capital city: Antananarivo

MADAGASCAR: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: ariary (MGA)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $15 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $505.00 | 0.3 x African average
Agriculture: 23.5% of economy
Industry: 23.6% of economy
Services and other: 50.4% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 1.8%
Share of women in the labour force: 82.6%
Share of men in the labour force: 87.8%

MADAGASCAR: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): France 14.5% | United States 12.6% | Japan 8.2%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 17% | Oman 13.5% | France 11.2%
Exports value: $3.3 billion | 0.6% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $4.8 billion | 0.7% of Africa’s imports

MADAGASCAR: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 56.7% (2013) | Africa rank: 18th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.487 | Africa rank: 45th out of 54 | Global rank: 183rd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.319 | Africa rank: 39th out of 51 | Global rank: 157th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.584 | Africa rank: 37th out of 49 | Global rank: 157th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 32% | Africa rank: 14th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 41% | Public opinion: 22%
Urbanisation: 37.9% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.2% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 18.5% of seats
Internet access: 20.6% of inhabitants use the internet

MADAGASCAR: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 21.3% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 4.4 million tonnes | 0.3% of African total | 0.01% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

MADAGASCAR: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Malagasy, French
Colonised by: France 1896-1958
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: The Royal Hill of Ambohimanga, the cradle of a 500-year-old kingdom and dynasty that retains enormous spiritual importance to this day.

Malawi

A sense of the size of Lake Malawi, in a view from the road to the town of Livingstonia in the north of the country. Lake Malawi also borders Tanzania, where it is known as Lake Nyasa, and Mozambique, where it is known as Lago Niassa. It is the ninth largest lake in the world and home to more species of fish than any other. Some 90% of these species are endemic, only found in Lake Malawi.
Photo credit Jack Zalium

MALAWI: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 21.7 million | 1.4% of Africa’s population
Population density: 229 people per square kilometre | 4.5 x African average
Surface area: 117,726 square kilometres | 0.4% of Africa
Capital city: Lilongwe

MALAWI: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: kwacha (MWK)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $12.6 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $615.50 | 0.3 x African average
Agriculture: 29.4% of economy
Industry: 18% of economy
Services and other: 52.5% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 5%
Share of women in the labour force: 63.7%
Share of men in the labour force: 75.4%

MALAWI: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Belgium 15.9% | Tanzania 10.8% | China 5.6%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 17.4% | South Africa 15.6% | United Arab Emirates 14.1%
Exports value: $966 million | 0.2% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $3.1 billion | 0.5% of Africa’s imports

MALAWI: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 53.5% (2020) | Africa rank: 29th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.517 | Africa rank: 35th out of 54 | Global rank: 172nd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.365 | Africa rank: 23rd out of 51 | Global rank: 137th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.581 | Africa rank: 36th out of 49 | Global rank: 155th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 8% | Africa rank: 46th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 10% | Public opinion: 5%
Urbanisation: 17.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.3% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 20.7% of seats
Internet access: 27.7% of inhabitants use the internet

MALAWI: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 23.3% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 1.6 million tonnes | 0.1% of African total | 0.004% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.1 tonnes | 0.1 x African average | 0.02 x world average

MALAWI: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: English
Other languages: Chichewa
Colonised by: Britain 1891-1964
Independence: 1964 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: The Chongoni Rock Art Area, lying in a cluster of forested granite hills high on the plateau of central Malawi, holds the richest concentration of rock art in Central Africa.

Mali

The Grand Mosque of Djenné in the Niger Delta region of central Mali is the largest adobe – mud-built – structure in the world. The first mosque on the site is thought to have been built in the 1200s. The current structure is a century old, built in 1907. After the rainy season the mosque’s surface has been washed thin, so the local community gathers to replaster it. The protruding wooden struts are not structural: they provide footholds so people can reach every part of the building to reseal its surface with mud.
Photo credit Marco Dormino, UN Photo

MALI: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 24.5 million | 1.6% of Africa’s population
Population density: 20.1 people per square kilometre | 0.4 x African average
Surface area: 1,240,192 square kilometres | 4.2% of Africa
Capital city: Bamako

MALI: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: CFA franc (XOF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $18.8 billion | 0.7% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $833.30 | 0.4 x African average
Agriculture: 38.6% of economy
Industry: 21.9% of economy
Services and other: 39.4% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 3.2%
Share of women in the labour force: 52%
Share of men in the labour force: 82.2%

MALI: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): United Arab Emirates 79.2% | Switzerland 12.4% | Australia 4.1%
Major import partners (share of imports): Senegal 17% | China 14.3% | Côte d’Ivoire 14.1%
Exports value: $4.5 billion | 0.8% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $8.7 billion | 1.3% of Africa’s imports

MALI: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 39.1% (2021) | Africa rank: 49th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.419 | Africa rank: 49th out of 54 | Global rank: 188th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.281 | Africa rank: 44th out of 51 | Global rank: 162nd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.612 | Africa rank: 44th out of 49 | Global rank: 164th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 8% | Africa rank: 46th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 6% | Public opinion: 9%
Urbanisation: 43.1% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 4.4% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 28.6% of seats
Internet access: 33.1% of inhabitants use the internet

MALI: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 10.9% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 6.3 million tonnes | 0.5% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.3 tonnes | 0.3 x African average | 0.07 x world average

MALI: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Bambara, Bomu, Tieyaxo Bozo, Toro So Dogon, Maasina Fulfulde, Hassaniya Arabic, Mamara Senoufo, Kita Maninkakan, Soninke, Koyraboro Senni, Syenara Senoufo, Tamasheq, Xaasongaxango
Colonised by: France 1892-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: The city of Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual capital and the centre of Islamic thought in Africa from the 15th to the 16th centuries.

Mauritania

Men playing the traditional Mauritanian board game of Kharbaga – similar to zamma and draughts – in Ouadane (or Wādān), a small town in the desert region of central Mauritania.
Photo credit Evgeni Zotov

MAURITANIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 5.2 million | 0.3% of Africa’s population
Population density: 5 people per square kilometre | 0.1 x African average
Surface area: 1,030,700 square kilometres | 3.5% of Africa
Capital city: Nouakchott

MAURITANIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: ouguiya (MRU)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $11 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $2,322 | 1.2 x African average
Agriculture: 20.3% of economy
Industry: 33.% of economy
Services and other: 4.1% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 10.%
Share of women in the labour force: 26.4%
Share of men in the labour force: 57.2%

MAURITANIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 23.3% | Canada 18.4% | Spain 11.2%
Major import partners (share of imports): United Arab Emirates 18.3% | Spain 16.1% | Japan 6.8%
Exports value: $3.3 billion | 0.6% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $5.3 billion | 0.8% of Africa’s imports

MAURITANIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 47.9% (2020) | Africa rank: 43rd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.563 | Africa rank: 28th out of 54 | Global rank: 163rd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.374 | Africa rank: 22nd out of 51 | Global rank: 136th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.603 | Africa rank: 41st out of 49 | Global rank: 161st out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 10% | Africa rank: 40th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 4% | Public opinion: 16%
Urbanisation: 54.5% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 1.7% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 23.3% of seats
Internet access: 44.4% of inhabitants use the internet

MAURITANIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 0.3% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 4.6 million tonnes | 0.4% of African total | 0.01% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 1 tonne | 1.1 x African average | 0.2 x world average

MAURITANIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: Arabic
Other languages: Hassaniya Arabic, Pulaar, Soninke, Wolof, Zenaga Berber, French
Colonised by: France 1903-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: The Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata were trading and religious centres founded in the 11th and 12th centuries to serve caravans crossing the Sahara.

Mauritius

Le Morne Brabant Peninsula in Mauritius. The island’s natural beauty has allowed it to develop a successful tourism industry, which contributes some 8.4% to the country’s GDP.
Photo credit Sofitel So Mauritius

MAURITIUS: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 1.3 million | 0.08% of Africa’s population
Population density: 626.2 people per square kilometre | 12.2 x African average
Surface area: 1,979 square kilometres | 0.007% of Africa
Capital city: Port Louis

MAURITIUS: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Upper middle income
Currency: Mauritian rupee (MUR)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $12.9 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $9,92.80 | 4.9 x African average
Agriculture: 3.9% of economy
Industry: 21% of economy
Services and other: 75.1% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 4.2%
Share of women in the labour force: 43%
Share of men in the labour force: 68%

MAURITIUS: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): France 14.7% | South Africa 10.8% | United States 9.4%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 15.8% | United Arab Emirates 11.1% | India 10.2%
Exports value: $1.9 billion | 0.3% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $6.3 billion | 0.9% of Africa’s imports

MAURITIUS: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 49.2% (2017) | Africa rank: 41st out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Very High | Score 0.806 | Africa rank: 2nd out of 54 | Global rank: 73rd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.669 | Africa rank: 2nd out of 51 | Global rank: 69th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.352 | Africa rank: 4th out of 49 | Global rank: 87th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 53% | Africa rank: 4th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 55% | Public opinion: 52%
Urbanisation: 40.8% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 4.7% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 20% of seats
Internet access: 75.5% of inhabitants use the internet

MAURITIUS: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 19.4% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 4.1 million tonnes | 0.3% of African total | 0.01% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 3.1 tonnes | 3.4 x African average | 0.7 x world average

MAURITIUS: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Languages: Mauritian Creole, French, English, Bhojpuri
Colonised by: Netherlands 1638-1710 | France 1715-1810 | Britain 1810-1968
Independence: 1968 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: Aapravasi Ghat, a fortlike stone complex established by the UK in 1834, a year after slavery was abolished, as a global transit point for a new kind of slavery: indentured labour. About half a million mainly Indian labourers were processed through the site from 1849 to 1923.

Morocco

Street life in Essaouira, an ancient city in western Morocco on the Atlantic coast.
Photo credit Andrea Moroni

MOROCCO: OVERVIEW
Region: Northern Africa
Population: 38.1 million | 2.5% of Africa’s population
Population density: 85.3 people per square kilometre | 1.7 x African average
Surface area: 446,550 square kilometres | 1.5% of Africa
Capital city: Rabat

MOROCCO: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $130.9 billion | 4.6% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $3,494.90 | 1.7 x African average
Agriculture: 11.4% of economy
Industry: 28.2% of economy
Services and other: 60.3% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 9.7%
Share of women in the labour force: 20%
Share of men in the labour force: 67.9%

MOROCCO: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Spain 19.6% | France 19.1% | India 6.4%
Major import partners (share of imports): Spain 14.1% | France 10.6% | China 10%
Exports value: $44 billion | 7.6% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $71.5 billion | 10.4% of Africa’s imports

MOROCCO: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 43.4% (2014) | Africa rank: 47th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: High | Score 0.71 | Africa rank: 10th out of 54 | Global rank: 120th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.517 | Africa rank: 7th out of 51 | Global rank: 109th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.438 | Africa rank: 8th out of 49 | Global rank: 113rd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 13% | Africa rank: 35th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 12% | Public opinion: 15%
Urbanisation: 63% of inhabitants live in cities
Women in national parliament hold 24.3% of seats
Internet access: 90.7% of inhabitants use the internet

MOROCCO: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 12.9% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 67.1 million tonnes | 5.2% of African total | 0.2% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 1.8 tonnes | 2 x African average | 0.4 x world average

MOROCCO: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Arabic, Berber
Colonised by: Spain 1912-1956 | France 1912-1956
Independence: 1956 – from Spain and France
World Heritage Site: The Medina of Marrakesh, a massive old Islamic capital from the 11th century enclosed by 16 kilometres of ramparts and gates.

Mozambique

The Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte (Our Lady of the Bulwark) lies next to Fort São Sebastião on the easternmost tip of the Island of Mozambique (Ilha de Moçambique), off the coast of northern Mozambique. Portuguese colonial forces established a port and naval base on the island in 1507. The chapel, built in 1522, is thought to be the oldest European building in the southern hemisphere.
Photo credit Raul Soler, CC BY-NC 2.0

MOZAMBIQUE: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 34.6 million | 2.3% of Africa’s population
Population density: 44 people per square kilometre | 0.9 x African average
Surface area: 799,380 square kilometres | 2.7% of Africa
Capital city: Maputo

MOZAMBIQUE: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Mozambican metical (MZN)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $18.4 billion | 0.6% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $558.30 | 0.3 x African average
Agriculture: 29.7% of economy
Industry: 25.3% of economy
Services and other: 45% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 3.7%
Share of women in the labour force: 78.3%
Share of men in the labour force: 79.6%

MOZAMBIQUE: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): India 15.6% | South Africa 14.2% | United Kingdom 14%
Major import partners (share of imports): South Korea 23.2% | South Africa 15.4% | United Arab Emirates 10.3%
Exports value: $8.3 billion | 1.4% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $10.1 billion | 1.5% of Africa’s imports

MOZAMBIQUE: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 63% (2020) | Africa rank: 5th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.493 | Africa rank: 44th out of 54 | Global rank: 182nd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.297 | Africa rank: 42nd out of 51 | Global rank: 160th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.479 | Africa rank: 11th out of 49 | Global rank: 120th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 51% | Africa rank: 6th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 55% | Public opinion: 47%
Urbanisation: 36.5% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 6.9% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 43.2% of seats
Internet access: 21.2% of inhabitants use the internet

MOZAMBIQUE: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 46.4% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 6.9 million tonnes | 0.5% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

MOZAMBIQUE: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: Portuguese
Other languages: Emakhuwa, Cisena, Xichangana, Elomwe, Cishona, Xitswa, Xironga, Chichewa, Cinyungwe, Cicopi, Ciyao, Shimakonde
Colonised by: Portugal 1498-1975
Independence: 1975 – from Portugal
World Heritage Site: The Island of Mozambique and its fortified city was a former Portuguese trading post on the route to India, used since the 16th century.

Namibia

The pretty harbour town of Lüderitz on the forbidding west coast of Namibia, on the Atlantic seaboard, was one of the country’s earliest colonial settlements. Today it is a niche tourist destination.
Photo credit Damien du Toit

NAMIBIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Southern Africa
Population: 3 million | 0.2% of Africa’s population
Population density: 3.7 people per square kilometre | 0.07 x African average
Surface area: 825,229 square kilometres | 2.8% of Africa
Capital city: Windhoek

NAMIBIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Namibia dollar (NAD)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $12.6 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $4,911.30 | 2.4 x African average
Agriculture: 9.3% of economy
Industry: 30.4% of economy
Services and other: 60.3% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 19.4%
Share of women in the labour force: 56%
Share of men in the labour force: 63.7%

NAMIBIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Botswana 19.3% | South Africa 18.6% | China 12.5%
Major import partners (share of imports): South Africa 35.7% | China 8.9% | India 6.7%
Exports value: $5.5 billion | 0.9% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $7.2 billion | 1.1% of Africa’s imports

NAMIBIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 61.6% (2016) | Africa rank: 8th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.665 | Africa rank: 14th out of 54 | Global rank: 136th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.438 | Africa rank: 13rd out of 51 | Global rank: 125th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.448 | Africa rank: 10th out of 49 | Global rank: 116th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 44% | Africa rank: 8th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 54% | Public opinion: 33%
Urbanisation: 51% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 9.5% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 44.2% of seats
Internet access: 62.2% of inhabitants use the internet

NAMIBIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 8% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 3.5 million tonnes | 0.3% of African total | 0.01% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 1.4 tonnes | 1.6 x African average | 0.33 x world average

NAMIBIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: English
Other languages: Afrikaans, German, Ju’hoansi, Khoekhoegowab, Oshiwambo, Otjiherero, Rukwangali, Rumanyo, Setswana, Silozi, Thimbukushu
Colonised by: Germany 1884-1915 | South Africa 1915-1990
Independence: 1990 – from South Africa
World Heritage Site: The Namib Sand Sea, covering an area of over 3-million hectares, is the only coastal desert in the world that includes extensive dune fields influenced by fog.

Niger

A classroom at Carrefour Jeunesse Niger, a vocational dressmaking school in Niamey. The school designed by architect Odile Vandermeeren and constructed by local artisans using traditional adobe building techniques, with the murals painted by local female artists. The project was a finalist in the international Terra Award for earthen architecture.
Photo credit Gustave Deghilage

NIGER: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 27 million | 1.8% of Africa’s population
Population density: 21.3 people per square kilometre | 0.4 x African average
Surface area: 1,267,000 square kilometres | 4.3% of Africa
Capital city: Niamey

NIGER: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: CFA franc, Central Bank of West African States (XOF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $15.4 billion | 0.5% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $588.20 | 0.3 x African average
Agriculture: 39.5% of economy
Industry: 21.8% of economy
Services and other: 38.8% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 0.5%
Share of women in the labour force: 62.3%
Share of men in the labour force: 84.4%

NIGER: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): France 33.2% | Mali 18.7% | Nigeria 16%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 23.9% | France 21% | India 10.3%
Exports value: $519 million | 0.09% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $2.5 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s imports

NIGER: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 48.8% (2022) | Africa rank: 42nd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.419 | Africa rank: 49th out of 54 | Global rank: 188th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.265 | Africa rank: 47th out of 51 | Global rank: 165th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.591 | Africa rank: 40th out of 49 | Global rank: 160th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 26% | Africa rank: 20th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 40% | Public opinion: 12%
Urbanisation: 16.5% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.5% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 30.7% of seats
Internet access: 16.9% of inhabitants use the internet

NIGER: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 0.8% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 2.6 million tonnes | 0.2% of African total | 0.008% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.1 tonnes | 0.1 x African average | 0.02 x world average

NIGER: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Arabic, Buduma, Fulfulde, Gourmanchéma, Hausa, Kanuri, Zarma & Songhai, Tamasheq, Tassawaq, Tebu
Colonised by: France 1900-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: Agadez, known as the gateway to the Sahara desert, developed in the 15th and 16th centuries when the Sultanate of Aïr was established and Touareg groups settled in the city in the boundaries of nomadic encampments, creating street patterns still in place today.

Nigeria

The National Mosque of Nigeria in Abuja, the country’s capital. The building was constructed in 1984.
Photo credit Jeff Attaway

NIGERIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 232.7 million | 15.4% of Africa’s population
Population density: 255.5 people per square kilometre | 5 x African average
Surface area: 923,768 square kilometres | 3.1% of Africa
Capital city: Abuja

NIGERIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: naira (NGN)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $475.1 billion | 16.5% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $2,173.80 | 1.1 x African average
Agriculture: 24.1% of economy
Industry: 31.2% of economy
Services and other: 44.7% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 3.5%
Share of women in the labour force: 52.3%
Share of men in the labour force: 65.9%

NIGERIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Netherlands 12.6% | Spain 9.4% | India 8.4%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 18.4% | Singapore 14.3% | Belgium 9.4%
Exports value: $65.1 billion | 11.2% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $65 billion | 9.5% of Africa’s imports

NIGERIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 36.2% (2019) | Africa rank: 50th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.56 | Africa rank: 29th out of 54 | Global rank: 164th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.379 | Africa rank: 21st out of 51 | Global rank: 135th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.677 | Africa rank: 49th out of 49 | Global rank: 171st out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 15% | Africa rank: 28th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 15% | Public opinion: 15%
Urbanisation: 51.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Women in national parliament hold 3.9% of seats
Internet access: 35.5% of inhabitants use the internet

NIGERIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 23.6% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 108.7 million tonnes | 8.4% of African total | 0.3% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.5 tonnes | 0.6 x African average | 0.12 x world average

NIGERIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: English
Other languages: Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, Birom, Edo, Efik, Fulfulde, Gbagyi, Hyam, Ibibio, Idoma, Igala, Igbira, Ijaw, Ikwerre, Itsekiri, Jju, Jukun, Kanuri, Atyap, Margi, Nupe, Tiv, Urhobo-Isoko
Colonised by: Britain 1800-1960
Independence: 1960 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: The dense forest of the Osun Sacred Grove, on the outskirts of the city of Osogbo, is one of the last remnants of primary high forest in southern Nigeria. It is regarded as the abode of the goddess of fertility Osun, one of the pantheon of Yoruba gods.

Rwanda

Clouds in the sky above Kigali City Tower on Avenue du Commerce in the central business district of Kigali, the capital and largest city of Rwanda.
Photo credit Adam Jones

RWANDA: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 14.3 million | 0.9% of Africa’s population
Population density: 588.9 people per square kilometre | 11.5 x African average
Surface area: 26,338 square kilometres | 0.09% of Africa
Capital city: Kigali

RWANDA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Rwandan franc (RWF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $13.3 billion | 0.5% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $966.30 | 0.5 x African average
Agriculture: 26.9% of economy
Industry: 22.9% of economy
Services and other: 50.2% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 14.8%
Share of women in the labour force: 55.1%
Share of men in the labour force: 66.4%

RWANDA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Democratic Republic of the Congo 38% | United Arab Emirates 29.2% | China 4.8%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 21% | Tanzania 11.1% | Kenya 9.3%
Exports value: $1.6 billion | 0.3% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $5 billion | 0.7% of Africa’s imports

RWANDA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 57.7% (2017) | Africa rank: 13rd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.578 | Africa rank: 26th out of 54 | Global rank: 159th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.399 | Africa rank: 18th out of 51 | Global rank: 132nd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.394 | Africa rank: 6th out of 49 | Global rank: 100th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 36% | Africa rank: 12nd out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 40% | Public opinion: 32%
Urbanisation: 17.3% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 4% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 61.2% of seats
Internet access: 34.4% of inhabitants use the internet

RWANDA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 11.2% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 1.5 million tonnes | 0.1% of African total | 0.005% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.1 tonnes | 0.1 x African average | 0.02 x world average

RWANDA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Kinyarwanda, English, French, Swahili
Colonised by: Germany 1884-1916 | Belgium 1916-1962
Independence: 1962 – from Belgium
World Heritage Sites: Nyamata, Murambi, Bisesero and Gisozi, memorial sites of the 1994 Genocide.

São Tomé and Príncipe

Unnamed craftsmen in their workshop on São Tomé. São Tomé is the larger, southern island in the country of São Tomé and Príncipe.
Photo credit Kris Haamer

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE: OVERVIEW
Region: Middle Africa
Population: 236,000 | 0.02% of Africa’s population
Population density: 245.4 people per square kilometre | 4.8 x African average
Surface area: 964 square kilometres | 0.003% of Africa
Capital city: São Tomé

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: dobra (STN)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $547 million | 0.02% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $2,404.60 | 1.2 x African average
Agriculture: 13.2% of economy
Industry: 13.7% of economy
Services and other: 73.2% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 14.2%
Share of women in the labour force: 37.8%
Share of men in the labour force: 70.4%

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Netherlands 60.3% | Belgium 20.7% | Portugal 4.7%
Major import partners (share of imports): Portugal 36.2% | Togo 15.6% | Angola 13.7%
Exports value: $17 million | 0.003% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $184 million | 0.03% of Africa’s imports

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 55% (2017) | Africa rank: 21st out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.637 | Africa rank: 16th out of 54 | Global rank: 141st out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.478 | Africa rank: 9th out of 51 | Global rank: 116th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.492 | Africa rank: 16th out of 49 | Global rank: 130th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 47% | Africa rank: 7th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 49% | Public opinion: 44%
Urbanisation: 73.6% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 5.3% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 14.6% of seats
Internet access: 57% of inhabitants use the internet

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRINCIPE: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 53.4% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 0.1 million tonnes | 0.008% of African total | 0.0003% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.7 tonnes | 0.8 x African average | 0.2 x world average

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Portuguese
Other languages: Forro, Angolar, Principense
Colonised by: Portugal 1522-1975
Independence: 1975 – from Portugal

Senegal

Western Dakar, the capital of Senegal, in an image captured by the Sentinel 2A satellite on 10 October 2016 and processed by @anttilip. This arrow-shaped peninsula is the westernmost point of the African continent.
Photo credit Antti Lipponen

SENEGAL: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 18.5 million | 1.2% of Africa’s population
Population density: 96.1 people per square kilometre | 1.9 x African average
Surface area: 196,712 square kilometres | 0.7% of Africa
Capital city: Dakar

SENEGAL: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: CFA franc, Central Bank of West African States (XOF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $27.8 billion | 1% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,604.00 | 0.8 x African average
Agriculture: 18.2% of economy
Industry: 25.3% of economy
Services and other: 56.5% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 2.9%
Share of women in the labour force: 37.5%
Share of men in the labour force: 63.6%

SENEGAL: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Mali 19.9% | India 15.2% | Switzerland 11.6%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 10% | France 9.2% | India 7.5%
Exports value: $4.8 billion | 0.8% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $10.3 billion | 1.5% of Africa’s imports

SENEGAL: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 51.3% (2022) | Africa rank: 35th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.53 | Africa rank: 32nd out of 54 | Global rank: 169th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.34 | Africa rank: 33rd out of 51 | Global rank: 148th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.49 | Africa rank: 14th out of 49 | Global rank: 127th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 4% | Africa rank: 52nd out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 5% | Public opinion: 3%
Urbanisation: 47.7% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 5.6% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 46.1% of seats
Internet access: 60% of inhabitants use the internet

SENEGAL: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 41.7% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 9.6 million tonnes | 0.7% of African total | 0.03% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.6 tonnes | 0.7 x African average | 0.1 x world average

SENEGAL: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Balanta-Ganja, Hassaniya Arabic, Jola-Fonyi, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon, Pulaar, Serer Soninke, Wolof
Colonised by: France 1783-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: The island of Gorée was the largest slave-trading centre on the African coast between the 15th and 19th centuries.

Seychelles

View from an airplane of the Outer Islands of the Seychelles archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
Photo credit Olivier Roux

SEYCHELLES: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 130,000 | 0.009% of Africa’s population
Population density: 285.4 people per square kilometre | 5.6 x African average
Surface area: 457 square kilometres | 0.002% of Africa
Capital city: Victoria

SEYCHELLES: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: High income
Currency: Seychelles rupee (SCR)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $2 billion | 0.07% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $18,622.90 | 9.2 x African average
Agriculture: 2.6% of economy
Industry: 14% of economy
Services and other: 83.4% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 4.1%
Share of women in the labour force: 61.9%
Share of men in the labour force: 68.3%

SEYCHELLES: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): France 26.4% | United Arab Emirates 24.7% | United Kingdom 13.7%
Major import partners (share of imports): Italy 25.5% | United Arab Emirates 18.4% | Netherlands 11.5%
Exports value: $619 million | 0.1% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $2.9 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s imports

SEYCHELLES: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 32.1% (2019) | Africa rank: 52nd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Very High | Score 0.848 | Africa rank: 1st out of 54 | Global rank: 54th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.755 | Africa rank: 1st out of 51 | Global rank: 49th out of 169
LGBT equality index: 61% | Africa rank: 3rd out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 55% | Public opinion: 66%
Urbanisation: 57.1% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 5.5% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 20.6% of seats
Internet access: 86.7% of inhabitants use the internet

SEYCHELLES: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 73.3% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 0.6 million tonnes | 0.05% of African total | 0.002% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 5.9 tonnes | 6.6 x African average | 1.4 x world average

SEYCHELLES: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: English, French, Seychellois Creole
Colonised by: France 1756-1794 | Britain 1794-1976
Independence: 1976 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: Aldabra Atoll, four coral islands enclosing a lagoon and surrounded by a coral reef. Protected from human intrusion, the atoll is a safe haven for some 152,000 giant tortoises, the world’s largest population of the reptile.

Sierra Leone

The Old Cotton Tree in the oldest part of Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, with the country’s Supreme Court building to the left. The massive tree, thought to be about 500 years old, is a historic symbol of the city. On 11 March 1792 some 400 African slaves, liberated for fighting for the British in the American War of Independence, landed on the shore of modern Freetown. They walked up to the great tree above the bay and there held a service of thanksgiving for their freedom.
Photo credit bobthemagicdragon

SIERRA LEONE: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 8.6 million | 0.6% of Africa’s population
Population density: 120.5 people per square kilometre | 2.3 x African average
Surface area: 72,300 square kilometres | 0.2% of Africa
Capital city: Freetown

SIERRA LEONE: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: leone (SLL)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $3.5 billion | 0.1% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $404.50 | 0.2 x African average
Agriculture: 60% of economy
Industry: 6.8% of economy
Services and other: 33.1% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 3.2%
Share of women in the labour force: 51.4%
Share of men in the labour force: 56.2%

SIERRA LEONE: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 67.7% | United Arab Emirates 5% | Belgium 4.8%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 34% | India 10.5% | United States 5.8%
Exports value: $521 million | 0.09% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $2 billion | 0.3% of Africa’s imports

SIERRA LEONE: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 51.1% (2018) | Africa rank: 36th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.467 | Africa rank: 46th out of 54 | Global rank: 185th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.281 | Africa rank: 44th out of 51 | Global rank: 162nd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.566 | Africa rank: 33rd out of 49 | Global rank: 152nd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 14% | Africa rank: 30th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 22% | Public opinion: 6%
Urbanisation: 42.5% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.3% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 29.5% of seats
Internet access: 30.4% of inhabitants use the internet

SIERRA LEONE: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 34.8% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 1.3 million tonnes | 0.1% of African total | 0.004% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

SIERRA LEONE: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: English
Other languages: Temne, Mende, Krio (Sierra Leonean Creole)
Colonised by: Britain 1792-1961
Independence: 1961 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: Bunce Island on the Sierra Leone River was established as a slave trading station in 1670. From here British traders shipped tens of thousands of African slaves to the Americas.

Somalia

Women selling tea in Buur-Hakba, a city in southwestern Somalia some 180 kilometres inland from the coastal capital of Mogadishu.
Photo credit Stuart Price, UN Photo

SOMALIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 19 million | 1.3% of Africa’s population
Population density: 30.3 people per square kilometre | 0.6 x African average
Surface area: 637,657 square kilometres | 2.2% of Africa
Capital city: Mogadishu

SOMALIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Somali shilling (SOS)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $10.4 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $592.10 | 0.3 x African average
Agriculture: 60.2% of economy
Industry: 7.4% of economy
Services and other: 32.5% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 19.1%
Share of women in the labour force: 21.2%
Share of men in the labour force: 47.3%

SOMALIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): United Arab Emirates 44. 3% | Oman 33.4% | Saudi Arabia 8.4%
Major import partners (share of imports): United Arab Emirates 33. 7% | China 19.1% | India 16.1%
Exports value: $833 million | 0.1% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $4 billion | 0.6% of Africa’s imports

SOMALIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 55% (2016) | Africa rank: 22nd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.404 | Africa rank: 53rd out of 54 | Global rank: 192nd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.229 | Africa rank: 50th out of 51 | Global rank: 168th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.675 | Africa rank: 48th out of 49 | Global rank: 170th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 1% | Africa rank: 54th out of 54
Urbanisation: 45.6% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 0% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 19.6% of seats
Internet access: 27.6% of inhabitants use the internet

COUNTRY: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 9.4% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 0.6 million tonnes | 0.05% of African total | 0.002% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.3 tonnes | 0.3 x African average | 0.007 x world average

SOMALIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Somali, Arabic
Colonised by: Britain 1884-1960 | Italy 1889-1941 | UN trust territory 1946-1960
Independence: 1960 – from Britain and UN

South Africa

Canola fields and the South African town of Clanwilliam in the Olifants River valley region of the Cederberg. Cape Town’s Table Mountain can be seen in the distance, 200 kilometres to the south.
Photo credit Damien du Toit

SOUTH AFRICA: OVERVIEW
Region: Southern Africa
Population: 64 million | 4.2% of Africa’s population
Population density: 52.4 people per square kilometre | 1 x African average
Surface area: 1,221,037 square kilometres | 4.1% of Africa
Capital city: Pretoria

SOUTH AFRICA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Upper middle income
Currency: rand (ZAR)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $405.3 billion | 14.1% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $6,766.50 | 3.4 x African average
Agriculture: 3.2% of economy
Industry: 27.5% of economy
Services and other: 69.4% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 28.6%
Share of women in the labour force: 52.2%
Share of men in the labour force: 64.1%

SOUTH AFRICA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 11.3% | United States 7.5% | Germany 6.8%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 20.5% | United States 8.6% | Germany 8.1%
Exports value: $110.6 billion | 19% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $107.1 billion | 15.6% of Africa’s imports

SOUTH AFRICA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 67% (2017) | Africa rank: 1st out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: High | Score 0.741 | Africa rank: 6th out of 54 | Global rank: 106th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.476 | Africa rank: 11th out of 51 | Global rank: 119th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.388 | Africa rank: 5th out of 49 | Global rank: 95th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 67% | Africa rank: 2nd out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 77% | Public opinion: 58%
Urbanisation: 66.9% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 6.6% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 46% of seats
Internet access: 74.7% of inhabitants use the internet

SOUTH AFRICA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 14% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 434.2 million tonnes | 33.4% of African total | 1.3% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 7.3 tonnes | 8.1 x African average | 1.7 x world average

SOUTH AFRICA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sesotho sa Leboa, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga
Colonised by: Netherlands 1562-1795 | Britain 1795-1961 | internal white minority 1961-1994
Independence: 1961 – from Britain | 1994 – first democratic elections
World Heritage Sites: South Africa has nine Unesco World Heritage Sites. Five are cultural, three natural, and one of mixed cultural and natural heritage. The five cultural sites are the ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape, the Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, the Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, Robben Island, and the country’s rich fossil hominid sites. The three natural sites are the Cape Floral Region, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the ancient Vredefort Dome meteor impact site. Finally, the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Mountains are valued for both their natural beauty and the rich cultural heritage of San Bushman paintings found in their caves and rock shelters.

South Sudan

The Kush Dance Group performs at the Comedy for Peace event at the Nyakuron Cultural Centre in Juba on 23 April 2017. The event featured the best of South Sudanese comedians and musicians, including Emmanuel Kembe, Woklii, Feel Free, Lotole Captain Eddy and Kon Kuol Kon.
Photo credit Amanda Voisard, UN Photo

SOUTH SUDAN: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 11.9 million | 0.8% of Africa’s population
Population density: 21.2 people per square kilometre | 0.4 x African average
Surface area*: 646,883 square kilometres | 2.2% of Africa
Capital city: Juba

SOUTH SUDAN: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: South Sudanese pound (SSP)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $4.6 billion | 0.2% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $423.00 | 0.2 x African average
Agriculture: 2.8% of economy
Industry: 62.5% of economy
Services and other: 34.7% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 11.8%
Share of women in the labour force: 70.4%
Share of men in the labour force: 71.2%

SOUTH SUDAN: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): China 66.8% | Singapore 11.3% | United Arab Emirates 10%
Major import partners (share of imports): Uganda 40.5% | United Arab Emirates 20.5% | Kenya 12.2%
Exports value: $631 million | 0.1% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $1.3 billion | 0.2% of Africa’s imports

SOUTH SUDAN: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 58% (2017) | Africa rank: 12nd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.388 | Africa rank: 54th out of 54 | Global rank: 193rd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.226 | Africa rank: 51st out of 51 | Global rank: 169th out of 169
LGBT equality index: 8% | Africa rank: 46th out of 54
Urbanisation: 19.9% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 1.6% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 32.4% of seats
Internet access: 12.1% of inhabitants use the internet

SOUTH SUDAN: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 11.3% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 1.8 million tonnes | 0.1% of African total | 0.005% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

SOUTH SUDAN: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: English
Other languages: Bari, Dinka, Luo, Murle, Nuer, Zande and some 60 others
Colonised by: Britain 1889-1956 | Sudan 1956-2011
Independence: 1956 – from Britain | 2011 – from Sudan

Sudan

The pyramids of Kushite rulers at Meroë, an ancient city on the banks of the Nile River in eastern Sudan. Meroë was the capital of the Kingdom of Kush, one of the earliest and largest states in precolonial sub-Saharan Africa, which flourished from around 1,000 BCE to 350 CE.
Photo credit Valerian Guillot

SUDAN: OVERVIEW
Region: Northern Africa
Population: 50.4 million | 3.3% of Africa’s population
Population density: 28.6 people per square kilometre | 0.6 x African average
Capital city: Khartoum

SUDAN: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Sudanese pound (SDG)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $36.7 billion | 1.3% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $783.60 | 0.4 x African average
Agriculture: 20.1% of economy
Industry: 21.7% of economy
Services and other: 58.1% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 20.8%
Share of women in the labour force: 28%
Share of men in the labour force: 67.6%

SUDAN: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): United Arab Emirates 43. 6% | China 13.9% | Malaysia 7.4%
Major import partners (share of imports): United Arab Emirates 19. 3% | India 17.7% | Saudi Arabia 15%
Exports value: $11.7 billion | 2% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $5.8 billion | 0.8% of Africa’s imports

SUDAN: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 53.8% (2014) | Africa rank: 27th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Low | Score 0.511 | Africa rank: 39th out of 54 | Global rank: 176th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.328 | Africa rank: 36th out of 51 | Global rank: 152nd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.588 | Africa rank: 38th out of 49 | Global rank: 158th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 14% | Africa rank: 30th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 9% | Public opinion: 19%
Urbanisation: 34.9% of inhabitants live in cities
:% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 27.7% of seats
Internet access: 28.7% of inhabitants use the internet

SUDAN: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 9.7% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 20.6 million tonnes | 1.6% of African total | 0.06% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.4 tonnes | 0.4 x African average | 0.1 x world average

SUDAN: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Arabic, English
Colonised by: Egypt 1820-1885 | Britain 1899-1956
Independence: 1956 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: The archaeological sites of Gebel Barkal and the Napatan region in the Nile valley, testimony to the Napatan (900 to 270 BC) and Meroitic (270 BC to 350 AD) cultures of the second kingdom of Kush.

Tanzania

The waterfront skyline of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city. With 4.4-million people, Dar is the biggest city in East Africa and home to the largest Swahili-speaking population in the world. It was founded in 1865 by Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar, who gave the city its name. Dar es Salaam means “place of peace” in Arabic.
Photo credit David Stanley

TANZANIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 68.6 million | 4.5% of Africa’s population
Population density: 77.4 people per square kilometre | 1.5 x African average
Surface area: 947,303 square kilometres | 3.2% of Africa
Capital city: Dodoma

TANZANIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Tanzanian shilling (TZS)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $73.5 billion | 2.6% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,153.80 | 0.6 x African average
Agriculture: 28.4% of economy
Industry: 33.5% of economy
Services and other: 38.2% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 2.5%
Share of women in the labour force: 77.2%
Share of men in the labour force: 86%

TANZANIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): India 21.4% | South Africa 15.4% | United Arab Emirates 9.4%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 27.5% | India 12.9% | United Arab Emirates 9.4%
Exports value: $7.3 billion | 1.2% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $15.1 billion | 2.2% of Africa’s imports

TANZANIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 54.8% (2018) | Africa rank: 23rd out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.555 | Africa rank: 30th out of 54 | Global rank: 165th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.391 | Africa rank: 20th out of 51 | Global rank: 134th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.504 | Africa rank: 20th out of 49 | Global rank: 134th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 14% | Africa rank: 30th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 13% | Public opinion: 14%
Urbanisation: 34.5% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.4% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 37.4% of seats
Internet access: 31.9% of inhabitants use the internet

TANZANIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 51.1% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 15.9 million tonnes | 1.2% of African total | 0.05% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

TANZANIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Languages: Swahili, English
Colonised by: Germany 1885-1919 | Britain 1920-1963
Independence: Tanganyika 1961 – from Britain | Zanzibar and Pemba 1963 – from Britain | Union 1964
World Heritage Site: Kilimanjaro National Park

Togo

An African Cup of Nations qualifier football match between Togo and Gabon at the Stade de Kégué in Lomé, the Togolese capital, on 14 October 2012. Togo won by two goals to one.
Photo credit Panoramas

TOGO: OVERVIEW
Region: Western Africa
Population: 9.5 million | 0.6% of Africa’s population
Population density: 174.9 people per square kilometre | 3.4 x African average
Surface area: 56,785 square kilometres | 0.2% of Africa
Capital city: Lomé

TOGO: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: CFA franc, Central Bank of West African States (XOF)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $8.1 billion | 0.3% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $913.90 | 0.5 x African average
Agriculture: 20.6% of economy
Industry: 22.6% of economy
Services and other: 56.7% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 3.7%
Share of women in the labour force: 56.2%
Share of men in the labour force: 59.7%

TOGO: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): India 22.5% | Burkina Faso 9.2% | Benin 8.4%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 19% | France 9% | India 7.9%
Exports value: $1.5 billion | 0.3% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $3.0 billion | 0.4% of Africa’s imports

TOGO: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 52.9% (2022) | Africa rank: 31st out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.571 | Africa rank: 27th out of 54 | Global rank: 161st out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.363 | Africa rank: 24th out of 51 | Global rank: 139th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.564 | Africa rank: 31st out of 49 | Global rank: 150th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 9% | Africa rank: 44th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 6% | Public opinion: 12%
Urbanisation: 42.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 4.2% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 18.9% of seats
Internet access: 37.6% of inhabitants use the internet

TOGO: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 22.2% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 1.8 million tonnes | 0.1% of African total | 0.005% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.2 tonnes | 0.2 x African average | 0.05 x world average

TOGO: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: French
Other languages: Ewe, Kabiyé, Gbe languages, Kotocoli
Colonised by: Germany 1884-1916 | France 1916-1960
Independence: 1960 – from France
World Heritage Site: Koutammakou, the land of the Batammariba people, whose remarkable mud tower-houses (takienta) have become a symbol of Togo.

Tunisia

The Demna Baptistry, from the sixth century CE. This large Christian baptismal font was designed to allow the whole body of the baptised person to be submerged in water. Discovered in Demna, Jbal Lahmar, near Tunis in Tunisia, it is one of the finest early Christian mosaics found in Africa and in the whole of the ancient Roman world.
Photo credit Dennis Jarvis

TUNISIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Northern Africa
Population: 12.3 million | 0.8% of Africa’s population
Population density: 79 people per square kilometre | 1.5 x African average
Surface area: 163,610 square kilometres | 0.6% of Africa
Capital city: Tunis

TUNISIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Tunisian dinar (TND)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $46.2 billion | 1.6% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $3,737.50 | 1.9 x African average
Agriculture: 10.5% of economy
Industry: 24.8% of economy
Services and other: 64.7% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 17.7%
Share of women in the labour force: 26.9%
Share of men in the labour force: 68.9%

TUNISIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): France 22.3%, Italy 16.8%, Germany 12.9%
Major import partners (share of imports): Italy 14.6%, China 10.5%, France 10.4%
Exports value: $20.3 billion | 3.5% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $25.9 billion | 3.8% of Africa’s imports

TUNISIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 40.9% (2022) | Africa rank: 48th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: High | Score 0.746 | Africa rank: 5th out of 54 | Global rank: 105th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.595 | Africa rank: 4th out of 51 | Global rank: 93rd out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.238 | Africa rank: 1st out of 49 | Global rank: 62nd out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 14% | Africa rank: 30th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 13% | Public opinion: 15%
Women in national parliament hold 15.7% of seats
Urbanisation: 69.3% of inhabitants live in cities (2020)
Government spending on education: 6.2 % of GDP (2015)
Internet access: 73.8% of inhabitants use the internet

TUNISIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 4.5% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 26.9 million tonnes | 2.1% of African total | 0.08% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 2.2 tonnes | 2.4 x African average | 0.5 x world average

TUNISIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Arabic
Other languages: Berber, French
Colonised by: France 1881-1956
Independence: 1956 – from France
World Heritage Site: The Amphitheatre of El Jem, built during the third century.

Uganda

The fields of small-scale farmers blanket hillsides in Kikungiri near the town of Kabale in southeastern Uganda.
Photo credit Rod Waddington

UGANDA: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 50 million | 3.3% of Africa’s population
Population density: 250.3 people per square kilometre | 4.9 x African average
Surface area: 241,550 square kilometres | 0.8% of Africa
Capital city: Kampala

UGANDA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Low income
Currency: Uganda shilling (UGX)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $48.2 billion | 1.7% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,021.00 | 0.5 x African average
Agriculture: 27.1% of economy
Industry: 28.2% of economy
Services and other: 44.7% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 2.8%
Share of women in the labour force: 67.6%
Share of men in the labour force: 72.3%

UGANDA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): United Arab Emirates 26.8% | Kenya 13.3% | South Sudan 12.2%
Major import partners (share of imports): China 18.2% | India 11.6% | Tanzania 9%
Exports value: $5.6 billion | 1% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $12.6 billion | 1.8% of Africa’s imports

UGANDA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 56.8% (2020) | Africa rank: 17th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.582 | Africa rank: 24th out of 54 | Global rank: 157th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.4 | Africa rank: 17th out of 51 | Global rank: 131st out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.524 | Africa rank: 25th out of 49 | Global rank: 141st out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 9% | Africa rank: 44th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 1% | Public opinion: 18%
Urbanisation: 24.4% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.6% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 33.9% of seats
Internet access: 10% of inhabitants use the internet

UGANDA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 11.5% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 5.7 million tonnes | 0.4% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.1 tonnes | 0.1 x African average | 0.02 x world average

UGANDA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: English and Swahili
Other languages: Around 40 other languages
Colonised by: Britain 1894-1962
Independence: 1962 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: The Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi, the former palace of the Kabakas of Buganda, built in 1882 and converted into a royal burial ground in 1884.

WESTERN SAHARA: OVERVIEW
Region: Northern Africa
Population: 590,000 | 0.04% of Africa’s population
Population density: 2.2 people per square kilometre | 0.04 x African average
Surface area: 266,000 square kilometres | 0.9% of Africa
Capital city: El Aaiún

WESTERN SAHARA: ECONOMY
Currency: Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Labour force unemployment rate: 8.1%
Share of women in the labour force: 31%
Share of men in the labour force: 79.5%

WESTERN SAHARA: INDICATORS & ENVIRONMENT
Urbanisation: 86.8% of inhabitants live in cities
Forests: 2.5% of land area

WESTERN SAHARA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Languages: Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic, Berber, Spanish
Colonised by: Spain 1884-1975 | Morocco 1975-present

Zambia

An aerial view of the massive Zambezi River – which gives Zambia its name – and the Victoria Falls. The waterfall, named Mosi-oa-Tunya or “the smoke that thunders” in Tokaleya Tonga, is said to be the biggest in the world. Its combined width of 1,708 metres and height of 108 metres result in the world’s largest sheet of falling water. Here Zambia’s border with Zimbabwe runs along the middle of the river, with Zimbabwe on the left and Zambia on the right. The steel Victoria Falls bridge at lower left is a border post between the countries.
Photo credit Dsopfe

ZAMBIA: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 21.3 million | 1.4% of Africa’s population
Population density: 28.7 people per square kilometre | 0.6 x African average
Surface area: 752,612 square kilometres | 2.5% of Africa
Capital city: Lusaka

ZAMBIA: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Zambian kwacha (ZMW)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $29.1 billion | 1% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,455.50 | 0.7 x African average
Agriculture: 3.3% of economy
Industry: 37.6% of economy
Services and other: 59.1% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 4.2%
Share of women in the labour force: 52.1%
Share of men in the labour force: 67.2%

ZAMBIA: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): Switzerland 41.4% | China 17.7% | Democratic Republic of the Congo 15.4%
Major import partners (share of imports): South Africa 25.8% | China 16.2% | United Arab Emirates 8.2%
Exports value: $10.4 billion | 1.8% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $10.1 billion | 1.5% of Africa’s imports

ZAMBIA: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 63.1% (2022) | Africa rank: 4th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.595 | Africa rank: 22nd out of 54 | Global rank: 154th out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.361 | Africa rank: 25th out of 51 | Global rank: 140th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.524 | Africa rank: 25th out of 49 | Global rank: 141st out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 8% | Africa rank: 46th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 9% | Public opinion: 8%
Urbanisation: 44.1% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 3.9% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 15% of seats
Internet access: 31.2% of inhabitants use the internet

ZAMBIA: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 60% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 7 million tonnes | 0.5% of African total | 0.02% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.4 tonnes | 0.4 x African average | 0.1 x world average

ZAMBIA: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official language: English
Other languages: Nyanja, Bemba, Chewa, Lozi, Kaonde, Lunda, Tonga, Luvale and around 60 others
Colonised by: Britain
Independence: 1964 – from Britain
World Heritage Site: The Victoria Falls – Mosi-oa-Tunya, “the smoke that thunders” – is the world’s largest sheet of falling water, significant for the beauty of its spray, mist and permanent rainbows.

Zimbabwe

Inside the citadel of Great Zimbabwe, the ancient Shona city in the southeastern province of Masvingo. The 722-hectare city was the capital of the medieval Kingdom of Zimbabwe, which flourished for over two centuries from 1220 to 1450.
Photo credit Amanda Anderson

ZIMBABWE: OVERVIEW
Region: Eastern Africa
Population: 16.6 million | 1.1% of Africa’s population
Population density: 43 people per square kilometre | 0.8 x African average
Surface area: 390,757 square kilometres | 1.3% of Africa
Capital city: Harare

ZIMBABWE: ECONOMY
World Bank classification: Lower middle income
Currency: Zimbabwe dollar (ZWL)
Gross domestic product (GDP): $26.4 billion | 0.9% of Africa’s GDP
Average GDP per person: $1,618.70 | 0.8 x African average
Agriculture: 8.1% of economy
Industry: 44.9% of economy
Services and other: 47% of economy
Labour force unemployment rate: 9%
Share of women in the labour force: 60.6%
Share of men in the labour force: 72.5%

ZIMBABWE: INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Major export partners (share of exports): South Africa 30.9% | United Arab Emirates 26.4% | China 17.7%
Major import partners (share of imports): South Africa 38% | China 14.9% | Bahamas 5.1%
Exports value: $7.2 billion | 1.2% of Africa’s exports
Imports value: $9.2 billion | 1.3% of Africa’s imports

ZIMBABWE: INDICATORS
Income inequality – Gini index: 62.8% (2019) | Africa rank: 6th out of 54 (higher score & rank = more inequality)
Human development index: Medium | Score 0.598 | Africa rank: 21st out of 54 | Global rank: 153rd out of 193
Inequality-adjusted human development index: Score 0.406 | Africa rank: 16th out of 51 | Global rank: 130th out of 169
Gender inequality index: Score 0.519 | Africa rank: 24th out of 49 | Global rank: 140th out of 172 (higher score = less equality; higher rank = more equality)
LGBT equality index: 13% | Africa rank: 35th out of 54 | Legal freedoms: 16% | Public opinion: 10%
Urbanisation: 32.2% of inhabitants live in cities
Government spending on education: 2.1% of GDP
Women in national parliament hold 28.8% of seats
Internet access: 32.6% of inhabitants use the internet

ZIMBABWE: ENVIRONMENT
Forests: 45% of land area
Annual carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions: 9.7 million tonnes | 0.7% of African total | 0.03% of world total
CO₂ emissions per person: 0.6 tonnes | 0.7 x African average | 0.1 x world average

ZIMBABWE: HISTORY & HERITAGE
Official languages: Chishona, isiNdebele, English and 13 others
Colonised by: Britain 1888-1964 | internal (white minority) 1964-1980
Independence: 1965 – from Britain (declared) | 1980 – first democratic elections
World Heritage Site: The ruins of Great Zimbabwe are a unique testimony to the Bantu civilization of the Shona between the 11th and 15th centuries.

Sources & notes

ALL SOURCES

Unless otherwise stated, information sourced from the World Statistics Pocketbook 2024, UN Statistics Division.

Other sources:

• FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
• Observatory of Economic Complexity
• International Trade Centre – Trade Map
• Human Development Report 2025, UN Development Programme
• Unesco World Heritage Centre
• CIA World Fact Book
• Wikimedia Commons
• Flickr Creative Commons

MAPS & PHOTOS

• Africa maps adapted from maps by Alvaro1984 18, Wikimedia Commons
• Country maps adapted from maps by ReliefWeb, a service provided by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
• Photos: See credit in captions.

ECONOMY

• World Bank income classification 2024: explanation
• World Bank income classification 2024: data

INDICATORS

• Income inequality – Gini index: explanation
• Income inequality – Gini index: UNU WIDER World Income Inequality Database
• Human development index, UNDP World Development Report 2025
• Inequality-adjusted human development index, UNDP World Development Report 2025
• Gender inequality index, UNDP World Development Report 2025
• Equaldex LGBT equality index in Africa

ENVIRONMENT

• Forests & CO₂ emissions: FAOSTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

HISTORY & HERITAGE

• Languages: CIA World Fact Book
• World Heritage Site: Unesco World Heritage Centre

Researched, written and designed by Mary Alexander.
Updated 16 September 2025.
Comments? Email mary1alexander@gmail.com

The post Africa from A to Z: fast facts on the 55 states appeared first on South Africa Gateway.

The founding provisions of South Africa’s constitution recognise 12 official languages: Afrikaans, English, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi (also known as Sesotho sa Leboa), Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga and, since 2023, South African Sign Language or SASL.

During colonialism and apartheid official languages were European – Dutch, English and Afrikaans. African languages, spoken by at least 80% of the people, were ignored. In 1996 a new constitution gave official protection to all of the country’s major languages.

South Africa has about 34 historically established languages. Thirty are living languages and four extinct Khoesan (Khoisan) languages.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

Jump to:

The 12 languages: overview and origins

South Africa’s 2022 census lists the languages most often spoken at home – the first or home language – of people aged one year and older.

IsiZulu is the largest language. According to the census, it’s the home language of almost a quarter (24.4%) of the population. Second is isiXhosa, spoken at home by 16.3%.

Afrikaans (10.6%) and Sepedi (10%) have roughly the same number of home language speakers, as do English (8.7%) and Setswana (8.3%).

Nationally, smaller official languages are Sesotho (7.8%), Xitsonga (4.7%), siSwati (2.8%), Tshivenda (2.5%) and isiNdebele (1.7%). But these languages are widely spoken in individual provinces.

Census 2022 estimates that South African Sign Language is used by fewer than 10,000 people – way under 0.1% of the population. But other estimates put its number of users at around 600,000. An official language since 2023, SASL is distinct from the hundreds of other sign languages deaf and hard of hearing people use elsewhere in the world.

The census also lists significant but unofficial home languages in South Africa. These are the Khoi, Nama and San languages (0.1%) of the Northern and Western Cape, and Namibia, as well as the Shona of Zimbabwe (1.2%), Malawi’s Chichewa (0.3%), and Portuguese (1.2%). Portuguese is the official language of both Mozambique and Angola, colonies of Portugal until 1975.

Another 2.1% of people in South Africa speak “other”, unspecified languages.

Maps of first-language speakers in South Africa, based on Census 2011 data.

South Africa’s language origins

English is an urban language of public life, widely used in the media, business and government. It’s estimated that nearly 31 million people – more than half the population – speak and understand the language. Out of the 5.2-million who speak English at home, more a third (34%) are white, a tenth (11%) black, 30% Indian/Asian and 23% coloured. Two-thirds of South Africa’s home-language English speakers are not white.

Afrikaans evolved out of a South Holland Dutch dialect brought to South Africa in the 1600s. Over the centuries it has picked up influences from African languages and from European colonial languages such as English, French and German. More than half (56%) of Afrikaans home-language speakers are coloured, 40% are white, 4% black and just 0.2% Indian/Asian.

Click to enlarge

South Africa’s nine African official languages are almost entirely spoken at home (99% or more) by black people.

The languages all fall into the Southern Bantu-Makua subfamily, part of the broad and branching Niger-Congo language family. They arrived in South Africa during the great expansion of Bantu-speaking people from West Africa eastwards and southwards into the rest of the continent. The expansion began in around 3,000 BCE and was largely complete by 1,000 CE.

Like all Niger-Congo languages they are tonal. Either a high or low tone gives a word a different meaning.

The nine African languages can be divided in two:

• Nguni-Tsonga languages: isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, siSwati, Xitsonga
• Sotho-Makua-Venda languages: Sesotho, Sepedi (Sesotho sa Leboa), Setswana, Tshivenda

In the first group Xitsonga alone falls into the Tswa-Ronga subfamily, while isiZulu, isiXhosa, isNdebele and siSwati are Nguni languages.

Sesotho, Sepedi and Setswana are closely related Sotho languages, and Tshivenda something of a standalone in the Sotho-Makua-Venda subfamily.

Multilingual South Africa

South Africa’s people are more than bilingual. A rough estimate based on Census 2001 first-language data and a 2002 study of second-languages speakers is that the average person – man, woman and child – uses 2.84 languages. Some may speak only one language, but many others may chat freely in three, four or more languages.

Click to enlarge

English- and Afrikaans-speaking people (mostly coloured, Indian/Asian and white people) tend not to have much ability in African languages, but are fairly fluent in each other’s language. Multilingualism is common among black people.

For this reason, South African censuses ask people which two languages they speak. The question in the 2011 census was:

Which two languages does (member of household) speak most often in this household?

Thirteen options were given: South Africa’s official languages,  and “other”. If a person did not speak a second language, that too was recorded.

The contrast between first language and second language is shown in the maps at right. While the geographical pattern of dominant first languages neatly conforms to the facts of history and urbanisation, the picture of second languages is more complicated, more of a mess.

The second map reveals a couple of things. The first is how few people in South Africa speak just one language. The second is that while English is the dominant first language only in the cities – Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban – it is widely used as a second language across the country. English is spread by the media and used as a common language of communication.

But many are compelled to learn English and Afrikaans simply to get a job. These are often poorer people denied an education.

Elsewhere in the world the ability to speak many languages is a sign of sophistication. In South Africa, multilingualism – a complex undertaking, especially in languages from different families – is a common achievement of the poor.

Code-switching South Africa

Language is fluid. In South Africa, languages are and have for centuries been in a constant swirl, mixed by work, migration, education, urbanisation, the places we live, friendship and marriage.

Code-switching is common. This simply means the use of one or more language in a single conversation. Every adult in South Africa does it, even if they aren’t aware of it.

Here’s an example of code-switching overheard at a football match. IsiZulu is in regular type, Afrikaans in bold and English in italics:

“I-Chiefs isidle nge-referee’s ngabe ihambe sleg.
Maar why benga stopi this system ye-injury time?”

A rough translation:

“Chiefs [the football club] won because the referee’s decisions were bad.
Why is this system of injury time not stopped?”

Influenced by other languages around them, South Africa’s languages change.

Who speaks what?

South Africa’s 2011 census recorded language breakdown by population group:

Data source: Statistics South Africa Census 2011

An increasingly intermingled society means it’s less easy to assign a single language to a single population group. But for the population as a whole, here’s a breakdown:

The languages of the provinces

The languages you hear in South Africa depend on where you are in the country.

In the Eastern Cape isiXhosa is spoken by 82% of the population, according to the 2022 census. IsiZulu is the largest language in both KwaZulu-Natal, where 80% speak it, and Gauteng, where it makes up 23% of languages. Sesotho is the language of the Free State, spoken by 72% people there. And so on …

South Africa’s provincial language distribution, from Census 2011 data:

Data source: Statistics South Africa Census 2011

According to the 2022 census, the main languages of each province are:

• Eastern Cape – isiXhosa (81.8%), Afrikaans (9.6%)
• Free State – Sesotho (72.3%), Afrikaans (10.3%)
• Gauteng – isiZulu (23.1%), Sesotho (13.1%), Sepedi (12.6%)
• KwaZulu-Natal – isiZulu (80%), English (14.4%)
• Limpopo – Sepedi/Sesotho sa Leboa (55.5%), Tshivenda (17.4%), Xitsonga (17.3%)
• Mpumalanga – siSwati (30.5%), isiZulu (27.8%)
• Northern Cape – Afrikaans (54.6%), Setswana (35.7%)
• North West – Setswana (72.8%), Sesotho (5.9), Afrikaans (5.2%)
• Western Cape – Afrikaans (41.2%), isiXhosa (31.4%), English (22%)

The languages

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older. South Africa is a multilingual country, so many speak one or more other languages.

Afrikaans

Also known as: isiBhuru (isiNdebele), isiBhulu (isiXhosa), isiBhunu (isiZulu), siBhunu (siSwati), Seburu (Sepedi), Xibunu (Xitsonga)
First-language users: 6,365,488 (10.6% of total population)
Most often spoken in: Western Cape (home to 46.4% of Afrikaans speakers), Gauteng (17.7%) and Northern Cape (10.9%)
Largest language in: Northern Cape (54.6% of provincial population) and Western Cape (41.2%)

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

Afrikaans evolved out of a 17th-century Dutch dialect introduced to South Africa in 1652 when the Dutch first colonised the Cape of Good Hope. It became an official language with the Official Languages of the Union Act of 1925. This retroactively dated its official status to 1910, when the Union of South Africa, a British dominion, was formed.

The 6,365,488 people who speak Afrikaans make up 10.6% of the country’s population. More than half (56%) are coloured, 40% white, 4% black, 0.2% Indian/Asian, and 1% “other”.

Among South Africa’s population groups, Afrikaans is spoken by 0.5% of black people, 72.6% of coloured people, 0.7% of Indian/Asian people, 58% of white people and 22.2% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

Most Afrikaans speakers (46.4%) live in the Western Cape, and 17.7% in Gauteng. For the rest, 10.9% are in the Northern Cape, 10.6% in the Eastern Cape and 4.6% in the Free State.

Afrikaans is the majority language of the Northern Cape (spoken by 54.6% of the provincial population) and the largest in the Western Cape (41.2%). It’s the second largest language (10.3%) in the Free State after Sesotho (72.3%), and in the Eastern Cape (9.6%) after isiXhosa (81.8%).

It makes up 7.7% of Gauteng’s languages and 5.2% of languages in North West.

English

Also known as: Engels (Afrikaans), isiNgisi (isiNdebele and isiZulu), isiNgesi (isiXhosa), Senyesemane (Sesotho), Seisemane (Sepedi), siNgisi (siSwati), Xinghezi (Xitsonga)
First-language users: 5,228,301 (8.7% of total population)
Most often spoken in: KwaZulu-Natal (home to 33% of English speakers), Western Cape (30.2%) and Gauteng (25.6%)
Minority language in all provinces

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

English is a prominent language in South African public life, widely used in government, business and the media. As a first language it is mainly confined to the cities.

In 1910 English and Dutch were declared the official languages of the new Union of South Africa, a dominion of Britain. English has retained this official status ever since.

The 5,228,301 people who speak English make up 8.7% of the country’s population. About 34% are white, 30% Indian/Asian, 23% coloured, 11% black and 2% “other”.

Among South Africa’s population groups, English is spoken by 1.2% of black people, 25.1% of coloured people, 94.6% of Indian/Asian people, 41.1% of white people and 32.3% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

A third (33%) of English speakers live in KwaZulu-Natal, another 30.2% in the Western Cape and a quarter (25.6%) in Gauteng. A further 6.4% live in the Eastern Cape.

Small minorities of English speakers (1.4% to 0.6%) are scattered across the remaining five provinces.

English is the second-largest language (14.4% of the provincial population) in KwaZulu-Natal after isiZulu (80%). It’s the third-largest in the Eastern Cape (4.8%) after isiXhosa (81.8%) and Afrikaans (9.6%), as well as in the Western Cape (22%) after Afrikaans (41.2%) and isiXhosa (31.4%).

• Read more: The online dictionary of South African English

isiNdebele

Also known as: Ndebele, Southern Ndebele, Ndzundza, isiKhethu
First-language users: 1,044,377 (1.7% of total population)
Most often spoken in: Mpumalanga (home to 47% of isiNdebele speakers), Gauteng (42.5%) and Limpopo (6.9%)
Minority language in all provinces

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

IsiNdebele is the second-smallest official language – after South African Sign Language – confined mainly to Mpumalanga and Gauteng.

It is an Nguni language, like isiZulu, isiXhosa and siSwati. Also called Southern Ndebele, it is not to be confused with Northern Ndebele, more commonly known as Matabele, which is closer to isiZulu and an official language of neighbouring Zimbabwe.

The 1,044,377 people who speak isiNdebele make up just 1.7% of the country’s population. Almost all (99.7%) are black.

Among South Africa’s population groups, IsiNdebele is spoken by 2.1% of black people, 0.1% of Indian/Asian people and 0.6% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

Most isiNdebele speakers (47%) live in Mpumalanga, followed by Gauteng (42.5%) and Limpopo (6.9%).

But it’s only the fifth-largest language (9.9% of the provincial population) in Mpumalanga, the 10th-largest (3.1%) in Gauteng and the seventh-largest (1.1%) in Limpopo.

Small minorities of isiNdebele speakers (1.4% to 0.6%) are scattered across the remaining six provinces.

isiXhosa

Also known as: Xhosa
First-language users: 9,786,928 (16.3% of total population)
Most often spoken in: Eastern Cape (home to 58.7% of isiXhosa speakers), Western Cape (23%) and KwaZulu-Natal (3.8%)
Largest language in: Eastern Cape (81.8% of provincial population)

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

The dominant language of the Eastern Cape, isiXhosa is also the second-largest language in South Africa after isiZulu. It is an Nguni language, like isiNdebele, isiZulu and siSwati, but also shows some influence from Khoisan languages.

The 9,786,928 people who speak isiXhosa make up 16.3% of the country’s population. Almost all (99.7%) are black.

Among South Africa’s population groups, isiXhosa is spoken by 20% of black people, 0.5% of coloured people, 0.3% of Indian/Asian people, 0.1% of white people and 3.3% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

Most (58.7%) isiXhosa speakers live in the Eastern Cape, with nearly a quarter (23%) in the Western Cape. A tenth (9.9%) live in Gauteng and 3.8% in KwaZulu-Natal.

Small minorities of isiXhosa speakers (1.8% to 0.1%) are scattered across the remaining five provinces.

IsiXhosa is the majority language in the Eastern Cape, where it is spoken by 81.8% of the population. It’s the Western Cape’s second-largest language (31.4%) after Afrikaans (41.2%).

IsiXhosa is also the third-largest language in the Free State (5.5%) after Sesotho (72.3%) and Afrikaans (10.3%), in KwaZulu-Natal (3.1%) after isiZulu (80%) and English (14.4%), and in the Northern Cape (4.5%) after Afrikaans (54.6%) and Setswana (35.7%).

isiZulu

Also known as: Zulu; Zoeloe, Zoeloetaal, Zulutaal (Afrikaans)
First-language users: 14,613,202 (24.4% of total population)
Most often spoken in: KwaZulu-Natal (home to 65.7% of isiZulu speakers), Gauteng (23%) and Mpumalanga (9.5%)
Largest language in: KwaZulu-Natal (80% of provincial population) and Gauteng (23.1%)

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

IsiZulu is the most widely spoken language in South Africa, the first language of close to a quarter of the population. It is the dominant language of KwaZulu-Natal. Like isiNdebele, isiXhosa and siSwati, isiZulu is an Nguni language.

The 14,613,202 people who speak isiZulu make up 24.4% of the country’s population. Almost all (99.4%) are black.

Among South Africa’s population groups, isiZulu is spoken by 29.9% of black people – more than any other language – as well as by 0.7% of coloured people, 0.6% of Indian/Asian people, 0.1% of white people and 1.6% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

Almost two-thirds (68.2%) of isiZulu-speaking people live in KwaZulu-Natal and nearly a quarter (23%) in Gauteng. A tenth (9.5%) live in Mpumalanga, which borders KwaZulu-Natal to the northwest.

Small minorities of isiZulu speakers (0.7% to 0.03%) are scattered across the remaining six provinces.

IsiZulu is the majority language in KwaZulu-Natal, spoken by 80% of the provincial population, and the largest in Gauteng (23.1%).

It’s the second-largest language (27.8%) in Mpumalanga after siSwati (30.5%).

Sepedi (Sesotho sa Leboa)

Also known as: Northern Sotho
First-language users: 5,972,255 (10% of total population)
Most often spoken in: Limpopo (home to 59.1% of Sepedi speakers), Gauteng (30.7%) and Mpumalanga (8.6%)
Largest language in: Limpopo (55.5% of provincial population)

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

Sesotho sa Leboa or Sepedi?
The 1993 interim Constitution named the language Sesotho sa Leboa. It was then changed to Sepedi in the final Constitution of 1996. Debate on the name continues.

Sepedi is South Africa’s third-largest African language after isiZulu and isiXhosa, mainly spoken in Limpopo. Like Sesotho and Setswana, it belongs to the Sotho-Tswana subfamily of languages.

The 5,972,255 people who speak Sepedi make up 10% of the total population. Almost all (99.7%) are black.

Among South Africa’s population groups, Sepedi is spoken by 12.2% of black people, 0.2% of coloured people, 0.2% of Indian/Asian people, 0.1% of white people and 0.3% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

Most (59.1%) Sepedi speakers live in Limpopo, almost a third (30.7%) in Gauteng and 8.6% in Mpumalanga.

Small minorities of Sepedi speakers (1.3% to 0.02%) are scattered across the remaining six provinces.

Sepedi is the majority language in Limpopo, spoken by 55.5% of the provincial population. It’s the third-largest language in Gauteng (12.6%) after isiZulu (23.1%) and Sesotho (13.1%).

Sesotho

Also known as: Southern Sotho, Sesoeto (Afrikaans)
First-language users: 4,678,964 (7.8% of total population)
Most often spoken in: Free State (home to 44.2% of Sesotho speakers) and Gauteng (40.6%)
Largest language in: Free State (72.3% of provincial population)

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

Sesotho is the language of the Free State, a bean-shaped province whose inner curve fits around the northwest border of Lesotho, a country where it is the dominant language.

It is one of South Africa’s three Sotho-Tswana languages, with Sepedi and Setswana.

The 4,678,964 people who speak Sesotho make up 7.8% of the total population. Almost all (99.5%) are black.

Among South Africa’s population groups, Sesotho is spoken by 9.6% of black people, 0.3% of coloured people, 0.1% of Indian/Asian people and 2.4% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

Most of the Sesotho-speaking population is almost equally divided between the Free State (44.2%) and Gauteng (40.6%). Another 4.6% live in North West, 3.5% in the Eastern Cape and 2.4% in Mpumalanga.

Small minorities of Sesotho speakers (1.6% to 0.3%) are scattered across the remaining four provinces.

It is the majority language in the Free State, where 72.3% of the population are Sesotho-speakers. It’s also the second-largest language (13.1%) in Gauteng after isiZulu (23.1%), and in North West (5.9%) after Setswana (72.8%).

Setswana

Also known as: Tswana, Sechuana, Chuana
First-language users: 4,972,787 (8.3% of total population)
Most often spoken in: North West (home to 53.7% of Setswana speakers), Gauteng (30.5%) and Northern Cape (9.2%)
Largest language in: North West (72.8% of provincial population)

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

The language of North West and its neighbouring country of Botswana, Setswana is the Tswanaic language in the Sotho-Tswana subfamily, which it shares with Sesotho and Sepedi.

The 4,972,787 people who speak Setswana make up 8.3% of the total population. Almost all (99.6%) are black.

Among South Africa’s population groups, Setswana is spoken by 10.2% of black people, 0.4% of coloured people, 0.1% of Indian/Asian people and 0.5% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

More than half (53.7%) of Setswana speakers live in North West, nearly a third (30.5%) in Gauteng, and close on a tenth (9.2%) in the Northern Cape. Both North West and the Northern Cape lie on the border of Botswana, a country where about 77% of the population speak Setswana.

Another 3.1% live in the Free State. Small minorities of Setswana speakers (1.7% to 0.05%) are scattered across the remaining five provinces.

Setswana is the majority language in North West, spoken by 72.8% of the provincial population. It’s the second-largest language in the Northern Cape (35.7%) after Afrikaans (54.6%).

siSwati

Also known as: Swati, Swazi
First-language users: 1,692,719 (2.8% of total population)
Most often spoken in: Mpumalanga (home to 89.7% of siSwati speakers) and Gauteng (30.5%)
Largest language in: Mpumalanga (30.5% of provincial population)

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

SiSwati is mostly spoken in Mpumalanga, whose curved eastern border almost encircles Eswatini, a country where it is the major language. It is an Nguni language, like isiNdebele, isiXhosa and isiZulu.

The 1,692,719 people who speak siSwati make up 2.8% of the total population. Almost all (99.6%) are black.

Among South Africa’s population groups, siSwati is spoken by 3.5% of black people, 0.1% of coloured people, 0.1% of Indian/Asian people and 0.2% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

The vast majority of siSwati speakers (89.7%) live in Mpumalanga, with the remaining third (30.5%) in Gauteng. Small minorities (1.1% to 0.02%) are scattered across the other seven provinces.

It’s also the largest language in Mpumalanga, spoken by 30.5% of the provincial population.

Tshivenda

Also known as: Venda, Chivenda
First-language users: 1,480,565 (2.5% of total population)
Most often spoken in: Limpopo (home to 75.6% of Tshivenda speakers) and Gauteng (23.2%)
Minority language in all provinces

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

Tshivenda is something of a standalone among South Africa’s major African languages, falling into the broader Sotho-Makua-Venda subfamily but not part of the Sotho group. It is mostly spoken in the far northeast of Limpopo.

The 1,480,565 people who speak Tshivenda make up 2.5% of the total population. Almost all (100%) are black.

Among South Africa’s population groups, Tshivenda is spoken by 3% of black people and by 0.2% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

Close to three quarters (74.6%) of Tshivenda speakers live in Limpopo and almost a quarter (23.2%) in Gauteng. Small minorities (0.95% to 0.04%) are scattered across the other seven provinces.

Tshivenda is the second-largest language in Limpopo, spoken by 17.4% of the provincial population. The largest is Sepedi (55.5%).

Xitsonga

Also known as: Tsonga, Shangaan, Shangana, Vatsonga
Most often spoken in: Limpopo (home to 39.4% of Tshivenda speakers), Gauteng (36.6%) and Mpumalanga (19%)
Minority language in all provinces

All figures are from Census 2022 and refer to first language – the language most often spoken at home by people aged one and older.

Xitsonga is a minority language concentrated along South Africa’s northeast border with the country of Mozambique, where it is also spoken.

It is part of the broader Nguni-Tsonga language subfamily, which it shares with isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu and siSwati. But it alone falls into the Tswa-Ronga group, while the others are Nguni.

The 2,784,279 people who speak Xitsonga make up 4.7% of the country’s population. Almost all (99.7%) are black.

Among South Africa’s population groups, Xitsonga is spoken by 5.7% of black people, 0.1% of coloured people, 0.1% of Indian/Asian people and 1.2% of people who describe themselves as “other”.

Data from Statistics South Africa’s Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (March 2025), based on Census 2022.

Nearly two-fifths (39.4%) of Xitsonga-speaking people live in Limpopo, over a third (36.6%) in Gauteng, 19% in Mpumalanga and 4% in North West. Small minorities (0.44% to 0.03%) are scattered across the other seven provinces.

Xitsonga is the third-largest language in Limpopo (spoken by 17.3% of the provincial population) after Sepedi (55.5%) and Tshivenda (17.4%). It’s also the third-largest in Mpumalanga (10.6%) after siSwati (30.5%) and isiZulu (27.8%).

Sources and notes

• Statistics South Africa: Cultural Dynamics in South Africa (2025)
• Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996
• Statistics South Africa Census 2022
• Statistics South Africa Census 2011
• Adrian Frith: Census 2011
• Glottolog – Comprehensive reference information for the world’s languages, especially the lesser known languages.
• Ethnologue: Languages of South Africa, 20th edition data (2017)
• Pharos South African Multilingual Dictionary (2014) ISBN 9781868901975
• Language in South Africa: The role of language in national transformation, reconstruction and development (2002) by Victor Webb. ISBN 9789027297631
• “The twelve modern Khoisan languages” (2013) by Matthias Bretzinger. In Khoisan languages and linguistics, Proceedings of the 3rd international symposium. ISBN 9783896458735

Researched, written and designed by Mary Alexander
Updated July 2025
Comments? Email mary1alexander@gmail.com

The graphics on this page are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.

The post The languages of South Africa appeared first on South Africa Gateway.

Nelson Mandela’s descendants include six children, 17 grandchildren, 19 great-grandchildren – and more. Download full-size image. (Mary Alexander, CC BY 4.0)

Mandela’s father was Mphakanyiswa Gadla Henry Mandela, who died in 1930. His mother was Nonqaphi Fanny Nosekeni, who died in 1968.

Mandela was married three times and had six children.

• READ MORE: Nelson Mandela 1918-2013: the timeline of a lifetime

Marriage and children

In 1944, at the age of 26, Mandela married Evelyn Ntoko Mase (1922-2004). They had four children together, three of whom died tragically.

Mandela’s first child, Madiba Thembekile Mandela – known as Thembi – was born in 1945. Thembi died in a car accident in 1969 while his father was in prison. Mandela was not allowed to attend his son’s funeral.

A second child, daughter Makaziwe (or Maki) Mandela, died in infancy in 1948.

Mandela and Evelyn Mase’s third child was Makgatho Lewanika Mandela, a son born in 1950. He died of an Aids-related illness in 2005.

Their fourth and surviving child was a daughter, Pumla Makaziwe Mandela – also known as Maki and named for her infant sister – who was born in 1954.

Mandela and Evelyn Mase divorced on 19 March 1958.

On 14 June 1958 Mandela, aged 40, married Winnie (Winifred) Nomzamo Zanyiwe Madikizela, who was born in 1936.

They had two children, both daughters.

Zenani Dlamini-Mandela was born in 1959.

Zindziswa Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s youngest child, was born in 1960. Zindzi, as she was known, died on 13 July 2020 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. She was buried next to her mother on 17 July, the day before 18 July – her father’s birthday, known worldwide as Mandela Day.

Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela divorced on 19 March 1996.

On 18 July 1998 – his 80th birthday – Mandela married Graça Machel, who was born in 1945. Machel is the widow of slain Mozambican president Samora Machel.

Grandchildren

Nelson Mandela had 17 grandchildren, nine born to the children of Evelyn Mase and eight born to the children of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

Grandchildren with Evelyn Mase

Thembi Mandela had two daughters: Ndileka Mandela (born in 1965) and Nandi Mandela (born in 1968).

Makgatho Mandela had four sons: Mandla Mandela (born in 1974), Ndaba Mandela (born in 1983), Mbuso Mandela (born in 1991) and Andile Mandela (born in 1993).

Pumla Maki Mandela has three children: daughter Tukwini Mandela (born in 1974) and sons Dumani Mandela (born in 1976) and Kweku Mandela (born in 1985).

Grandchildren with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

Zenani Dlamini-Mandela has four children: daughters Zaziwe Manaway (born in 1977) and Zamaswazi Dlamini (born in 1979), and sons Zinhle Dlamini (born in 1980) and Zozuko Dlamini (born in 1992).

Zindzi Mandela also has four children: daughter Zoleka Mandela (born in 1980, died 2023) and sons Zondwa Mandela (born in 1985), Bambatha Mandela (born in 1989) and Zwelabo Mandela (born in 1992).

Great-grandchildren

The eldest of Mandela’s 19 great-grandchildren was born in 1984, while he was still in prison, and the youngest in 2017 – a span of 33 years.

Great-grandchildren with Evelyn Mase

Thembi Mandela’s family:

Nandi Mandela has a son: Hlanganani Mandela, born in 1986.

Ndileka Mandela has two children: son Thembela Mandela (born in 1984) and daughter Pumla Mandela (born in 1993).

Makgatho Mandela’s family:

Mandla Mandela has two sons: Qheya II Zanethemba Mandela (born in 2011) and Mntwanenkosi Mandela Ikraam Mandela (born in 2017).

Ndaba Mandela also has two sons: Lewanika Ngubencuka Mandela (born in 2010) and Makgabane Sandlasamadlomo Mandela (born in 2015).

Great-grandchildren with Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

Zenani Dlamini-Mandela’s family:

Zaziwe Manaway has three children: son Ziyanda Manaway (born in 2000), daughter Zipokhazi Manaway (born in 2009), and son Zenkosi John Brunson Manaway (born in 2012).

Zamaswazi Dlamini has a daughter: Zamakhosi Obiri (born in 2008).

Zinhle Dlamini has two daughters: Zinokuhle Marlo Dlamini (born in 2014) and Zenzelwe Marli Mandela Dlamini (born in 2016).

Zindzi Mandela’s family:

Zoleka Mandela had four children, two of whom have tragically died. Her daughter Zenani Mandela was born in 1997, and died in 2010. Her son Zenawe Zibuyile Mandela died in infancy in 2011. Zoleka’s surviving children are a son, Zwelami Mandela (born in 2003), and a daughter, Zanyiwe Zenzile Bashala (born in 2014).

On 25 September 2023 Zoleka Mandela herself died after a long battle with cancer. In a statement, the Nelson Mandela Foundation acknowledged her as a “tireless activist for healthcare and justice”.

Zondwa Mandela has two children: daughter Zazi Kazimla Vitalia Mandela (born in 2010) and son Ziwelene Linge Mandela (born in 2011).

Sources

• Nelson Mandela Foundation
• South African History Online
• Globe and Mail
• Daily Dispatch

Researched, designed and written by Mary Alexander.
Updated on 29 September 2024.
Comments? Email mary1alexander@gmail.com

The post Nelson Mandela’s family tree appeared first on South Africa Gateway.

Images from South Africa’s nine provinces. An Nguni cow on a beach on the Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape. The Brandwag rock in the eastern Free State. Street art in the Maboneng Precinct in Johannesburg, Gauteng. The Durban harbour in KwaZulu-Natal. Entabeni game reserve in Limpopo. Traditional Ndebele domestic artwork in Mpumalanga. Quiver trees in the Northern Cape. Mining in North West. A view of Lion’s Head from the suburb of Bo-Kaap in Cape Town, Western Cape.

South Africa’s nine provinces are the Eastern Cape, the Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape, North West and the Western Cape.

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History

Before 1996, South Africa had four provinces: the Transvaal and Orange Free State – previously Boer republics – and Natal and the Cape, once British colonies.

In 1910 these four states were united into a single country, the Union of South Africa, under British rule. This became the Republic of South Africa in 1960, under apartheid rule.

In the 1970s and eighties, under the apartheid doctrine of “separate development”, the map of South Africa was gradually spattered with the odd outlines of the “homelands”.

These unsustainable states were set up on disjointed parcels of land with no economic value. Laws were passed to make black South Africans citizens of these barren regions, denying black people’s citizenship of South Africa as a whole.

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In 1996, under South Africa’s new democratic constitution, the homelands were dismantled, citizenship restored and South Africa consolidated into today’s nine provinces.

Land area of the provinces

There are vast differences in the size of the provinces, from the small and crowded city region of Gauteng to the vast and empty Northern Cape.

Data source: Statistics South Africa Census 2022

The land area of South Africa’s nine provinces, from smallest to largest:

• Gauteng: 18,178 square kilometres (1.5% of total)
• Mpumalanga: 76,495 square kilometres (6.3%)
• KwaZulu-Natal: 94,361 square kilometres (7.7%)
• North West: 104,882 square kilometres (8.6%)
• Limpopo: 125,755 square kilometres (10.3%)
• Western Cape: 129,462 square kilometres (10.6%)
• Free State: 129,825 square kilometres (10.6%)
• Eastern Cape: 168,966 square kilometres (13.8%)
• Northern Cape: 372,889 square kilometres (30.5%)
• South Africa: 1,220,813 square kilometres (100%)

READ MORE: How big is South Africa?

Population of the provinces

The population of the provinces also varies considerably. Gauteng, the smallest province, has the largest number of people living there – over a quarter of South Africa’s population. The Northern Cape, which takes up nearly a third of the country’s land area, has the smallest population: just over 2.2% of the national total.

In 2024 South Africa’s provincial populations, and their share of the total, were:

• Eastern Cape: 7,176,230 (11.4%)
• Free State: 3,044,050 (4.8%)
• Gauteng: 15,931,824 (25.3%)
• KwaZulu-Natal: 12,312,712 (19.5%)
• Limpopo: 6,402,594 (10.2%)
• Mpumalanga: 5,057,662 (8.%)
• Northern Cape: 1,372,943 (2.2%)
• North West: 4,155,303 (6.6%)
• Western Cape: 7,562,588 (12.%)

READ MORE: South Africa’s population

CENSUS COUNTS OF PROVINCIAL POPULATIONS

South Africa has held three censuses in its recent democratic history: in 1996, 2001 and 2011. Over those 15 years, the population of the provinces shifted.

Data: Statistics South Africa

Gauteng’s population grew dramatically, overtaking that of KwaZulu-Natal – which saw significant growth of its own. Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West and the Western Cape also had notable increases in population. By contrast, the populations of the Eastern Cape, Free State and Northern Cape remained fairly static, as people migrated to other provinces.

READ MORE: Infographic: Census counts of South Africa’s population

Population density in the provinces

The variation in land area and population among South Africa’s population translates into huge differences in population density, according to 2017 data. Gauteng has an average of 785 people per square kilometre, while the Northern Cape has only three people for each square kilometre.

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Population density in South Africa’s nine provinces in 2017, from smallest to largest:

• Northern Cape: 3 people per square kilometre
• Free State: 22 people per square kilometre
• North West: 37 people per square kilometre
• Eastern Cape: 38 people per square kilometre
• Limpopo: 46 people per square kilometre
• Western Cape: 50 people per square kilometre
• Mpumalanga: 58 people per square kilometre
• KwaZulu-Natal: 117 people per square kilometre
• Gauteng: 785 people per square kilometre

Map of population density in South Africa’s nine provinces.

READ MORE: South Africa’s population

Provincial migration

South Africans migrate away from poverty to where the jobs are, moving from poorer provinces to the richer ones.

Gauteng is South Africa’s wealthiest province, mostly a city region and the centre of the country’s economy. It has the largest population, constantly swelled by migration. The province’s net migration rate (the number of people moving in minus people moving out) was nearly a million between 2011 and 2016.

Click animation to view from the start. Data: Statistics South Africa mid-year population estimates 2017

The Eastern Cape is the poorest province. Between 2011 and 2016 nearly half a million of its people migrated to other provinces, while only 170 000 or so moved into the province.

READ MORE: South Africa’s population

Province and population group

There is also a wide variation in the racial composition of the different provinces’ populations.

Census 2011 figures reveal that black people were the majority population group in seven of the nine provinces, comprising from 75% to 97% of the provincial total. Yet they made up less than a third of the population in the Western Cape (26.7%) and under a half in the Northern Cape (46.5%).

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The distribution of a population group can reflect that people’s history in the country.

In 2011, coloured people were found mainly in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape (respectively 61.1%, 12% and 10.7% of South Africa’s total coloured population). People of this group are largely descended from a mixture of slaves brought to what was then the Cape Colony, white immigrants to the colony, and indigenous Africans, particularly the Khoisan.

The majority (71.6%) of Indian/Asian people lived in KwaZulu-Natal in 2011. Many members of this group descend from indentured labourers brought to colonial Natal in the early 20th century to work on sugarcane plantations. Only 0.3% of Indians lived in the Free State (0.1% of the total Free State population), as they were forbidden by law to enter what was then the Orange Free State during the apartheid era.

Provincial distribution also reflects a group’s socioeconomic position. White people, the beneficiaries of the apartheid system, were largely found in the more developed and urbanised provinces of Gauteng (in 2011, 40.4% of the total white population, and 18.9% of the total Gauteng population) and the Western Cape (19.4% of the total white population, and 18.4% of the Western Cape population).

READ MORE: South Africa’s population

Languages of the provinces

There’s considerable variation in home languages between the provinces, according to Census 2011.

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IsiXhosa, for instance, is spoken by almost 80% of people in the Eastern Cape, while around 78% of those in KwaZulu-Natal speak isiZulu. IsiZulu is also the most common home language in Gauteng, but at a much smaller percentage. In the Western Cape and Northern Cape, Afrikaans comes into its own.

READ MORE: The languages of South Africa

The main languages in each province, according to Census 2011:

• Eastern Cape: isiXhosa 78.8%, Afrikaans 10.6%
• Free State: Sesotho 64.2%, Afrikaans 12.7%
• Gauteng: isiZulu 19.8%, English 13.3%, Afrikaans 12.4%, Sesotho 11.6%
• KwaZulu-Natal: isiZulu 77.8%, English 13.2%
• Limpopo: Sesotho 52.9%, Xitsonga 17%, Tshivenda 16.7%
• Mpumalanga: siSwati 27.7%, isiZulu 24.1%, Xitsonga 10.4%, isiNdebele 10.1%
• Northern Cape: Afrikaans 53.8%, Setswana 33.1%
• North West: Setswana 63.4%, Afrikaans 9%
• Western Cape: Afrikaans 49.7%, isiXhosa 24.7%, English 20.3%

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Economy of the provinces

Gauteng dominates almost all industries in South Africa, except agriculture and mining.

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In 2016 the main industries in each province were:

• Eastern Cape: government services 21%, trade, catering and accommodation 18%, finance 16%
• Free State: government services 15%, finance 14%, trade, catering and accommodation 13%
• Gauteng: finance 23%, government services 19%, manufacturing 14%
• KwaZulu-Natal: manufacturing 16%, finance 15%, government services 15%
• Limpopo: mining 25%, government services 18%, trade, catering and accommodation 13%
• Mpumalanga: mining 20%, trade, catering and accommodation 13%, manufacturing 13%
• Northern Cape: mining 19%, government services 15%, finance 12%
• North West: mining 30%, government services 12%, finance 12%
• Western Cape: finance 23%, trade, catering and accommodation 15%, manufacturing 14%

THE PROVINCE’S SHARE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S ECONOMY

Population size correlates with each province’s contribution to the national economy, with Gauteng having the biggest.

The tiny province punches way above its weight, making up 33.8% of South Africa’s gross domestic product in 2016 and around 5% of the GDP of Africa as a whole. Next is KwaZulu-Natal with 16%, followed by the Western Cape with 13.7%. These three provinces together contribute nearly two-thirds to total economy of South Africa.

In 2016 the value of each province’s economy, and its share of the total GDP of South Africa, was:

• Northern Cape: R91 billion (2.1% of South Africa’s GDP)
• Free State: R218 billion (5%)
• North West: R280 billion (6.4%)
• Limpopo: R312 billion (7.2%)
• Mpumalanga: R324 billion (7.4%)
• Eastern Cape: R331 billion (7.6%)
• Western Cape: R596 billion (13.7%)
• KwaZulu-Natal: R692 billion (15.9%)
• Gauteng: R1.5 trillion (34.6%)

Government of the provinces

The eye-catching architecture of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature in Galeshewe, Kimberley. Click image for a larger view. (Graeme Williams, MediaClub)

South Africa’s provinces are governed, in different ways, on a national, provincial and local level.

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

On the national level, South Africa has two houses of parliament: the National Assembly, and the National Council of Provinces. The second exists to ensure that the interests of each province are protected in the laws passed by the National Assembly.

Each one of South Africa’s nine provinces sends 10 representatives to the National Council of Provinces. Six of these are permanent members of the council, and four are special delegates.

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT

Each province has its own provincial government.

The provincial legislature has the power to pass laws in certain limited areas. The legislature has between 30 and 80 members depending on the province’s portion of the national voters’ roll.

The premier – the head of government in the province – governs the province together with other “members of the executive council”, known as MECs. Each MEC has a specific responsibility, such as health, education, tourism and transport.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

The nine provinces are each further divided into municipalities. Metropolitan municipalities are densely populated urban areas with major cities – such as Johannesburg or Durban – at their core. District municipalities are larger, less urban regions centred on one or more town or small city. District municipalities are further divided into local municipalities.

The cities of the provinces

Pietermaritzburg, the capital of KwaZulu-Natal. A contemporary statue of Mahatma Ghandi, an icon of resistance to colonial rule, stands against the heavily ornate facade of the Pietermaritzburg city hall, a building constructed during the era of the British Natal Colony. (E, CC BY-NC 2.0)

Each of the nine provinces has a provincial capital, the seat of provincial government. These are usually the largest city in the province – Johannesburg in Gauteng, for example, or Mahikeng in North West.

The exceptions are the Eastern Cape (Bhisho) and KwaZulu-Natal (Pietermaritzburg), which have smaller cities as their capitals for reasons of history. Cape Town in the Western Cape and Bloemfontein in the Free State also stand out for being both provincial capitals and two of the three capital cities of South Africa.

The provincial capitals and major cities of South Africa’s nine provinces are:

• Eastern Cape: Bhisho (capital) and Port Elizabeth (major city)
• Free State: Bloemfontein (capital and major city)
• Gauteng: Johannesburg (capital and major city)
• KwaZulu-Natal: Pietermaritzburg (capital) and Durban (major city)
• Limpopo: Polokwane (capital and major city)
• Mpumalanga: Mbombela (capital and major city) – also known as Nelspruit
• North West: Mahikeng (capital and major city) – formerly known as Mafeking, then as Mafikeng
• Northern Cape: Kimberley (capital and major city)
• Western Cape: Cape Town (capital and major city)

Data: Statistics South Africa Census 2011

Sources

• Census South Africa public database
• Statistics South Africa Census 2022
• Statistics South Africa Census 2011
• Statistics South Africa Community Survey 2016
• Statistics South Africa mid-year population estimates 2017
• Statistics South Africa gross domestic product, fourth quarter 2017
• United Nations Statistics Division World Statistics Pocketbook 2017
• World Bank Open Data
• MediaClub

Researched, written and designed by Mary Alexander.
Updated July 2025.
Comments? Email mary1alexander@gmail.com

The post The nine provinces of South Africa appeared first on South Africa Gateway.

A child plays in a restaurant in Vosloorus, a large township in Gauteng province. (Media Club)

The country has the sixth largest population in Africa – after Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania – and the 24th largest in the world.

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South Africa’s population: overview

According to Statistics South Africa’s 2024 mid-year population estimates, South Africa is home to 63,015,904 people.

Black people are in the majority, with a population of 51.5 million – 81.7% of the total. The remaining 18.3% is made up of 5.3 million coloured people (8.5%), 1.6 million Indian/Asian people (2.6%) and 4.5 million white people (7.2%).

Data source: Statistics South Africa mid-year population estimates 2024

These ratios have changed since the country became a democracy in 1994. The percentage of black people has increased, that of coloured and Indian/Asian people has stayed roughly the same, while the share of white people has shrunk.

The 1996 census, the first of the democratic era, recorded a population of 40.6 million. Black people made up 76.7% of the total, coloured people 8.9%, Indian/Asian people 2.6%, white people 10.9% and an uncategorised group 0.9%.

In about 2013 the coloured population overtook the white population as South Africa’s second-largest group.

READ MORE: Geographic distribution of South Africa’s races

Population of the provinces

The population of South Africa’s nine provinces varies enormously.

Data source: Statistics South Africa mid-year population estimates 2024

The most striking difference is between Gauteng and the Northern Cape. Gauteng is a city region of just 18,178 square kilometres – 1.4% of South Africa’s land area – yet it’s home to over a quarter of the country’s people. The arid and rural Northern Cape takes up almost a third of South Africa, but only 2.2% of the population live there.

Then there’s KwaZulu-Natal, home to almost a fifth of the population, and the larger Free State, home to only 4.8%.

Data source: Statistics South Africa Census 2022

In 2024 South Africa’s provincial populations, and their share of the total, were:

• Eastern Cape: 7,176,230 (11.4%)
• Free State: 3,044,050 (4.8%)
• Gauteng: 15,931,824 (25.3%)
• KwaZulu-Natal: 12,312,712 (19.5%)
• Limpopo: 6,402,594 (10.2%)
• Mpumalanga: 5,057,662 (8.%)
• Northern Cape: 1,372,943 (2.2%)
• North West: 4,155,303 (6.6%)
• Western Cape: 7,562,588 (12.%)

READ MORE: The nine provinces of South Africa

Population density

South Africa’s population density is about 46 people per square kilometre, according to 2017 data.

In the provinces, differences in size and population mean different population densities. Gauteng, small but populous, has an average of 785 people for every square kilometre. KwaZulu-Natal has 117 people per square kilometre. The empty Northern Cape has just three people for each square kilometre.

READ MORE: The nine provinces of South Africa

Life, death and HIV

The 2024 estimate of average life expectancy at birth in South Africa is 66.5 years – 69.2 years for females and 63.6 years for males. This is up from a predicted life expectancy of 54.7 years in 2002, before any serious effort to tackle the HIV and Aids epidemic began.

The crude birth rate is 19.6 babies born for every 1,000 people. The total fertility rate is an average of 2.4 babies born to a woman over her lifetime. The crude death rate is 8.7 per 1,000.

Infant mortality (babies who die in their first year of birth) is 22.9 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The under-five mortality rate is 28.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.

These rates show an improvement on child survival since 2002, when infant mortality was 57 deaths and under-five mortality 79.7 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Some 8 million people are HIV positive, making up 12.7% of South Africa’s total population of 63 million. Women are hardest hit by the disease: over a fifth (20.5%) of all women aged 15 to 49 are HIV positive.

The total HIV prevalence rate was lower in 2002, at 8.9% of the population. The higher rate in 2024 reflects progress in the rollout of antiretroviral therapy, as more people live with HIV instead of dying of Aids.

READ MORE: HIV and Aids in South Africa

Age structure

South Africa has 17.3 million children aged 14 or younger, making kids the largest age group in the country and nearly a third (27.5%) of the population.

Poorer provinces tend to have a larger share of children and wealthier provinces a smaller share. In the Limpopo 33.1% of the population is aged 0 to 14 and in the Eastern Cape it’s 31.7%. By contrast, children make up 23% of Gauteng’s population and 22.9% of the Western Cape’s.

For the country as a whole, the second largest age group is from 30 to 44 (24.8%), closely followed by 15 to 29 (24.2%). Older groups are smaller: 13.8% are 45 to 59, 7.5% aged 60 to 74, and 2.2% 75 or older.

Age and race

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Data from 2017 reveals that when it comes to age structure and race, South Africa’s population reflects the facts of history and continued inequality.

While black South Africans are in the majority in every age group, this majority decreases as the age of the population rises. Coloured, Indian and especially white South Africans tend to live longer.

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Migration

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South Africans migrate away from poverty to where the jobs are. They move from poorer provinces to the richer ones, and from rural areas to the cities.

Gauteng is South Africa’s wealthiest province, mostly a city region and the centre of the country’s economy. It has the largest population, constantly swelled by migration.

In the 10 years from mid-2011 to mid-2021, net migration (number of people moving in minus people moving out) into Gauteng increased the province’s population by almost 1.9 million people.

The Western Cape, the third-largest provincial economy with the lowest poverty level, had net migration of 646,529 over the same 10 years. Conversely, KwaZulu-Natal – the second-largest – lost 18,333 of its people to migration from 2011 to 2021. While the province has a large economy, it also has relatively high levels of poverty.

The Eastern Cape has, by far, the highest level of poverty of all the provinces – and the highest number of people moving elsewhere. Its net migration for 2011 to 2021 was a negative 603,044. Limpopo had the second-highest rate of outward migration, at -300,527.

Net migration (people moving in minus people moving out) for South Africa’s provinces, 2011 to 2021:

• Eastern Cape: -603,044
• Free State: -23,128
• Gauteng: 1,856,006
• KwaZulu-Natal: -18,333
• Limpopo: -300,527
• Mpumalanga: 178,386
• Northern Cape: 17,063
• North West: 228,675
• Western Cape: 646,529

Click animation to view from the start.