How Many Nations in Eastern Africa
Located in east part of Africa, Eastern Africa is composed of 18 countries. Here is an alphabetical list of all countries in East Africa: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Among them, Mozambique belongs to the PALOP (Portuguese Speaking African Countries).
1. Burundi
Burundi is a state in East Africa bordering Congo-Kinshasa, Rwanda and Tanzania.
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2. Comoros
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3. Djibouti
Djibouti is a state in East Africa in the Horn of Africa and borders Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and northwest and in the south Somalia. The country is the third smallest on the African mainland and more than 750,000 people live in Djibouti.
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4. Eritrea
Eritrea is a state in East Africa on the Red Sea and borders Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sudan. The name Eritrea comes from the Greek name for the Red Sea Erythra thalassa.
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5. Ethiopia
Ethiopia is located on the Horn of Africa in northeastern Africa. Ethiopia is Africa’s third most populous country.
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6. Madagascar
Madagascar, formally the Republic of Madagascar, is a state located on the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, east of southern Africa. The island is to the surface the world’s fourth largest.
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7. Malawi
Malawi, formally the Republic of Malawi, is a state in southern Africa bordering Mozambique to the east, Tanzania to the east and north, and Zambia to the west.
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8. Mauritius
Mauritius, formally the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean. It is located east of Madagascar, about 1,800 km from the African coast.
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9. Mozambique
Mozambique, formally the Republic of Mozambique, is a republic in southeastern Africa. The country is located on the Indian Ocean and is separated from Madagascar in the east by the Mozambique Channel.
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10. Kenya
Kenya, formally the Republic of Kenya is a state in East Africa, on the Indian Ocean, bordering Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
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11. Rwanda
Rwanda, formerly Rwanda, formally the Republic of Rwanda, is a state in Central Africa bordering Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, Tanzania and Uganda. It is Africa’s most densely populated country.
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12. Seychelles
The Seychelles, formally the Republic of the Seychelles, is a state in the western Indian Ocean, off the east coast of Africa, consisting of about 90 islands. Official languages are French, English and Seychelles Creole.
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13. Somalia
Somalia, formally the Federal Republic of Somalia, is a country in the Horn of Africa bordering Djibouti in the north, Ethiopia in the west and Kenya in the southwest. In the north, the country has a coastline towards the Gulf of Aden and in the east and south towards the Indian Ocean.
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14. Tanzania
Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania is a state in East Africa bordering Kenya and Uganda in the north, Rwanda, Burundi and Congo-Kinshasa in the west and Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique in the south. To the east, the country has coastline to the Indian Ocean.
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15. Uganda
Uganda, formally the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked state in East Africa. The country borders Congo-Kinshasa to the west, South Sudan to the north, Kenya to the east, Tanzania to the south and Rwanda to the southwest. The border with Kenya and Tanzania runs partly through Lake Victoria.
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16. Zambia
Zambia, formally the Republic of Zambia, is a coastal state in southern Africa, bordering Angola in the west, Congo-Kinshasa and Tanzania in the north, Malawi in the east, and Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe in the south.
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17. Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, formerly Southern Rhodesia, is a coastal state in southern Africa bordering Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia.
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Countries in Eastern Africa by Population and Their Capitals
As noted above, there are eighteen independent countries in the Eastern Africa. Among them, the largest country is Ethiopia and the smallest one is Seychelles in term of population. The full list of Eastern African countries with capitals is shown in the table below, ranked by latest total population.
Rank | Country | Population | Land Area (km²) | Capital |
1 | Ethiopia | 98,665,000 | 1,000,000 | Addis Ababa |
2 | Tanzania | 55,890,747 | 885,800 | Dar es Salaam; Dodoma |
3 | Kenya | 52,573,973 | 569,140 | Nairobi |
4 | Uganda | 40,006,700 | 197,100 | Kampala |
5 | Mozambique | 27,909,798 | 786,380 | Maputo |
6 | Madagascar | 25,263,000 | 581,540 | Antananarivo |
7 | Malawi | 17,563,749 | 94,080 | Lilongwe |
8 | Zambia | 17,381,168 | 743,398 | Lusaka |
9 | Somalia | 15,442,905 | 627,337 | Mogadishu |
10 | Zimbabwe | 15,159,624 | 386,847 | Harare |
11 | South Sudan | 12,778,250 | 644,329 | Juba |
12 | Rwanda | 12,374,397 | 24,668 | Kigali |
13 | Burundi | 10,953,317 | 25,680 | Gitega |
14 | Eritrea | 3,497,117 | 101,000 | Asmara |
15 | Mauritius | 1,265,577 | 2,030 | Port Louis |
16 | Djibouti | 1,078,373 | 23,180 | Djibouti |
17 | Comoros | 873,724 | 1,862 | Moroni |
18 | Seychelles | 96,762 | 455 | Victoria |