Africa is the 3rd largest continent by area, with 30 million km2, occupying 20.3% of the total land area of the Earth. Despite concentrating countless natural wealth, the African continent is one of the poorest in the world. Africa is bathed by the Atlantic Ocean on its western coast and the Indian Ocean on its eastern side, to the north, by the Mediterranean and Red Seas and to the south, by the Antarctic Sea.
The African continent has 54 nations and a population of 1.2 billion, accounting for 16% of the world’s population. The residents in Africa are mainly black. As the third largest continent on the earth, Africa has an area of about 50.2 million square kilometers. Currently, there are over 800 languages spoken in Africa. Among them, the top ten are Amharic, Arabic, French, Hausa, Igbo, Oromo, Shona, Swahili, Yoruba, and Zulu. Most Africans believe in Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
Biggest Countries in Africa by Land Area
Geographically, Africa is divided into three parts: North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Islands.
- Islands (Canary Islands, Sao Tome and Principe, Cape Verde, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles and Reunion);
- North Africa with 7 countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Southern Sudan, Tunisia);
- Sub-Saharan Africa: The so-called sub-Saharan Africa is made up of 47 countries.
The 10 Largest Countries in Africa
With land area of 2,381,741 km², Algeria is the biggest country in Africa, followed by Democratic Republic of the Congo (2,267,048 km²), Sudan (1,861,484 km²), Libya (1,759,540 km²), Niger (1,266,700 km²), Chad (1,259,200 km²), Angola (1,246,700 km²), Mali (1,220,190 km²), South Africa (1,214,470 km²), and Mauritania (1,025,520 km²).
Rankings of All African Countries by Area
Among 54 countries in Africa, Algeria is the largest in territorial extension with 2,381,741 km2. By contrast, the Seychelles Islands are the smallest country on the continent with 455 km2. The full list of African countries in is shown in the table below, ranked by size of land area.
| Rank | Country Name | Land Area (km²) | % of African Area |
| 1 | Algeria | 2,381,741 | 8.076% |
| 2 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 2,267,048 | 7.687% |
| 3 | Sudan | 1,861,484 | 6.312% |
| 4 | Libya | 1,759,540 | 5.966% |
| 5 | Niger | 1,266,700 | 4.295% |
| 6 | Chad | 1,259,200 | 4.270% |
| 7 | Angola | 1,246,700 | 4.227% |
| 8 | Mali | 1,220,190 | 4.137% |
| 9 | South Africa | 1,214,470 | 4.118% |
| 10 | Mauritania | 1,025,520 | 3.477% |
| 11 | Ethiopia | 1,000,000 | 3.391% |
| 12 | Egypt | 995,450 | 3.375% |
| 13 | Nigeria | 910,768 | 3.088% |
| 14 | Tanzania | 885,800 | 3.003% |
| 15 | Namibia | 823,290 | 2.792% |
| 16 | Mozambique | 786,380 | 2.666% |
| 17 | Zambia | 743,398 | 2.521% |
| 18 | South Sudan | 644,329 | 2.185% |
| 19 | Somalia | 627,337 | 2.127% |
| 20 | Central African Republic | 622,984 | 2.112% |
| 21 | Madagascar | 581,540 | 1.972% |
| 22 | Kenya | 569,140 | 1.930% |
| 23 | Botswana | 566,730 | 1.922% |
| 24 | Cameroon | 472,710 | 1.603% |
| 25 | Morocco | 446,300 | 1.513% |
| 26 | Zimbabwe | 386,847 | 1.312% |
| 27 | Republic of the Congo | 341,500 | 1.158% |
| 28 | Côte d’Ivoire | 318,003 | 1.078% |
| 29 | Burkina Faso | 273,602 | 0.928% |
| 30 | Gabon | 257,667 | 0.874% |
| 31 | Guinea | 245,717 | 0.833% |
| 32 | Ghana | 227,533 | 0.771% |
| 33 | Uganda | 197,100 | 0.668% |
| 34 | Senegal | 192,530 | 0.653% |
| 35 | Tunisia | 155,360 | 0.527% |
| 36 | Benin | 114,305 | 0.388% |
| 37 | Eritrea | 101,000 | 0.342% |
| 38 | Liberia | 96,320 | 0.327% |
| 39 | Malawi | 94,080 | 0.319% |
| 40 | Sierra Leone | 71,620 | 0.243% |
| 41 | Togo | 54,385 | 0.184% |
| 42 | Lesotho | 30,355 | 0.103% |
| 43 | Guinea-Bissau | 28,120 | 0.095% |
| 44 | Equatorial Guinea | 28,051 | 0.095% |
| 45 | Burundi | 25,680 | 0.087% |
| 46 | Rwanda | 24,668 | 0.084% |
| 47 | Djibouti | 23,180 | 0.079% |
| 48 | Gambia | 10,000 | 0.034% |
| 49 | Eswatini (Swaziland) | 6704 | 0.023% |
| 50 | Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) | 4,033 | 0.014% |
| 51 | Mauritius | 2,030 | 0.007% |
| 52 | Comoros | 1,862 | 0.006% |
| 53 | Sao Tome and Principe | 964 | 0.003% |
| 54 | Seychelles | 455 | 0.002% |