Capital Cities of Africa — All 54 Countries

Africa has 54 United Nations member states in the country list used here, and each has a capital with its own legal, administrative, and geographic role. Some capitals are the largest city in the country, while others are smaller political seats. A few countries divide national functions between more than one city. Western Sahara appears separately as an area in the UN M49 system and is not included in this 54-country table.

The 54-country list follows the same country-capital scope used in World Capitals — All Capital Cities in One Place. Several entries require extra context: Porto-Novo and Cotonou in Benin, Yamoussoukro and Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, Dodoma and Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Mbabane and Lobamba in Eswatini, South Africa’s three-capital arrangement, and Equatorial Guinea’s 2026 change from Malabo to Ciudad de la Paz. The countries are also grouped by UN M49 subregion, with population figures clearly separated by reference year and geographic definition.

Full List of African Countries and Capitals

The table below lists every African country in this 54-country set, its capital city, and its UN subregion.

Africa by UN Subregion

In the UN M49 geographic classification, Africa is divided into five subregions: Northern Africa, Western Africa, Middle Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa. The counts below refer only to the 54 UN member states included in this country list.

Subregional placement follows UN M49. The rounded 2024 population totals are country-level estimates based on the United Nations World Population Prospects 2024; they do not represent the populations of the capitals themselves.

Eastern Africa has the largest country count in this 54-state grouping, while Southern Africa has the smallest. Western Africa also contains a large share of the continent’s population.

Capital Status and Government Location

Not every capital has the same legal or administrative role. In some African countries, the constitutional capital and the main business city are different. In a few cases, national functions are divided between more than one city.

Benin: Porto-Novo and Cotonou

Porto-Novo is the official capital of Benin. Cotonou is the larger economic center and the main seat of government activity. The distinction explains why both cities appear in descriptions of Benin’s national administration, but Porto-Novo retains official capital status.

Côte d’Ivoire: Yamoussoukro and Abidjan

Yamoussoukro is the capital of Côte d’Ivoire. Abidjan remains the country’s leading commercial city and hosts many government and diplomatic functions, which can obscure the distinction. Official capital status belongs to Yamoussoukro.

South Africa: Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein

South Africa divides national-capital functions among three cities. Pretoria is the administrative capital and the seat of the executive government. Cape Town is the legislative capital and the seat of Parliament. Bloemfontein is described by the South African government as the judicial capital and is home to the Supreme Court of Appeal, while the Constitutional Court sits in Johannesburg.

Eswatini: Mbabane and Lobamba

Eswatini divides national functions between two capitals. Mbabane is the administrative capital, while Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital. Both cities therefore belong in a precise description of the country’s capital arrangement.

Tanzania: Dodoma and Dar es Salaam

Dodoma is the capital of Tanzania. Dar es Salaam remains the country’s largest city and its leading port and commercial center. That gap between legal capital status and urban weight makes Tanzania one of the most common capital mistakes in Africa quizzes and school tests.

Burundi: Gitega and Bujumbura

Gitega is the capital of Burundi. Older books and websites may still show Bujumbura, which was the earlier capital. Bujumbura is still the largest city and an economic center, so outdated material can keep the older answer alive. Updated capital lists use Gitega.

Nigeria: Abuja and Lagos

Abuja is the capital of Nigeria, while Lagos is the country’s largest and most internationally prominent urban center. Abuja was developed as a more centrally located federal capital and formally replaced Lagos as the national capital in 1991.

Equatorial Guinea: Ciudad de la Paz and Malabo

Equatorial Guinea changed its capital in 2026. Ciudad de la Paz was declared the national capital by Decree Law No. 1/2026 on January 2, 2026, replacing Malabo. The new capital is on the mainland in Djibloho Province, while Malabo is on Bioko Island. The decree provides for state institutions and public bodies to transfer to Ciudad de la Paz as the capital transition is implemented.

Technical Data on African Capitals

Capital-city population figures require a defined boundary and reference year. A value may represent a municipality, city proper, metropolitan area, or urban agglomeration, and those measures are not interchangeable. The historical sample below therefore shows scale only; it is not a current 2026 ranking of all 54 capitals.

The figures below use the latest available values from the same major-urban-area reference series for the selected cities where possible. Some capitals still have older reference years in that series, so each year is shown explicitly and the table is not presented as a single-year ranking.

These figures use the “major urban areas” population series reported in The World Factbook, with the reference year shown for each entry. The figures are not a single-year ranking and should not be compared as if every city were measured with an identical administrative boundary.

What These Figures Show

The table makes one point very clear: capital status does not always follow city size. Cairo, Kinshasa, Luanda, Addis Ababa, and Nairobi are large urban capitals with broad national weight. Porto-Novo, Dodoma, Yamoussoukro, and Mbabane show the other pattern. They hold legal or administrative capital status, but they are not the country’s largest city or only center of national activity.

Why Population Comparisons Need Care

Some countries count a core city. Others count a wider metro or urban area. Some population series reflect a recent census, while others rest on an older benchmark adjusted forward. That is why a capital population table should be treated as technical context, not as a final ranking rule for every comparison.

Names, Spellings, and City Pairs

African capital names appear in several spelling traditions because the continent includes Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Swahili, and many other language settings. Current country names and standard English capital forms are used here, with common alternatives noted where they can cause confusion.

Official Country Forms Matter

• Cabo Verde is the official country form, though many readers still search for Cape Verde.
• Côte d’Ivoire is the official form used in many formal lists, even though Ivory Coast remains common in informal English writing.
• São Tomé and Príncipe uses Portuguese diacritics, and its capital is São Tomé.
• Eswatini is the modern country name that replaced Swaziland in current usage.

City and Country Names That Look Similar

• Djibouti is both the country name and the capital city name.
• São Tomé is the capital city, while São Tomé and Príncipe is the country.
• Congo and Democratic Republic of the Congo are different countries with different capitals: Brazzaville and Kinshasa.

The Brazzaville and Kinshasa Pair

Brazzaville and Kinshasa stand on opposite banks of the Congo River and belong to two different sovereign states. Brazzaville is the capital of the Republic of the Congo, while Kinshasa is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their close physical proximity makes this one of Africa’s most distinctive capital-city pairs.

Diplomatic Capitals in Africa

Addis Ababa and Nairobi appear often in international material because both have strong diplomatic visibility. Addis Ababa hosts the headquarters of the African Union and has long been tied to continental diplomacy. Nairobi is home to the United Nations Office at Nairobi and also hosts the headquarters of UNEP and UN-Habitat. Neither fact changes the basic country-capital answer, but both help explain why these two capitals stand out far beyond school geography lists.

Northern Africa Capitals

Northern Africa has six sovereign countries in this list. Its capitals include some of the best-known urban centers in the Arab world and the Mediterranean basin.

Algeria — Algiers

Algiers is the capital of Algeria. It sits on the Mediterranean coast and serves as the country’s political center and largest city. In regional geography, Algiers is often remembered as a classic North African coastal capital with a major port role as well as national administrative functions.

Egypt — Cairo

Cairo is the capital of Egypt. It stands on the Nile and is one of the largest urban centers in Africa and the wider Middle East. Because of Egypt’s population size and cultural reach, Cairo is one of the most recognized capital names on the continent.

Libya — Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital of Libya. It is a Mediterranean coastal city and one of the country’s principal urban centers, combining national political functions with a major port and long-established commercial role.

Morocco — Rabat

Rabat is the capital of Morocco. Casablanca is larger and is the country’s leading economic center, while Rabat is the seat of national government and the principal administrative capital.

Sudan — Khartoum

Khartoum is the capital of Sudan and stands near the confluence of the Blue Nile and White Nile. During the war that began in 2023, the army-aligned government operated from Port Sudan for more than two years. The government formally returned to Khartoum in January 2026, although the city remains heavily affected by the conflict and reconstruction needs.

Tunisia — Tunis

Tunis is the capital of Tunisia. The capital and country names are closely linked in sound, which makes Tunis one of the simpler capitals to memorize. It is the country’s political center and a major city near the Mediterranean coast.

Western Africa Capitals

Western Africa has 16 countries in this list, more than any other subregion except Eastern Africa. Its capitals include coastal ports, inland river cities, and capitals whose names appear often in Francophone, Anglophone, and Lusophone Africa.

Benin — Porto-Novo

Porto-Novo is the capital of Benin. It carries the constitutional capital title, even though Cotonou is more visible in trade, administration, and daily national life. This is one of the first African capital facts students often need to correct.

Burkina Faso — Ouagadougou

Ouagadougou is the capital of Burkina Faso. It is an inland capital and the country’s main political and administrative center, as well as its largest city.

Cabo Verde — Praia

Praia is the capital of Cabo Verde. The city lies on Santiago Island and serves as the political center of this Atlantic island state. Because the country is insular, Praia is also an island capital, which helps place it in memory alongside other African island capitals.

Côte d’Ivoire — Yamoussoukro

Yamoussoukro is the capital of Côte d’Ivoire. Abidjan is still the country’s leading commercial city and remains more visible in many business and travel contexts. For country-capital accuracy, Yamoussoukro is the right entry.

Gambia — Banjul

Banjul is the capital of Gambia. It stands near the mouth of the Gambia River and reflects the country’s narrow river-based geography. The capital itself is relatively small compared with the wider Greater Banjul urban area.

Ghana — Accra

Accra is the capital of Ghana. It is a coastal capital on the Gulf of Guinea and one of the most widely recognized city names in West Africa. In many modern reference lists, Accra also stands out as a business, media, and diplomatic city.

Guinea — Conakry

Conakry is the capital of Guinea. It is a coastal capital on the Atlantic side of West Africa. The city is the country’s main political and port center, which makes it easier to remember as both national capital and major urban hub.

Guinea-Bissau — Bissau

Bissau is the capital of Guinea-Bissau. Neighboring Guinea is a separate country with its capital at Conakry, so the two similarly named states have different national capitals.

Liberia — Monrovia

Monrovia is the capital of Liberia. It is an Atlantic coastal city and the country’s main administrative center. Because the city is also the best-known urban name in Liberia, it is usually one of the easier West African capitals to learn.

Mali — Bamako

Bamako is the capital of Mali. It lies on the Niger River and serves as the country’s main political and urban center. Bamako appears often in African geography because it combines river location, inland setting, and national capital status in one city.

Mauritania — Nouakchott

Nouakchott is the capital of Mauritania. It is a coastal city on the Atlantic edge of the Sahara and functions as the country’s main political and administrative center.

Niger — Niamey

Niamey is the capital of Niger and stands on the Niger River. Neighboring Nigeria is a separate country whose capital is Abuja.

Nigeria — Abuja

Abuja is the capital of Nigeria. The city was chosen as a federal capital in a central location rather than keeping the capital in Lagos. That makes Abuja one of the clearest examples in Africa of a purpose-built or planned national capital.

Senegal — Dakar

Dakar is the capital of Senegal. It sits on the Cap-Vert Peninsula and is one of the best-known Atlantic capitals in Africa. Dakar is also one of the easiest capitals to place on a map because of its far-west coastal position.

Sierra Leone — Freetown

Freetown is the capital of Sierra Leone. It is a coastal capital with a deep harbor and remains the country’s central administrative city. Its English name makes it highly recognizable in global geography lists.

Togo — Lomé

Lomé is the capital of Togo. It is a coastal city on the Gulf of Guinea and an active national port. Because Togo is narrow and coastal, Lomé is often remembered as a compact state’s coastal capital rather than an inland political seat.

Middle Africa Capitals

Middle Africa includes nine countries in the UN grouping used here. The subregion contains some of the continent’s best-known river capitals and one of its clearest island-capital cases.

Angola — Luanda

Luanda is the capital of Angola. It is a large Atlantic capital and one of the biggest urban centers on Africa’s western coast, concentrating national government, port activity, and a large share of the country’s urban population.

Cameroon — Yaoundé

Yaoundé is the capital of Cameroon. Douala is the country’s larger port and business city, so Cameroon separates its national political center from its leading commercial metropolis.

Central African Republic — Bangui

Bangui is the capital of the Central African Republic. It lies on the Ubangi River and serves as the country’s main political center. Its river setting is a useful map clue for anyone learning Central African capitals.

Chad — N’Djamena

N’Djamena is the capital of Chad. It stands on the Chari River in the western part of the country. Its spelling is distinctive and easy to remember once seen a few times, which helps it stand out in any full Africa capitals list.

Congo — Brazzaville

Brazzaville is the capital of Congo. The city sits on the north bank of the Congo River directly across from Kinshasa. Because the neighboring capital pair is so unusual, Brazzaville is one of the most memorable capitals in the world.

Democratic Republic of the Congo — Kinshasa

Kinshasa is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is one of Africa’s largest capitals and occupies the south bank of the Congo River directly opposite Brazzaville, capital of the Republic of the Congo.

Equatorial Guinea — Ciudad de la Paz

Ciudad de la Paz is the capital of Equatorial Guinea. It replaced Malabo on January 2, 2026, when Decree Law No. 1/2026 declared the planned mainland city the national capital. Ciudad de la Paz is in Djibloho Province in the Río Muni continental region; Malabo remains the principal city on Bioko Island.

Gabon — Libreville

Libreville is the capital of Gabon. It is an Atlantic coastal capital and the country’s main political center. In many world geography lists, Libreville stands out as one of the best-known French-language capital names in Central Africa.

São Tomé and Príncipe — São Tomé

São Tomé is the capital of São Tomé and Príncipe. The city name repeats the first part of the country name, which makes it easy to remember once the full country form is clear. As an island capital, São Tomé belongs in the small but useful group of African capitals outside the mainland.

Eastern Africa Capitals

Eastern Africa has 18 countries in this list, the highest subregional count. Its capitals include highland cities, island capitals, large diplomatic hubs, and several capitals that are often confused with older or larger urban centers.

Burundi — Gitega

Gitega is the capital of Burundi. Bujumbura was the former capital and remains the country’s largest city and main economic center, so the older capital name still appears in outdated material.

Comoros — Moroni

Moroni is the capital of Comoros. It is located on Grande Comore, also known as Ngazidja, and functions as the political center of this island state in the Indian Ocean. Because Comoros is an island country, Moroni is best learned together with Victoria, Port Louis, and Praia.

Djibouti — Djibouti

Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti. The city and country share the same name, which makes it simple once remembered and easy to confuse if you are seeing it for the first time. It is also an important port city on the Horn of Africa.

Eritrea — Asmara

Asmara is the capital of Eritrea. Although Eritrea has a long Red Sea coastline, the capital is inland in the Eritrean highlands at an elevation of more than 2,000 meters.

Ethiopia — Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital of Ethiopia and a major diplomatic center. It hosts the headquarters of the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, giving the city a continental and international role alongside its national government functions.

Kenya — Nairobi

Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. It is a large inland city in the highlands and one of Africa’s most internationally known capitals. Nairobi also hosts major UN offices, which adds to its visibility in global news, development, and environmental work.

Madagascar — Antananarivo

Antananarivo is the capital of Madagascar. It sits in the central highlands rather than on the coast. Because Madagascar is an island but its capital is inland, Antananarivo is a good reminder that island countries do not always place the capital at the main seaport.

Malawi — Lilongwe

Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi. It serves as the administrative center, while Blantyre remains a major commercial city. This makes Malawi another example where the capital and the leading business city are not the same place.

Mauritius — Port Louis

Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius. The name itself signals its port role, and the city is the political and commercial center of the island state. Among African capitals, Port Louis is one of the easiest to place in the Indian Ocean group.

Mozambique — Maputo

Maputo is the capital of Mozambique. It lies on the coast in the far south of the country and serves as the national political center and a major port. Its position is markedly farther south than many of Mozambique’s largest northern and central population centers.

Rwanda — Kigali

Kigali is the capital of Rwanda. It is centrally located within the country and functions as the main administrative and service hub. Kigali is often remembered for its neat geographic position and its role as the country’s primary urban center.

Seychelles — Victoria

Victoria is the capital of Seychelles. It is located on Mahé and is one of the smallest national capitals in Africa. The city is easy to remember because Seychelles is an island state and Victoria is its clear political center.

Somalia — Mogadishu

Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia. It is a coastal capital on the Indian Ocean and the country’s main port city. Its long historical visibility in maps and world affairs makes it one of the better-known capital names in the Horn of Africa.

South Sudan — Juba

Juba is the capital of South Sudan and is located on the White Nile. Khartoum is the capital of neighboring Sudan, so the two states have distinct national capitals despite their shared history before South Sudan became independent in 2011.

Tanzania — Dodoma

Dodoma is the capital of Tanzania. Dar es Salaam remains the country’s largest city, principal port, and leading commercial center, which is why the former capital still appears prominently in older material and general references.

Uganda — Kampala

Kampala is the capital of Uganda. It lies in the country’s central region near Lake Victoria and serves as the main political and urban center, with government, business, education, and transport functions concentrated across the wider metropolitan area.

Zambia — Lusaka

Lusaka is the capital of Zambia. It is an inland city on the south-central plateau and the country’s leading administrative center, connected by major road corridors to other parts of Zambia and the wider Southern African region.

Zimbabwe — Harare

Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe. It is the country’s largest city and main administrative center. Because the capital and the largest city are the same in this case, Harare is easier to learn than capitals that compete with a more visible economic city.

Southern Africa Capitals

Southern Africa has five countries in this grouping. The subregion includes South Africa’s three-capital arrangement, Eswatini’s split between Mbabane and Lobamba, and several inland capitals located near major national or cross-border corridors.

Botswana — Gaborone

Gaborone is the capital of Botswana. It lies close to the border with South Africa and serves as the country’s political and administrative center. Among Southern African capitals, Gaborone is one of the clearest examples of a modern inland administrative city.

Eswatini — Mbabane

Mbabane is the capital used in standard lists for Eswatini because it is the administrative capital. Lobamba holds legislative and royal functions, which explains why two city names often appear together in country descriptions. For a capital table, Mbabane is the entry to use.

Lesotho — Maseru

Maseru is the capital of Lesotho. It lies near the border with South Africa and serves as the country’s main political and urban center. Since Lesotho is fully surrounded by South Africa, Maseru is often remembered together with that geographic fact.

Namibia — Windhoek

Windhoek is the capital of Namibia. It is centrally placed and functions as the main administrative hub in a large, sparsely populated country. That central location is one reason Windhoek works well as a national capital.

South Africa — Pretoria

Pretoria is South Africa’s administrative capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital in the terminology used by the South African government. The Constitutional Court is located in Johannesburg, while the Supreme Court of Appeal is in Bloemfontein.

Geographic and Functional Patterns Among African Capitals

African capitals can be compared by geography, government function, and naming pattern. Coastal, inland, island, and multi-city capital arrangements show how different national political centers can be across the continent.

Coastal Capitals

Many African capitals lie on or near the coast. Examples include Algiers, Tripoli, Tunis, Rabat, Accra, Conakry, Monrovia, Dakar, Lomé, Luanda, Libreville, Djibouti, Mogadishu, Maputo, Port Louis, Victoria, and Praia. Coastal capitals often grew around ports, trade routes, or older administrative centers connected to sea access.

Inland Capitals

A large group of capitals are inland political centers rather than seaports. Abuja, Bamako, Niamey, Ouagadougou, Yaoundé, Bangui, Kigali, Kampala, Lusaka, Harare, Windhoek, Gaborone, Addis Ababa, Asmara, Antananarivo, and Dodoma all fit this pattern. Inland capitals often sit closer to the national interior or along older land routes and plateaus.

Island Capitals

The sovereign island-state capitals in this 54-country list are Praia in Cabo Verde, Moroni in Comoros, Port Louis in Mauritius, Victoria in Seychelles, and São Tomé in São Tomé and Príncipe. Equatorial Guinea is not part of this island-capital group: Ciudad de la Paz, declared the national capital in 2026, is on the mainland in Djibloho Province.

Capitals That Are Not the Largest City

Several African capitals do not dominate their country by population or business activity. Porto-Novo, Yamoussoukro, Dodoma, Gitega, Lilongwe, Yaoundé, Mbabane, and Pretoria show that capital status is a legal or administrative function rather than a measure of urban size.

Country Names Often Confused With Each Other

• Niger — Niamey and Nigeria — Abuja
• Congo — Brazzaville and Democratic Republic of the Congo — Kinshasa
• Guinea — Conakry and Guinea-Bissau — Bissau
• Sudan — Khartoum and South Sudan — Juba

These country names are easy to confuse because several are geographically close or linguistically similar. Their capitals provide a clear distinction between the separate states.

Common Questions About African Capitals

How Many Countries Are in Africa?

This list contains Africa’s 54 United Nations member states. The African Union has 55 members because it also includes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; the 54-country total used here follows the UN-member-state scope.

What Is the Capital of South Africa?

South Africa has three capitals with different national functions: Pretoria is the administrative capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital in South African government terminology. The Constitutional Court is in Johannesburg.

Is Abidjan the Capital of Côte d’Ivoire?

No. Yamoussoukro is the capital. Abidjan is the country’s leading commercial city and remains much more visible in everyday international use, which is why the mistake is so common.

Is Cotonou the Capital of Benin?

No. Porto-Novo is the official capital of Benin. Cotonou is the larger and more active economic and administrative center, so many casual lists get this wrong or leave the distinction unexplained.

What Is the Newer Capital Answer for Burundi?

Gitega is the current capital of Burundi. Bujumbura was the former capital and remains the country’s largest city, which explains why older sources may still list it.

Are All African Capitals the Biggest City in the Country?

No. Several are not. Abuja is not Nigeria’s largest city. Dodoma is not Tanzania’s largest city. Yamoussoukro is not Côte d’Ivoire’s largest city. Porto-Novo is not Benin’s largest city. Capital status and city size often move on separate tracks.

Which African Capitals Have Strong Diplomatic Visibility?

Addis Ababa and Nairobi stand out most in this respect. Addis Ababa is tied closely to continental diplomacy through the African Union. Nairobi hosts major UN offices and is one of the most visible international cities in Africa.

Which African Capitals Are on Islands?

Praia, Moroni, Port Louis, Victoria, and São Tomé are the national capitals of Africa’s sovereign island states in this 54-country list. Ciudad de la Paz in Equatorial Guinea is on the African mainland, although the country also includes the island of Bioko, where the former capital Malabo is located.

Which Capital Pair Is the Most Unusual in Africa?

Brazzaville and Kinshasa face each other across the Congo River. They belong to different countries: the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.