Capital Cities of Africa — All 54 Countries

Full List of African Countries and Capitals

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The 54-country count includes sovereign African states that are members of the United Nations. Subregions follow the United Nations M49 geographic classification. Western Sahara is classified separately in UN geographic statistics and is not counted as a UN member state. The African Union has 55 members, including the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

African Country and Capital Profiles

Individual country profiles cover the location, geography, history, and administrative role of African capital cities.

67 articles in Africa

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 country counts below refer to the 54 United Nations member states included in this list.

Subregional placement follows UN M49. Population estimates refer to 1 July 2024 and are drawn from the United Nations Population and Vital Statistics Report, January 2026, using World Population Prospects 2024 data. These are geographic subregion totals rather than sums restricted to the 54 countries listed above. UN population aggregates can include territories and other separately classified areas, including Western Sahara in Northern Africa. They do not represent capital-city populations.

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. The distinction between the political capital and the larger coastal city is a common source of confusion in African country-capital lists.

Burundi: Gitega and Bujumbura

Gitega is the political capital of Burundi. Older books and websites may still show Bujumbura, which was the earlier capital. Bujumbura remains the country’s largest city and its economic capital. Burundi’s government identifies both cities according to these different functions.

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 official capital designation in 2026. Ciudad de la Paz was declared the national capital by Decree Law No. 1/2026 on 2 January 2026, replacing Malabo in the formal designation.

The new capital is located on the mainland in Djibloho Province, while Malabo is on Bioko Island. The decree provides a one-year period for the relocation of the presidency, constitutional institutions, government agencies, and public bodies. The legal designation and the physical transfer of government operations are therefore separate stages of the transition.

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 shows the population scale reported for selected capitals; it is not a current 2026 ranking of all 54 capitals.

The figures use dated estimates reported in the major-urban-area reference series of The World Factbook. Some entries have older reference years, so each period is identified separately. These figures should not be interpreted as a single-year comparison.

Historical reference: The World Factbook, major urban areas population series. These values are dated estimates, not current population counts. Different sources and national statistical systems may define urban areas differently. Later census results and metropolitan estimates can produce substantially different totals.

What These Figures Show

Capital status does not always correspond to city size. Cairo, Kinshasa, Luanda, Addis Ababa, and Nairobi are large urban capitals with broad national roles. Porto-Novo, Dodoma, Yamoussoukro, and Mbabane show another pattern: they hold legal or administrative capital status but are not their 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 metropolitan or urban area. Some population series reflect a recent census, while others rely on an older benchmark adjusted forward. A capital population table therefore needs a consistent reference year and geographic definition before it can support an exact ranking.

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 languages. 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 current country name that replaced Swaziland in 2018.

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.
• Republic of the 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 roles. 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 institution changes the national capital status of the host city.

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 a 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. Libya’s political divisions have affected the operation of national institutions, but Tripoli remains the recognized capital.

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 announced its return to Khartoum on 11 January 2026, followed by the resumption of cabinet meetings in the city. Khartoum remains affected by the conflict, infrastructure damage, population displacement, and reconstruction needs. The return of government institutions does not mean that normal conditions have been restored throughout the capital.

Tunisia — Tunis

Tunis is the capital of Tunisia. The capital and country names are closely linked in sound. 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 official capital title, even though Cotonou is more visible in trade, administration, and daily national life. This is one of the African capital distinctions that requires both cities to be identified.

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. Praia is one of Africa’s national capitals located on an island.

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. The official capital designation belongs to Yamoussoukro.

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. Accra also serves as a business, media, and diplomatic center. It became the capital of the British Gold Coast Colony in 1877 and retained that role after Ghana’s independence in 1957.

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.

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. It is also Liberia’s largest urban center and principal port city.

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. Its inland position along the river has influenced its development as a transport and commercial center.

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. Abuja formally became the capital in December 1991 and remains the seat of Nigeria’s federal government.

Senegal — Dakar

Dakar is the capital of Senegal. It sits on the Cap-Vert Peninsula and is one of the major Atlantic capitals in Africa. Its far-west coastal location makes it geographically distinctive.

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.

Togo — Lomé

Lomé is the capital of Togo. It is a coastal city on the Gulf of Guinea and an active national port. Its position near the border with Ghana connects the capital with regional coastal trade routes.

Middle Africa Capitals

Middle Africa includes nine countries in the UN grouping used here. The subregion contains some of the continent’s major river capitals and the mainland capital designated by Equatorial Guinea in 2026.

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.

Chad — N’Djamena

N’Djamena is the capital of Chad. It stands near the confluence of the Chari and Logone rivers in the western part of the country, close to the border with Cameroon.

Republic of the Congo — Brazzaville

Brazzaville is the capital of the Republic of the Congo. The city sits on the north bank of the Congo River directly across from Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Democratic Republic of the Congo — Kinshasa

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

Equatorial Guinea — Ciudad de la Paz

Ciudad de la Paz is the capital designated by Equatorial Guinea in 2026. It replaced Malabo in the official capital designation on 2 January 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. The transfer of national institutions is being implemented separately from the legal declaration.

Gabon — Libreville

Libreville is the capital of Gabon. It is an Atlantic coastal capital and the country’s main political center. Libreville is also an important administrative and commercial city in Central Africa.

São Tomé and Príncipe — São Tomé

São Tomé is the capital of São Tomé and Príncipe. The city shares its name with the country’s largest island and serves as the principal political and administrative center of this island state in the Gulf of Guinea.

Eastern Africa Capitals

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

Burundi — Gitega

Gitega is the political capital of Burundi. Bujumbura was the former political capital and remains the country’s largest city and economic capital. Burundi’s government distinguishes the functions of the two cities.

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.

Djibouti — Djibouti

Djibouti is the capital of Djibouti. The city and country share the same name. It is also an important port city on the Horn of Africa, situated near the Gulf of Aden.

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 major international centers. Nairobi also hosts United Nations offices, including the headquarters of UNEP and UN-Habitat.

Madagascar — Antananarivo

Antananarivo is the capital of Madagascar. It sits in the central highlands rather than on the coast. Although Madagascar is an island country, its national capital is inland.

Malawi — Lilongwe

Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi. It serves as the administrative center, while Blantyre remains a major commercial city. The country’s capital and leading business city therefore have different roles.

Mauritius — Port Louis

Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius. The city is a port and the political and commercial center of the island state in the Indian Ocean.

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 farther south than many of Mozambique’s 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 center.

Seychelles — Victoria

Victoria is the capital of Seychelles. It is located on Mahé and is one of the smaller national capitals in Africa. The city is the principal political and administrative center of the island state.

Somalia — Mogadishu

Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia. It is a coastal capital on the Indian Ocean and the country’s main port city. It also houses the country’s federal government institutions.

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. The capital and largest city are the same in this case.

Southern Africa Capitals

Southern Africa has five countries in this UN grouping. The subregion includes South Africa’s three-capital arrangement, Eswatini’s division between Mbabane and Lobamba, and several inland capitals located near major national or cross-border transport 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. Gaborone developed as a modern administrative city following Botswana’s independence in 1966.

Eswatini — Mbabane and Lobamba

Mbabane is the administrative capital of Eswatini, while Lobamba holds royal and legislative functions. Both cities are identified in descriptions of the country’s government. For a basic capital table, Mbabane is commonly listed first, with Lobamba included as the second capital.

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. Lesotho is entirely surrounded by South African territory.

Namibia — Windhoek

Windhoek is the capital of Namibia. It is centrally placed and functions as the main administrative center in a large, sparsely populated country.

South Africa — Pretoria, Cape Town, and Bloemfontein

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 under its 2026 capital designation: Ciudad de la Paz is on the mainland in Djibloho Province, while its former capital, Malabo, is located on Bioko Island.

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
• Republic of the 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

What Is the Capital of Africa?

Africa does not have a single capital city because Africa is a continent, not a country. It contains 54 independent countries that are members of the United Nations, each with its own national capital arrangement.

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is sometimes informally described as Africa’s diplomatic capital because it hosts the headquarters of the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. However, Addis Ababa is officially the capital of Ethiopia, not the capital of the African continent.

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 official capital. Abidjan is the country’s leading commercial city and hosts many national government and diplomatic functions.

Is Cotonou the Capital of Benin?

No. Porto-Novo is the official capital of Benin. Cotonou is the larger economic center and principal seat of government activity.

What Is the Current Capital of Burundi?

Gitega is the political capital of Burundi. Bujumbura was the former political capital and remains the country’s economic capital and largest city. Both cities have different national functions.

What Is the Capital of Equatorial Guinea?

Ciudad de la Paz was designated the capital of Equatorial Guinea on 2 January 2026 under Decree Law No. 1/2026. Malabo was the previous capital. The transfer of government institutions to the mainland city is being carried out separately from the legal designation.

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 are separate characteristics.

Which African Capitals Have Strong Diplomatic Roles?

Addis Ababa and Nairobi are particularly prominent. Addis Ababa hosts the African Union headquarters. Nairobi hosts the United Nations Office at Nairobi, along with UNEP and UN-Habitat headquarters.

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 African Capital Cities Face Each Other Across a River?

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.