Discover Africa’s largest countries here. The second-largest continent on the globe, Africa has a total area of almost 30 million square kilometres. 54 countries and more than 1.3 billion people call it home.
And, as a continent, it is home to a great variety of fauna and has a diverse range of landforms, from enormous deserts to lush rainforests.
The northern and central regions of the continent are dominated by the enormous Sahara Desert, the biggest subtropical desert on Earth. On the other hand, the Eastern region is home to the tallest mountain on the continent (Mt Kilimanjaro) with a height of 5,895 meters. These are just some of the few features that make up the continent of Africa.
Here are the ten largest nations in Africa by area:
Algeria (2,381,741sq. km)
With a total size of over 2.38 million square kilometres, Algeria is a vast nation in North Africa. It ranks as the tenth largest nation in the world and is the largest nation on the African continent.
Over 80% of Algeria’s land area is made up of the Sahara Desert, which dominates the continent’s topography. The Tell Atlas, or the northern section of Algeria, is a hilly region that stretches along the Mediterranean coast.
Democratic Republic of the Congo (2,344,860sq. km)
With over 2.3 million square kilometres in size, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a significant nation in Central Africa. It is the second-largest nation in Africa.
Over 60% of the DRC’s landmass is covered in thick rainforests, including the Congo Basin, the second-largest rainforest in the world. The nation is also home to several sizable rivers, including the Congo River, which is Africa’s second-longest river after the Nile.
Sudan (1,861,484sq. km)
The big nation of Sudan spans 1.86 million square kilometres in northeastern Africa. Egypt, Libya, Chad, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Eritrea are its neighbours.
The Red Sea shoreline is to the east, while the Nile River runs through the country’s largely flat interior.
Sudan was Africa’s 3rd largest country by area and the third-largest by area in the Arab League. It formerly had an area of 2,505,813km². However, this all changed after the succession of South Sudan in 2011. Since that time, Algeria has held both titles.
The climate in the southern part of Sudan is more tropical, with most of the areas being dry and desert-like. Elephants, lions, and giraffes, as well as important crops like sorghum and cotton, are among the many plant and animal species that call Sudan’s landmass home.
Libya ( 1,759,540sq. km)
At a total area of 1.76 million square kilometres, Libya is a North African nation. Its neighbours include Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Niger, Chad, and Sudan. Most of the country is desert-like and barren due to the Libyan Desert, which covers a considerable portion of it.
With the Gulf of Sidra to the east and the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the coastline is around 1,770 kilometres long. Additionally, Libya’s landmass is home to a wide variety of plants and animals, including animals that can survive in the desert, such as scorpions, hyenas, and gazelles.
Chad (1,284,000sq. km)
Chad is a robust landlocked nation that spans northern and central Africa. It covers 1,284,000 square km in total.
It’s also the fifth-largest nation in Africa. The surface of Chad is marked by a variety of geographic contrasts. Only 1% of Chad’s population lives in the vast northern third, which is in the Sahara Desert and is sparsely populated.
Niger (1,267,000sq. km)
West Africa’s largest country is this landlocked one. The Sahara Desert occupies more than 80% of its landmass.
About 25 million people, the majority of whom are Muslims, live in the country, especially in areas to the west and farther south. Southwest of Niger is where Niamey, the nation’s capital, is situated.
Angola (1,246,700sq. km)
The Republic of Angola, or Republica de Angola in Portuguese, is a nation on Southern Africa’s west coast. It is the seventh-largest country in Africa and the second-largest Lusophone (Portuguese-speaking) nation in terms of both population and total area (after Brazil in both cases). It borders Zambia to the east, Namibia to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west are its neighbours.
In particular, after the end of the civil war, Angola’s economy has been among the world’s fastest-growing thanks to its substantial mineral and petroleum reserves.
Mali (1,240,190sq. km)
With a total land area of about 1,241,238 square kilometres (479,245 sq mi), Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa. Mali has a population of 21.9 million people. In 2017, it was estimated that 67% of the population was under 25 years old.
Bamako is the country’s capital and largest city. Mali is a sovereign nation with nineteen distinct regions, and its northern boundary extends to the Sahara Desert.
South Africa (1,219,090sq. km)
At the southernmost point of Africa is the nation of South Africa. There are 2,798 kilometres (1,738.5 mi) of total shoreline and a total land area of 1,219,090 km2 (470,693 mi2). This land area makes up around 175% of Texas’ total area. Thus, South Africa ranks as the 25th largest country in the world and one of the largest in Africa.
South Africa is one of the world’s biodiversity centres thanks to its variety of ecological zones, plant, and animal life. Cape Town serves as the legislative capital, while Pretoria serves as the administrative capital.
Ethiopia (1,136,240sq. km)
Landlocked Ethiopia, also known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a nation in the Horn of Africa. It borders Somalia to the east and northeast, Kenya to the south, South Sudan to the west, and Sudan to the northwest. It also borders Eritrea to the north.
Around 113.5 million people call it home as of 2022, making it the 13th-most densely populated nation in the world, the second-most densely populated in Africa after Nigeria, and the most densely populated landlocked country on the planet.
Conclusion
The top largest African countries include Niger, South Africa, Chad, and Ethiopia among others. We ranked these African countries according to how much surface area they cover and how densely populated they are.
Other big countries in Africa include Nigeria, Mozambique, Tanzania, Somalia, and Morocco.
