Capitals of Africa: quiz and list of all 54 countries

Five questions to see where you stand, then the full list to review. A country lights up on the map: name its capital.

All 54 countries of Africa and their capitals

In alphabetical order. Population: World Bank, 2024.

FlagCountryCapitalPopulation
AlgeriaAlgiers46.8 M
AngolaLuanda37.9 M
BeninPorto-Novo14.5 M
BotswanaGaborone2.5 M
Burkina FasoOuagadougou23.5 M
BurundiGitega14.0 M
CameroonYaoundรฉ29.1 M
Cape VerdePraia525,000
Central African RepublicBangui5.3 M
ChadN'Djamena20.3 M
ComorosMoroni867,000
Cรดte d'IvoireYamoussoukro31.9 M
Democratic Republic of CongoKinshasa109.3 M
DjiboutiDjibouti1.2 M
EgyptCairo116.5 M
Equatorial GuineaMalabo1.9 M
EritreaAsmara3.5 M
EswatiniMbabane1.2 M
EthiopiaAddis Ababa132.1 M
GabonLibreville2.5 M
GambiaBanjul2.8 M
GhanaAccra34.4 M
GuineaConakry14.8 M
Guinea-BissauBissau2.2 M
KenyaNairobi56.4 M
LesothoMaseru2.3 M
LiberiaMonrovia5.6 M
LibyaTripoli7.4 M
MadagascarAntananarivo32.0 M
MalawiLilongwe21.7 M
MaliBamako24.5 M
MauritaniaNouakchott5.2 M
MauritiusPort Louis1.2 M
MoroccoRabat38.1 M
MozambiqueMaputo34.6 M
NamibiaWindhoek3.0 M
NigerNiamey27.0 M
NigeriaAbuja232.7 M
Republic of CongoBrazzaville6.3 M
RwandaKigali14.3 M
Sao Tome and PrincipeSรฃo Tomรฉ236,000
SenegalDakar18.5 M
SeychellesVictoria121,000
Sierra LeoneFreetown8.6 M
SomaliaMogadishu19.0 M
South AfricaPretoria64.0 M
South SudanJuba11.9 M
SudanKhartoum50.4 M
TanzaniaDodoma68.6 M
TogoLomรฉ9.5 M
TunisiaTunis12.3 M
UgandaKampala50.0 M
ZambiaLusaka21.3 M
ZimbabweHarare16.6 M

Capitals that trip people up

The largest city is not always the capital. These catch almost everyone out.

South Africa
Three capitals: Pretoria (government), Cape Town (Parliament) and Bloemfontein (judiciary). Quizzes expect Pretoria.
Nigeria
Abuja since 1991, not Lagos, which is still the countryโ€™s largest city.
Cรดte dโ€™Ivoire
Yamoussoukro has been the official capital since 1983; Abidjan remains the economic hub.
Tanzania
Dodoma is the official capital; Dar es Salaam is far larger and better known.
Morocco
Rabat, not Casablanca. Same trap in Cameroon: Yaoundรฉ, not Douala.
Benin
Porto-Novo is the official capital, Cotonou the seat of government.
Burundi
Gitega replaced Bujumbura as the political capital in 2019.

Frequently asked questions

How many countries are in Africa?

54 UN member states. Western Sahara, a disputed territory, is not counted among them.

What is the most populous country of Africa?

Nigeria, with about 233 million people, ahead of Ethiopia and Egypt.

What is the largest country of Africa?

Algeria, at 2,381,741 kmยฒ, ahead of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan.

What is the capital of South Africa?

It has three: Pretoria for the government, Cape Town for Parliament and Bloemfontein for the judiciary.

How can I learn the 54 African capitals?

In small batches: a few countries at a time, coming back to your mistakes the next day. In Geodyssey, Adventure mode splits it up for you and practice targets the capitals you miss most.

Other continents: Europe Asia North America South America Oceania

All 194 countries, in your pocket

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