African Countries

The second largest continent in the world covering 11,668,599 square miles, Africa is believed to be the birthplace of the first humans in Ethiopia and today is home to over a billion people with its population rising rapidly.

The continent has 54 African countries over which 3000 languages are spoken (with Nigeria having 500 languages alone) and a further seven territories and three states not fully recognised by the international community (the Republic of Somaliland, the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic and the disputed Western Sahara territory).

Following a period of colonisation by European nations, most African countries became republics on independence and witnessed authoritarian rule, corruption and instability together with ethnic conflict. As such, most Africans live in poverty with limited life outcomes coupled with poor infrastructure especially in terms of education and health.

Use this African countries page to explore each country with articles, videos and pictures together with child sponsor opportunities whilst the video opposite gives a quick glimpse of each of these countries.