Africa — Map Regions

Flashcard deck · World Geography · Africa · Geography

Covers all 50 African countries by name, from Algeria and Egypt in the north to Botswana and Namibia in the south, for map-based region study.

Terms in this deck

Algeria: North Africa's largest country by area; capital Algiers; mostly Sahara Desert; major oil/gas exporter; Arabic and Berber speaking.
Angola: Southern African country; capital Luanda; major oil producer; Portuguese-speaking; one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.
Benin: West African country; capital Porto-Novo; birthplace of the Vodun (Voodoo) religion; known for the historic Kingdom of Dahomey.
Botswana: Landlocked southern African country; capital Gaborone; one of Africa's most stable democracies; world's largest diamond producer.
Burkina Faso: Landlocked West African country; capital Ouagadougou; one of the world's poorest nations; major cotton producer; French-speaking.
Burundi: Small landlocked East African country; capital Gitega; one of the world's most densely populated and poorest countries; French and Kirundi spoken.
Cameroon: Central/West African country; capital Yaoundé; called "Africa in miniature" for its geographic and cultural diversity; bilingual French/English.
Central African Rep.: Landlocked Central African country; capital Bangui; extremely resource-rich (diamonds, gold) but one of the world's poorest nations.
Chad: Landlocked Central African country; capital N'Djamena; contains Lake Chad, a shrinking freshwater lake; mostly desert in the north.
Congo: Central African country also called Republic of the Congo; capital Brazzaville; sits on the Congo River; major oil producer.
Côte d'Ivoire: West African country; capital Yamoussoukro; world's largest cocoa producer; French-speaking; economic hub of francophone West Africa.
Dem. Rep. Congo: Largest country in sub-Saharan Africa; capital Kinshasa; contains the Congo rainforest; vast mineral wealth including coltan and cobalt.
Djibouti: Small East African country on the Horn of Africa; capital Djibouti City; strategically located near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait; hosts foreign military bases.
Egypt: Northeast African country; capital Cairo; home to ancient pyramids and the Nile River; most populous Arab country; Suez Canal nation.
Eq. Guinea: Small Central African country; capital Malabo; only Spanish-speaking country in Africa; major oil producer; composed of mainland and islands.
Eritrea: East African country on the Red Sea; capital Asmara; gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993; one of the world's most closed societies.
Ethiopia: East African country; capital Addis Ababa; most populous landlocked country in the world; never colonized; home to ancient civilization and coffee's origin.
Gabon: Central African country; capital Libreville; heavily forested (over 85% rainforest); oil-rich; relatively high income for sub-Saharan Africa.
Gambia: West Africa's smallest mainland country; capital Banjul; entirely surrounded by Senegal except for its Atlantic coast; the Gambia River runs through it.
Ghana: West African country; capital Accra; first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence (1957); major gold and cocoa producer.
Guinea: West African country; capital Conakry; holds the world's largest bauxite reserves; French-speaking; distinct from Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea.
Guinea-Bissau: Small West African country; capital Bissau; one of the world's poorest nations; Portuguese-speaking; known for cashew nut exports.
Kenya: East African country; capital Nairobi; home to the Great Rift Valley and world-renowned wildlife safaris; major tea and flower exporter.
Lesotho: Small landlocked country completely surrounded by South Africa; capital Maseru; entirely above 1,000 m elevation; constitutional monarchy.
Liberia: West African country; capital Monrovia; founded in 1847 by freed American slaves; one of Africa's oldest republics; major rubber producer.
Libya: North African country; capital Tripoli; has Africa's largest proven oil reserves; mostly desert (Sahara); gained independence from Italy in 1951.
Madagascar: Island nation off East Africa's coast; capital Antananarivo; world's fourth-largest island; over 90% of wildlife found nowhere else on Earth.
Malawi: Landlocked southeast African country; capital Lilongwe; dominated by Lake Malawi (third-largest in Africa); one of the world's least developed countries.
Mali: Landlocked West African country; capital Bamako; home to ancient trading city Timbuktu; largely covered by the Sahara; major gold producer.
Mauritania: Northwest African country; capital Nouakchott; mostly Sahara Desert; bridge between Arab North Africa and sub-Saharan West Africa; iron ore exporter.
Morocco: Northwest African country; capital Rabat; only African country with Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines; major phosphate producer; popular tourist destination.
Mozambique: Southeast African country; capital Maputo; long Indian Ocean coastline; Portuguese-speaking; significant natural gas reserves recently discovered.
Namibia: Southwest African country; capital Windhoek; home to the Namib Desert (world's oldest desert) and Skeleton Coast; major diamond and uranium producer.
Niger: Landlocked West African country; capital Niamey; largest country in West Africa; mostly Sahara Desert; world's leading uranium producer.
Nigeria: West African country; capital Abuja; most populous country in Africa (~220 million people); largest economy in Africa; major oil producer.
Rwanda: Small landlocked East African country; capital Kigali; site of the 1994 genocide; now one of Africa's fastest-growing economies; known for mountain gorillas.
S. Sudan: Landlocked East African country; capital Juba; world's newest country (independence 2011); oil-rich but ravaged by civil war and famine.
Senegal: West African country; capital Dakar; westernmost point of mainland Africa; French-speaking; known for political stability and the arts.
Sierra Leone: West African country; capital Freetown; founded as a home for freed slaves; known for diamond mining; suffered brutal civil war 1991–2002.
Somalia: East African country on the Horn of Africa; capital Mogadishu; longest coastline in mainland Africa; has faced decades of civil conflict.
South Africa: Southernmost African country; capitals Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein; largest economy in Africa; ended apartheid in 1994; rich in gold and diamonds.
Sudan: Northeast African country; capital Khartoum; was Africa's largest country before South Sudan split in 2011; Nile River flows through it.
Eswatini: Small landlocked southern African kingdom; capital Mbabane; official name since 2018 (formerly Swaziland); absolute monarchy ruled by King Mswati III.
Tanzania: East African country; capital Dodoma; home to Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa's highest peak) and the Serengeti; major tourist destination.
Togo: Small West African country; capital Lomé; one of Africa's narrowest countries; major phosphate producer; French-speaking.
Tunisia: North African country; capital Tunis; northernmost country in Africa; Mediterranean coast; launched the Arab Spring in 2010; major olive oil producer.
Uganda: Landlocked East African country; capital Kampala; source of the Nile River; home to mountain gorillas; Pearl of Africa.
W. Sahara: Disputed territory on northwest Africa's Atlantic coast; capital El Aaiún; largely administered by Morocco; sparsely populated; rich phosphate deposits.
Zambia: Landlocked southern African country; capital Lusaka; home to Victoria Falls; world's second-largest copper producer; named after the Zambezi River.
Zimbabwe: Landlocked southern African country; capital Harare; home to Victoria Falls and Great Zimbabwe ruins; experienced severe hyperinflation in the 2000s.

Study this deck on Knovli — flashcards, multiple choice, speed quiz and more, free.