Africa is the second-largest continent in the world. It covers around 30.2 million square kilometers. That is around 20.4 percent of the earth’s land area. The African continent has 54 sovereign nations and and 10 non-sovereign territories.
Here is a brief outline of the top 10 largest African countries, with information regarding the area covered. Below is a list of 10 countries in Africa, in order of geographical area. Sudan was, with an area of 2,505,813km², formerly the largest country in Africa, until South Sudan formally split from it in 2011
10) Ethiopia (1,104,300 square kilometers)
Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa. Around 87.9 million people live in Ethiopia. It is the most populous landlocked nation in the world. Ethiopia’s capital and largest city is Addis Ababa. Around 0.7 percent of the nation is water.
9) South Africa (1,219,090 square kilometers)
South Africa has 2,798 km of coastline that stretches along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The population of South Africa is around 53 million people. It is the twenty-fifth-largest country in the world by land area.
8) Mali (1,240,192 square kilometers)
This West African landlocked nation has a population of around 14.5 million. Its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara. Majority of the inhabitants live in the southern part of the nation, which features Niger and Senegal rivers.
7) Angola (1,246,700 square kilometers)
The population of the Republic of Angola is around 24.38 million. The nation is located in Southern Africa. Angola is twenty-third largest nation in the world. It is twice the size of France.
6) Niger (1,267,000 square kilometers)
This landlocked country is the largest nation in West Africa. More than 80 percent of its land area is covered by the Sahara Desert. The population of Niger is approximately 15.73 million.
5) Chad (1,284,000 square kilometers)
Central African landlocked nation Chad has a population of 10.33 million. Around 1.9 percent of Chad is water. Lake Chad is the largest wetland in Chad, and the second-largest in the African continent.
4) Libya (1,759,540 square kilometers)
North African nation Libya is the seventeenth-largest country in the world. Tripoli is the largest city and the capital of Libya. Around one million of Libya’s six million people live in Tripoli.
3) Sudan (1,861,484 square kilometers)
Sudan is an Arab republic located in the Nile valley of North Africa. The Nile River divides the nation into eastern and western halves. Around 37.2 million people live in Sudan.
2) Democratic Republic of the Congo (2,344,858 square kilometers)
This Central African country is located on the Equator. The population of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is approximately 4.66 million. The country’s sparse population is concentrated in its southwestern part.
1) Algeria (2,381,741 square kilometers)
Algeria is the largest nation in Africa by area. It is the tenth largest country in the world. Approximately 90 percent of Algeria is desert. Algeria’s defense budget is the largest in Africa. The population of Algeria is around 38.7 million. Population density is 15.9 per sq km.
