List of African countries

=
Africa is the second largest and most-populous continent of the seven continents on Earth (Asia being the largest) lying south of Europe, with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east, the Mediterranean Sea on the north and the Red Sea on the northeast. Africa is connected with Asia at its northeast extremity by the isthmus of Suez, and separated from Europe by the Mediterranean Sea. There are 47 countries on the African continent, the islands off the coast brings this number up currently to 54 countries (including Western Sahara, which is disputed). The islands that make up the 54 countries are; Madagascar, Comoros, Seychelles, Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe. Sudan is the largest country in Africa and Madagascar the largest island. Africa's newest country is Eritrea, which is located in the East Africa. Eritrea became an independent republic in 1993, following a referendum which allowed its secession from Ethiopia. Africa is the poorest continent despite its abundant natural wealth which is due mainly to its colonial history. Below are the names of the current 54 countries of Africa. ======

=
Algeria    Angola      Benin      Botswana     Burkina Faso     Burundi      Cameroon     Cape Verde      Central African Republic      Chad      Comoros     Congo, Dem. formerly Zaire    Congo     Côte d'Ivoire/Ivory Coast    Djibouti     Egypt     Equatorial Guinea     Eritrea     Ethiopia ======

=
Malawi    Mali     Mauritania     Mauritius      Mayotte     Morocco     Mozambique      Namibia     Niger     Nigeria     Réunion     Rwanda      Saint HelenaSão Tomé and Príncipe     Senegal     Seychelles     Sierra Leone     Somalia     South Africa     Sudan     South Sudan    Swaziland      Tanzania     Togo     Tunisia     Uganda     Western Sahara     Zambia     Zimbabwe     ======