Africa 54 countries - Learn Explore and Travel

Resource for general information, top destinations, and informative tips for travel to countries in Africa.

The country with the highest GNI per capita for 2003 in Africa is Seychelles ($7,350). It is followed by Mauritius ($4,100), Botswana ($3,530), Gabon ($3,400), and South Africa ($2,920).

The country with the largest population is Nigeria, with 136.5 million people. It is followed by Ethiopia, with 68.6 million people, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with 53.2 million.

The biggest economy is South Africa, with a real GDP of $145,338 million (2003). The second largest economy, Nigeria, has a GDP of only $48,766 million.

The smallest economy in the ADI is Sao Tome and Principe, with a GDP of $53 million (2003).
The country with the greatest land area is Sudan, 2.37 million sq. km. The second largest is the Democratic Republic of Congo, with an area of 2.26 million sq. km.

The countries with the highest life expectancy are the Seychelles and Mauritius, 73 years (2003).

Central Africa

Burundi
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo
Democratic Republic of Congo
Equatorial Guinea
Rwanda

The country with the lowest infant mortality rate is the Seychelles, with 11 per 1,000 live births (2003). The second lowest rate is found in Mauritius, with 16 per 1,000 live birth. The countries with the highest maternal mortality rate are Sierra Leone, with 2,000 per 100,000 live births, and Malawi, with 1,800 per 100,000 live births. The countries with the lowest maternal mortality are Mauritius, with 24 per 100,000 live births, and Botswana, with 100 per 100,000 live births. The country with the highest level of child malnutrition is Angola: 53 percent of children under 5 are stunted (short for their height). Mauritania has the lowest levels, with 10 percent. The country with the greatest HIV prevalence is Swaziland, where one out of every four adults has contracted the virus (38.8 percent of people in the 15-49 age group). This is followed by Botswana while the least is Mauritania (0.9). The country with the highest adult literacy is Zimbabwe (90 percent). The country with the lowest adult literacy is Niger (17 percent).

East Africa

Eritrea
Ethiopia
Kenya
Somalia
Sudan
Tanzania
Uganda

The country with the lowest percentage of population with access to safe water is Ethiopia, with 22 percent.

The country with the least access to safe sanitation is Ethiopia, with only 6 percent of the population having access.

The country that received the highest net aid per capita during 2002 is Cape Verde ($306), followed by São Tomé and Principe ($239) and the Seychelles ($110).
The countries that received the lowest net ODA per capita in 2003 were Nigeria ($2), Togo ($9), Central Africa (13), and South Africa ($14).

The country with the highest cost for starting a business in 2004 is Angola ($6,621), while Ethiopia has the lowest at $74.

The country with the highest cost for closing a business (% of estate) in 2004 is Chad ($76), which is also the country with the longest time period for closing a business.

Southern Africa

Angola
Malawi
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Swaziland
Zambia
Zimbabwe

The country with the lowest female literacy rate is Niger at 9 percent.

The country with the highest female literacy rate is Zimbabwe at 86 percent.

The country with the highest net primary school enrollment rate is Seychelles, at 99 percent.
The country with the lowest net primary school enrollment rate is Burkina Faso, 36 percent.

The country with the highest primary school pupil-teacher ratio is the Chad, at 68 pupils per teacher.
The country with the lowest primary school pupil-teacher ratio is the Seychelles, at 14 pupils per teacher.

The country with the highest proportion of primary female teachers is the Seychelles, at 86 percent. The country with the lowest proportion of primary female teachers is Chad, at 11 percent.

The country with the highest proportion of females in its labor force is Rwanda, at 50.2 percent (2002).

The country with the lowest proportion of females in the labor force is Sudan, at 30.3 percent (2002).

West Africa

Burkina Faso
Cote D'ivoire
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Liberia
Mauritania
Niger
Nigeria
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Togo

The country with the highest rate of child labor (as percentage of population age 10-14) is Mali, at 49.8 percent. The lowest is found in South Africa, with zero.

The countries with the most telephone mainlines are Mauritius and the Seychelles, both with 270 and 269 per 1,000 people, respectively.

The countries with the fewest telephone mainlines are the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad with 2 and 0 per 1,000 people, respectively. The average for Sub-Saharan Africa is of 15 per 1,000 persons for mainlines and 37 per 1,000 people for mobile phones.

In 81 percent of SSA countries, there are more mobile phones per 1,000 people than mainlines per 1,000 people.

The country using the most electric power per person is South Africa (3,860.1 kwh per capita).
The country using the least electric power per person is Ethiopia (25.3 kwh. per capita).
The country with the most urbanized population is Djibouti, at 84.6 percent.

The country with the least urbanized population is Rwanda, at 6.6 percent.
The country with the highest road-to-population ratio (1,000 km/one million persons) is Namibia, with 36.5 (using 1977 values).

The countries with the lowest road-to-population ratio (1,000 km/one million persons) are Malawi and Mauritius, with 1.7 (using 1997 values).

North Africa

Algeria
Egypt
Libya
Morocco/Western Sahara
Tunisia

The countries with the greatest reduction in life expectancy over the past decade in SSA are Lesotho (-20 years), Botswana (-19 years), and Zimbabwe (-18 years).

The country with the highest percentage of people above 65 years is the Seychelles, at 6.9 percent (2003).

The country with the lowest percentage of people above 65 years is Uganda, at 1.8 percent (2003).
Nearly half the population of Uganda (49.8) and Niger (48.9) are under 14 years old (2002).
The country with the highest fertility rate is Niger, 7.1 (2003).

The country with the lowest fertility rate is Mauritius, 2 (2003).

During the past two decades fertility rates have dropped in every African country.

The greatest drop in fertility is found in Cape Verde: from 5.5 in 1990, to 3.5 in 2003