Regions of Africa

Central Africa: countries, map and key data

All 9 countries of Central Africa, their capitals and how they compare, from official IMF, World Bank and UN figures.

Countries: 9
Population, 2025: 210.8 million (14.2% of Africa)
Projected population, 2030: 245.8 million
GDP, 2025: $370 billion (11.7% of Africa)
GDP per person, 2025: $1,758
Area: 6,613,214 sq km
Most people: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Largest economy: Angola
Life expectancy, population-weighted: 62.3 years
Deaths under age five per 1,000 births, population-weighted: 77

The 9 countries of Central Africa

AngolaCapital: Luanda39.2 million people · $3,588 per personEconomy Resources Government
CameroonCapital: Yaounde29.9 million people · $1,980 per personEconomy Resources Government
Central African RepublicCapital: Bangui5.51 million people · $841 per personEconomy Resources Government
ChadCapital: N'Djamena19 million people · $1,158 per personEconomy Resources Government
CongoCapital: Brazzaville6.49 million people · $2,378 per personEconomy Resources Government
Democratic Republic of the CongoCapital: Kinshasa106.6 million people · $872 per personEconomy Resources Government
Equatorial GuineaCapital: Malabo; note - Malabo is on the island of Bioko; some months of the year, the government operates out of Bata on the mainland region.1.64 million people · $7,850 per personEconomy Resources Government
GabonCapital: Libreville2.31 million people · $9,491 per personEconomy Resources Government
São Tomé and PríncipeCapital: Sao Tome0.24 million people · $4,084 per personEconomy Government

Map of Central AfricaHover over a country for its figures and where it ranks in the region, or click it for the full country page.

Central Africa (9)
Other regions

Central Africa at a glance, 2025

Countries
9
Population, millions
210.8
14.2% of Africa
GDP, US$ billion
370
11.7% of Africa
GDP per person, US$
1,758

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Population of Central Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo has the most people in Central AfricaPopulation, millions, 2025.

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Item	Value
Democratic Republic of the Congo	106.6
Angola	39.2
Cameroon	29.9
Chad	19.0
Congo	6.5
Central African Republic	5.5
Gabon	2.3
Equatorial Guinea	1.6
São Tomé and Príncipe	0.2

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. Last checked 24 October 2026.

How Central Africa's populations are growingPopulation, millions: 2015 and IMF projection for 2030.

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Item	2015	2030	Change
Democratic Republic of the Congo	77.3	125.1	+47.8
Angola	28.2	46.6	+18.4
Cameroon	22.8	33.8	+11.0
Chad	14.1	21.7	+7.6
Congo	5.1	7.4	+2.3
Central African Republic	4.6	6.5	+1.9
Gabon	1.9	2.6	+0.7
Equatorial Guinea	1.2	1.9	+0.7
São Tomé and Príncipe	0.2	0.3	+0.1

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Economy of Central Africa

Angola is Central Africa's largest economyGDP, billions of US dollars, 2025.

View the data as a table

Item	Value
Angola	140.7
Democratic Republic of the Congo	92.9
Cameroon	59.2
Chad	22.0
Gabon	21.9
Congo	15.4
Equatorial Guinea	12.9
Central African Republic	4.6
São Tomé and Príncipe	1.0

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Gabon has the highest GDP per person in Central AfricaGDP per person, US dollars, 2025.

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Item	Value
Gabon	9,491
Equatorial Guinea	7,850
São Tomé and Príncipe	4,084
Angola	3,588
Congo	2,378
Cameroon	1,980
Chad	1,158
Democratic Republic of the Congo	872
Central African Republic	841

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. Last checked 24 October 2026.

GDP per person in Central Africa's largest economies, 2015 to 2030US dollars per person. Figures from 2026 on are IMF projections.

View the data as a table

Period	Angola	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Cameroon	Chad	Gabon	Congo
2015	4,676	520	1,415	1,032	7,453	2,456
2016	3,991	477	1,441	898	7,082	2,107
2017	4,694	455	1,496	883	7,370	2,227
2018	3,689	548	1,612	980	8,199	2,716
2019	2,941	533	1,555	929	8,111	2,481
2020	1,977	514	1,558	902	7,289	1,877
2021	2,404	630	1,673	1,004	9,114	2,344
2022	3,905	727	1,608	1,037	9,478	2,602
2023	3,079	699	1,721	1,040	9,079	2,418
2024	3,156	743	1,830	1,120	9,258	2,406
2025	3,588	872	1,980	1,158	9,491	2,378
2026	3,876	1,111	2,115	1,295	11,034	2,867
2027	4,047	1,151	2,211	1,345	10,948	2,767
2028	3,777	1,185	2,307	1,371	10,801	2,694
2029	3,571	1,225	2,427	1,425	10,862	2,708
2030	3,593	1,267	2,551	1,491	10,977	2,743

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Health in Central Africa

São Tomé and Príncipe has the longest life expectancy in Central AfricaLife expectancy at birth, years, latest year (2024 for most).

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Item	Value
São Tomé and Príncipe	69.9
Gabon	68.5
Congo	66.0
Angola	64.8
Cameroon	64.0
Equatorial Guinea	63.9
Democratic Republic of the Congo	62.1
Central African Republic	57.7
Chad	55.2

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Child deaths are highest in ChadDeaths before age five per 1,000 live births, latest year. Lower is better.

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Item	Value
Chad	97
Central African Republic	90
Democratic Republic of the Congo	90
Equatorial Guinea	68
Cameroon	65
Angola	49
Congo	39
Gabon	33
São Tomé and Príncipe	14

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Natural resources in Central Africa

Democratic Republic of the Congo depends most on natural resources in Central AfricaNatural resource rents, % of GDP, latest year. The label shows the main resource.

View the data as a table

Item	Detail	Value
Democratic Republic of the Congo	minerals	38.8
Congo	oil	37.7
Angola	oil	30.0
Equatorial Guinea	oil	23.5
Chad	oil	21.3
Gabon	oil	18.5
Central African Republic	forests and timber	10.3
Cameroon	forests and timber	5.5
São Tomé and Príncipe	forests and timber	1.9

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Central Africa compared

How Central Africa compares with Africa's other regionsPopulation-weighted where marked. Click a region to open its page.


Central Africa	9	210.8	370	1,758	62.3
West Africa	16	467.0	735	1,574	58.7
East Africa	18	474.2	630	1,328	65.8
North Africa	6	263.3	972	3,690	72.4
Southern Africa	5	72.3	470	6,499	66.2

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Every country in Central Africa, comparedClick a heading to sort, or a country to open its page.

Showing 9 of 9

Rank
2	Angola	Luanda	39.2	140.7	3,588	64.8	49	30.0	2
3	Cameroon	Yaounde	29.9	59.2	1,980	64.0	65	5.5	2
6	Central African Republic	Bangui	5.5	4.6	841	57.7	90	10.3	4
4	Chad	N'Djamena	19.0	22.0	1,158	55.2	97	21.3	4
5	Congo	Brazzaville	6.5	15.4	2,378	66.0	39	37.7	2
1	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	106.6	92.9	872	62.1	90	38.8	4
8	Equatorial Guinea	Malabo; note - Malabo is on the island of Bioko; some months of the year, the government operates out of Bata on the mainland region.	1.6	12.9	7,850	63.9	68	23.5	2
7	Gabon	Libreville	2.3	21.9	9,491	68.5	33	18.5	2
9	São Tomé and Príncipe	Sao Tome	0.2	1.0	4,084	69.9	14	1.9	2

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Regional blocs in Central Africa

The UN regions are a statistical grouping. Trade and political blocs have their own membership, and some countries belong to more than one.

East African Community (EAC): 8 members

Burundi (East Africa)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Kenya (East Africa)
Rwanda (East Africa)
Somalia (East Africa)
South Sudan (East Africa)
Tanzania (East Africa)
Uganda (East Africa)

Source: EAC member list, checked 24 October 2026.

Southern African Development Community (SADC): 16 members

Angola
Botswana (Southern Africa)
Comoros (East Africa)
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Eswatini (Southern Africa)
Lesotho (Southern Africa)
Madagascar (East Africa)
Malawi (East Africa)
Mauritius (East Africa)
Mozambique (East Africa)
Namibia (Southern Africa)
Seychelles (East Africa)
South Africa (Southern Africa)
Tanzania (East Africa)
Zambia (East Africa)
Zimbabwe (East Africa)

Source: SADC member list, checked 24 October 2026.

Africa's other regions

West Africa16 countries · 467 million people · largest economy Nigeria
East Africa18 countries · 474.2 million people · largest economy Kenya
North Africa6 countries · 263.3 million people · largest economy Egypt
Southern Africa5 countries · 72.3 million people · largest economy South Africa
All regions of AfricaMap and comparison of every region

Method and sources

Countries are grouped by the United Nations M49 standard, where Central Africa is "Middle Africa". Population, GDP and GDP per person are from the International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP) (October 2026); figures from 2026 on are IMF projections. Life expectancy, child mortality and natural resource rents are from the World Bank's World Development Indicators. Regional averages are weighted by population. We do not estimate or fill gaps. Figures checked 24 October 2026.

More: all Africa rankings, richest countries in Africa, African countries by population, life expectancy in Africa, natural resources in Africa, debt in Africa, coups in Africa, human development, literacy, internet use. Compare Central Africa's largest countries side by side.

Frequently asked questions

How many countries are in Central Africa?

9: Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe. This follows the United Nations' M49 grouping, where the region is called Middle Africa. Regional blocs such as EAC or SADC draw the line differently.

Which country in Central Africa has the largest population?

Democratic Republic of the Congo, with 106.6 million people in 2025 according to the IMF, 50.5% of the region.

What is the largest economy in Central Africa?

Angola, with GDP of $141 billion in 2025, 38% of the region's total.

Which is the richest country in Central Africa?

Measured by GDP per person, Gabon: $9,491 in 2025. The poorest by the same measure is Central African Republic, at $841.

What is the population of Central Africa?

210.8 million in 2025, 14.2% of Africa's population. The IMF projects 245.8 million by 2030.

Which countries are in EAC?

East African Community (EAC) has 8 members: Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.

Which countries are in SADC?

Southern African Development Community (SADC) has 16 members: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.