Africa data wall

Compare African countries

Name: African countries compared
Creator: PollsAfrica
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

All 54 countries on 45 measures in one table. Pick what to compare, sort, filter by region, or put countries side by side.

Region Country

Tick up to 4 countries to compare them side by side. Darker green means better for people; grey shows size where higher is neither better nor worse.

African countries compared on 15 measures
		million · ranking	% · ranking	million · ranking	sq km · ranking	per sq km · ranking	US$ billion · ranking	US$ · ranking	% · ranking	% of GDP · ranking	% of GDP · ranking	US$ million · ranking	months · ranking	years · ranking	per 1,000 births · ranking	US$ · ranking
Algeria	North Africa	47.4	18.7	50.2	2,381,740	20	284.5	5,997	3.8	0.6	0.5	202	11.6	76.5	22	233
Angola	Central Africa	39.2	39.3	46.6	1,246,700	31	140.7	3,588	3.1	0	1.8	147	5.3	64.8	49	76
Benin	West Africa	14.8	30.4	17.1	114,760	131	24.6	1,661	8.1	1.7	2	1,035	–	61	75	47
Botswana	Southern Africa	2.5	15.7	2.7	581,730	4	19.9	7,802	-0.7	0.8	-3.3	285	4.7	69.3	33	490
Burkina Faso	West Africa	24.1	28.2	27	274,200	88	27.7	1,150	5.3	2.6	1.1	1,436	–	61.3	75	72
Burundi	East Africa	14.5	31	16.8	27,834	563	6.8	469	4.2	8.1	1	622	0.7	63.8	47	28
Cabo Verde	West Africa	0.5	4.7	0.5	4,030	128	3.1	5,961	6.3	11.7	5	102	8.7	76.2	11	290
Cameroon	Central Africa	29.9	31.3	33.8	475,442	63	59.2	1,980	3.2	1.3	1	940	5.3	64	65	79
Central African Republic	Central Africa	5.5	20.1	6.5	622,980	9	4.6	841	4.5	–	1.4	738	–	57.7	90	54
Chad	Central Africa	19	34.4	21.7	1,284,000	15	22	1,158	5.6	–	0	1,138	–	55.2	97	47
Comoros	East Africa	0.9	24.7	1	1,870	487	1.6	1,768	3.8	20.8	0.5	166	7.6	67	39	102
Congo	Central Africa	6.5	28.1	7.4	342,000	19	15.4	2,378	3.1	0.3	3.7	378	1.6	66	39	76
Côte d'Ivoire	West Africa	32.9	32.6	37.9	322,460	103	99.9	3,037	6.5	2	2	2,376	–	62.1	65	88
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Central Africa	106.6	37.9	125.1	2,345,410	47	92.9	872	5.8	3.6	2.1	4,347	1.7	62.1	90	23
Djibouti	East Africa	1.1	15.5	1.1	23,200	46	4.5	4,251	6.5	1.3	3.2	222	0.9	66.2	49	78
Egypt	North Africa	107.9	21.2	120.3	1,001,450	108	364.6	3,379	4.4	11.4	4.2	480	4.4	71.8	22	141
Equatorial Guinea	Central Africa	1.6	39.3	1.9	28,052	58	12.9	7,850	-5.8	–	2.3	12	–	63.9	68	234
Eritrea	East Africa	–	–	–	121,630	–	–	–	–	–	–	129	–	68.9	34	28
Eswatini	Southern Africa	1.3	9.8	1.3	17,364	73	5.2	4,148	4.2	0.7	1	110	1.9	64.3	45	296
Ethiopia	East Africa	110.6	24.1	119.7	1,129,819	99	126.4	1,142	9.8	4.8	3	5,402	1.8	67.6	45	35
Gabon	Central Africa	2.3	19.5	2.6	267,670	9	21.9	9,491	2.5	0.1	1.8	53	4.2	68.5	33	253
Gambia	West Africa	2.9	28.4	3.2	11,295	282	2.8	974	5.9	23.8	10.6	344	4.8	66.1	42	26
Ghana	West Africa	35.1	22.2	38.2	238,539	154	114.7	3,271	6	2.1	1.7	1,572	3.8	65.7	36	70
Guinea	West Africa	15.8	28	17.9	245,857	64	42.3	2,675	7.4	2.5	27.4	532	1.3	60.9	92	59
Guinea-Bissau	West Africa	2	24	2.2	36,125	72	2.7	1,315	5.8	9.9	1.3	189	–	64.3	67	82
Kenya	East Africa	53.4	23.2	58	591,970	92	135.9	2,548	4.6	3.8	0.8	2,596	4.6	63.8	39	85
Lesotho	Southern Africa	2.4	12.3	2.5	30,360	78	2.8	1,170	2	20.8	1.3	172	5.5	57.8	60	123
Liberia	West Africa	5.7	28.2	6.4	111,370	59	5.2	910	5	21.3	9.5	563	2	62.3	86	104
Libya	North Africa	7.5	14.2	7.9	1,759,540	4	44.7	5,998	13.4	–	1.7	360	31.6	71.1	10	470
Madagascar	East Africa	31.4	33.8	36.1	591,896	54	19.5	619	3	3.1	4.5	1,254	5.5	63.8	62	17
Malawi	East Africa	24.1	32.8	27.7	118,484	255	15.1	627	1.9	2	3.6	1,731	1.9	67.6	49	41
Mali	West Africa	25.2	35.7	29.3	1,241,238	21	31.2	1,238	5.6	4	2.8	1,292	–	60.7	73	34
Mauritania	West Africa	4.6	24.9	5.2	1,030,700	4	12.6	2,723	4	0.9	5.4	419	5.4	68.7	37	92
Mauritius	East Africa	1.2	-1	1.2	2,010	622	16.1	12,935	3.2	1.9	5	95	5.2	73.8	15	616
Morocco	North Africa	37.7	10.5	39.3	446,550	84	184	4,878	4.6	7.5	1.8	772	5.9	75.5	16	232
Mozambique	East Africa	35.8	32.5	40.9	799,380	46	23.6	659	-0.5	1.2	25.8	2,927	3.4	63.8	59	53
Namibia	Southern Africa	3.1	30.7	3.4	824,292	4	15.1	4,924	1.7	0.7	9.6	272	4	67.5	40	397
Niger	West Africa	29.1	45.6	34.8	1,267,000	23	21.3	730	7	3.3	1.2	1,283	–	61.4	111	26
Nigeria	West Africa	237.6	24.6	263.7	923,768	261	290.5	1,223	4	7.8	1.4	3,596	7.1	54.6	116	67
Rwanda	East Africa	14.2	25.7	15.6	26,340	596	16.4	1,156	9.4	3.4	5.9	1,387	4.2	68	38	53
São Tomé and Príncipe	Central Africa	0.2	20	0.3	960	250	1	4,084	1	3.7	10.5	87	2.7	69.9	14	171
Senegal	West Africa	19.2	31.5	–	196,710	100	37.1	1,934	6.7	10.6	0.1	1,860	–	68.9	37	73
Seychelles	East Africa	0.1	–	0.1	457	267	2.3	19,007	5.8	0.5	10	16	3.7	76.3	14	766
Sierra Leone	West Africa	8.8	25.3	9.8	72,300	122	7.7	874	4.6	4.6	2.4	498	1.8	62	91	36
Somalia	East Africa	17	31.8	19.5	637,657	27	13.2	780	3	–	6.4	2,281	–	59	101	22
South Africa	Southern Africa	63.1	13.3	67	1,219,602	52	427.1	6,769	1.1	0.2	-0.5	1,507	6.2	66.3	35	537
South Sudan	East Africa	12.2	9.7	13.5	646,883	19	5.5	454	-10.8	9.5	0	1,792	0.2	57.7	97	73
Sudan	North Africa	50.4	31.2	57.3	1,878,000	27	36.5	724	3.1	0	0	1,390	0.2	66.5	62	21
Tanzania	East Africa	70.5	35.6	80.9	945,500	80	89.6	1,270	5.9	1.4	1.9	3,057	5.4	67.2	37	36
Togo	West Africa	8.7	22.8	9.7	56,785	160	11.9	1,371	6.3	8.7	1.9	616	–	62.9	56	60
Tunisia	North Africa	12.3	8.3	12.6	163,610	79	57.3	4,637	2.5	6.7	2	1,226	4.5	76.7	12	318
Uganda	East Africa	48	35.3	57.3	241,551	239	66.5	1,384	6.3	4.5	5.4	2,257	2.3	68.5	49	45
Zambia	East Africa	21.9	33.6	25	752,612	29	28.7	1,310	3.8	1.4	4.5	1,422	3.3	66.5	48	80
Zimbabwe	East Africa	17.4	23.3	19.3	390,760	45	58.3	3,358	8.1	8.5	1.9	792	0.5	63.1	65	63

54 of 54 countries shown. A dash means the source publishes no figure. Every number links to the page with its detail and source.

Download every figure as CSV (free to reuse with credit, CC BY 4.0).

Popular comparisons

What each measure means, and who leads

People

Population million: People living in the country, IMF estimate. Largest: Nigeria (237.6); smallest: Seychelles (0.1). 53 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. More: African countries by population.
Population growth since 2015 %: Change in population from 2015 to 2025. Largest: Niger (45.6); smallest: Mauritius (-1). 52 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. More: African countries by population.
Projected population 2030 million: IMF projection. Largest: Nigeria (263.7); smallest: Seychelles (0.1). 52 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. More: African countries by population.
Area sq km: Total area including lakes and rivers. Largest: Algeria (2,381,740); smallest: Seychelles (457). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Largest countries in Africa.
People per sq km per sq km: Population divided by land area. Largest: Mauritius (622); smallest: Namibia (4). 53 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Largest countries in Africa.

Economy

GDP US$ billion: Size of the economy in current US dollars. Largest: South Africa (427.1); smallest: São Tomé and Príncipe (1). 53 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. More: Largest economies in Africa.
GDP per person US$: GDP divided by population, current US dollars. Best: Seychelles (19,007); worst: South Sudan (454). 53 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026. More: Richest countries in Africa.
GDP growth %: Real annual growth of GDP, latest year. Best: Libya (13.4); worst: South Sudan (-10.8). 53 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: African economies compared.
Remittances, % of GDP % of GDP: Money sent home by citizens abroad, as a share of GDP. Largest: Gambia (23.8); smallest: Sudan (0). 48 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: African economies compared.
Foreign investment, % of GDP % of GDP: Net inflows of foreign direct investment, as a share of GDP. Best: Guinea (27.4); worst: Botswana (-3.3). 53 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Who invests in Africa.
Aid received US$ million: Net official development assistance received. Largest: Ethiopia (5,402); smallest: Equatorial Guinea (12). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: African economies compared.
Reserves, months of imports months: Foreign reserves including gold, in months of imports they would pay for. Best: Libya (31.6); worst: Sudan (0.2). 41 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: African economies compared.

Debt

External debt US$ billion: Total external debt stocks, public and private. Largest: South Africa (175.9); smallest: São Tomé and Príncipe (0.3). 49 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, International Debt Statistics. More: Debt in Africa.
External debt, % of GDP % of GDP: External debt stocks divided by GDP in the same year. Best: Algeria (2.6); worst: Mozambique (306.6). 48 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, International Debt Statistics. More: Debt in Africa.
Owed to China, % of public external debt %: Public and publicly guaranteed external debt owed to Chinese lenders, as a share of all such debt. Largest: Equatorial Guinea (92.6); smallest: São Tomé and Príncipe (0). 48 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, International Debt Statistics. More: Debt in Africa.
Government debt, % of GDP % of GDP: General government gross debt, domestic and foreign, as a share of GDP. Best: Democratic Republic of the Congo (20.4); worst: Eritrea (260.4). 53 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook. More: Debt in Africa.
Largest creditor's share of foreign public debt %: How much of the government's foreign debt is owed to its single largest lender. Largest: Equatorial Guinea (92.6); smallest: Sudan (16.7). 50 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, International Debt Statistics. More: Debt in Africa.

Health

Life expectancy years: Years a newborn is expected to live at current death rates. Best: Tunisia (76.7); worst: Nigeria (54.6). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects). More: Life expectancy in Africa.
Child deaths under five per 1,000 births: Children who die before their fifth birthday, per 1,000 live births. Best: Libya (10); worst: Nigeria (116). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation). More: Life expectancy in Africa.
Health spending per person US$: Current health spending per person, all sources. Best: Seychelles (766); worst: Madagascar (17). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WHO Global Health Expenditure Database). More: Life expectancy in Africa.

Education and development

Human Development Index 0 to 1: UNDP's summary of health, schooling and income; 1 is the highest. Best: Seychelles (0.85); worst: South Sudan (0.39). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: UNDP, Human Development Report, composite indices time series. More: Human Development Index in Africa.
Adult literacy % aged 15+: Share of people aged 15 and over who can read and write a short simple statement. Best: Mauritius (94.3); worst: South Sudan (26.8). 52 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Literacy rate in Africa.
Youth literacy % aged 15 to 24: Share of people aged 15 to 24 who can read and write. Best: Mauritius (99.8); worst: South Sudan (36.7). 53 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Literacy rate in Africa.
Education spending, % of GDP % of GDP: Government spending on education. Some countries report central government only. Best: Namibia (9.1); worst: Somalia (0). 52 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Literacy rate in Africa.
Internet users % of people: Share of people who used the internet in the last three months, from any device. Best: Morocco (91.2); worst: South Sudan (6.7). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Tech in Africa.
Mobile subscriptions per 100 people: Mobile phone subscriptions per 100 people; above 100 means many people hold more than one SIM. Best: Libya (193); worst: Liberia (32). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Tech in Africa.
Access to electricity % of people: Share of people with an electricity connection. Best: Algeria (100); worst: South Sudan (5.4). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Tech in Africa.

Safety

Homicide rate per 100,000: Intentional homicides per 100,000 people, UN Office on Drugs and Crime via the World Bank. Best: Senegal (0.3); worst: South Africa (43.7). 37 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Safest countries in Africa.
Conflict deaths deaths: Battle-related deaths in the latest year, Uppsala Conflict Data Program via the World Bank. Best: Rwanda (1); worst: Sudan (4,680). 30 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Safest countries in Africa.
US travel advisory level level 1 to 4: US State Department travel advisory: 1 is exercise normal precautions, 4 is do not travel. Best: Zambia (1); worst: Burkina Faso (4). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: US Department of State. More: Safest countries in Africa.

Politics and stability

Voice and accountability score 0 to 100: How freely citizens choose their government and speak, associate and report. World Bank governance score, the closest open measure of democracy. Best: Cabo Verde (74); worst: Eritrea (15). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators. More: Coups and stability in Africa.
Political stability score 0 to 100: Likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence; higher is more stable. Best: Seychelles (86); worst: Mali (22). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators. More: Coups and stability in Africa.
Control of corruption score 0 to 100: How far public power is kept from private gain; higher means less corruption. Best: Seychelles (73); worst: South Sudan (6). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, Worldwide Governance Indicators. More: Coups and stability in Africa.
Successful coups on record coups: Coups that removed the government, counted from 1945, when the dataset starts, or from independence. Best: Zambia (0); worst: Burkina Faso (11). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: Cline Center for Advanced Social Research, University of Illinois, Coup d'État Project Dataset. More: Coups in Africa.
Coups and failed attempts events: Successful coups plus failed attempts; plots that never reached an attempt are left out. Best: South Africa (0); worst: Sudan (21). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: Cline Center for Advanced Social Research, University of Illinois, Coup d'État Project Dataset. More: Coups in Africa.
Year of the last successful coup year: Blank where the dataset records no successful coup. Largest: Guinea-Bissau (2,025); smallest: Benin (1,972). 38 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: Cline Center for Advanced Social Research, University of Illinois, Coup d'État Project Dataset. More: Coups in Africa.

Natural resources

Natural resource rents, % of GDP % of GDP: Value of oil, gas, coal, minerals and timber extracted minus the cost of extracting them. Largest: Libya (61); smallest: Mauritius (0). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Natural resources in Africa.
Oil production thousand barrels a day: Crude oil including lease condensate, US Energy Information Administration. Largest: Nigeria (1,605); smallest: Zimbabwe (0). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. More: Natural resources in Africa.
Gas production billion m³: Dry natural gas, US Energy Information Administration. Largest: Algeria (98.8); smallest: Zimbabwe (0). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration. More: Natural resources in Africa.
Forest, % of land % of land: Land under trees of at least five metres. Largest: Gabon (91.4); smallest: Egypt (0). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Natural resources in Africa.
Arable land, % of land % of land: Land under temporary crops, meadows and fallow. Largest: Gambia (58.1); smallest: Djibouti (0.2). 54 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. More: Natural resources in Africa.

Wages and prices

Minimum wage, US$ a month US$ a month: National monthly minimum wage converted at the published exchange rate. Countries that set daily or hourly rates, or none, are left blank. Best: Côte d'Ivoire (128); worst: Côte d'Ivoire (128). 1 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: National labour ministries and gazettes. More: Minimum wage in Africa.
Petrol price, US$ a litre US$ a litre: Pump price of petrol at the official or reference rate, converted to US dollars. Best: Cameroon (1.44); worst: South Africa (1.84). 3 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: National energy regulators. More: Fuel prices in Africa.

Leaders

President's age years: Age of the sitting president today. Monarchs are not included. Largest: Cameroon (93); smallest: Burkina Faso (38). 51 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: PollsAfrica government directory and Wikidata. More: Oldest presidents in Africa.
President's years in office years: Time since the sitting president took office, without a break. Largest: Equatorial Guinea (47.2); smallest: Benin (0.4). 51 of 54 countries have a figure. Source: PollsAfrica government directory and Wikidata. More: Longest serving presidents.

Every country, by region

Each country page has its government, elections, economy and where it ranks in Africa. Follow the region to compare it with its neighbours.

Southern Africa

Regions of Africa compared · All Africa rankings · Natural resources in Africa

Method

Each figure is the latest year its source publishes, so years differ between measures and sometimes between countries; hover over a figure to see its year. Shading compares a country with the other 54 on that measure. Money is in current US dollars; minimum wages and fuel prices are converted at the published exchange rate on our fuel and wage pages. We do not estimate missing figures.

Frequently asked questions

How can I compare two African countries?

Tick both countries in the table on this page, up to four at once, and they appear side by side on all 45 measures, with the better figure marked on each row. You can also link straight to a comparison, for example https://pollsafrica.com/compare-african-countries?c=nigeria,ghana.

Where does the data come from?

The IMF World Economic Outlook for population and GDP, the World Bank for health, debt, investment and land, the US Energy Information Administration for oil and gas, the US State Department for travel advisories, national gazettes and regulators for minimum wages and fuel prices, and our own government directory for leaders. Each measure below names its source and links to it.

Why are some cells empty?

A dash means the source publishes no figure for that country. We never estimate or fill gaps.

Which African country has the highest gdp per person?

Seychelles, at 19,007 US$ (2025). South Sudan is at the other end, at 454. Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook database, October 2026 (DataMapper indicators NGDPDPC, NGDPD and LP), October 2026.

Which African country has the highest life expectancy?

Tunisia, at 76.7 years (2024). Nigeria is at the other end, at 54.6. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects).

Which African country has the lowest external debt, % of gdp?

Algeria, at 2.6 % of GDP (2024). Mozambique is at the other end, at 306.6. Source: World Bank, International Debt Statistics.

Which African country has the lowest homicide rate?

Senegal, at 0.3 per 100,000 (2015). South Africa is at the other end, at 43.7. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators.