Africa rankings

Coups in Africa

Every successful coup, failed attempt and plot on record, country by country, with stability and democracy scores.

Coups since 2021

Guinea-Bissau, 26 November 2025: military
Madagascar, 3 October 2025: military, dissident faction, popular revolt
Gabon, 30 August 2023: military
Niger, 25 July 2023: military
Burkina Faso, 30 September 2022: military
Burkina Faso, 24 January 2022: military
Sudan, 25 October 2021: military
Guinea, 5 September 2021: military
Tunisia, 25 July 2021: self-coup by the leader
Mali, 24 May 2021: military
Chad, 21 April 2021: military, palace coup

Map: successful coups in each African countryDarker means fewer coups. Hover over a country for its record, or click it for its page.

0 to 0
0 to 2
2 to 4
4 to 6
6 to 11
No figure

Sudan has had the most coups in AfricaSuccessful coups and failed attempts by country, all years on record. Countries with at least one.

View the data as a table

Item	Successful coups	Failed attempts
Sudan	11	10
Burkina Faso	11	0
Burundi	8	7
Congo	7	7
Sierra Leone	7	6
Uganda	7	5
Algeria	7	3
Ethiopia	7	2
Nigeria	7	2
Comoros	6	6
Benin	6	5
Mauritania	6	3
Egypt	6	1
Chad	5	9
Guinea-Bissau	5	8
Central African Republic	5	5
Ghana	5	5
Madagascar	5	5
Lesotho	5	4
Mali	5	3
Niger	5	3
Togo	4	7
Liberia	4	6
Tunisia	4	0
Democratic Republic of the Congo	3	8
Guinea	3	5
Gabon	3	1
Libya	2	7
Côte d'Ivoire	2	3
Somalia	2	2
São Tomé and Príncipe	2	1
Eswatini	2	0
Rwanda	2	0
Gambia	1	3
Equatorial Guinea	1	2
Angola	1	1
Seychelles	1	1
Zimbabwe	1	0
Morocco	0	2
Zambia	0	2
Cameroon	0	1
Djibouti	0	1
Eritrea	0	1
Kenya	0	1
Mozambique	0	1
Senegal	0	1
South Sudan	0	1
Tanzania	0	1

Source: Cline Center for Advanced Social Research, University of Illinois, Coup d'État Project Dataset. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Coups in Africa by decadeSuccessful coups and failed attempts. The latest decade is not complete.

View the data as a table

Item	Successful coups	Failed attempts
1940s	0	0
1950s	6	2
1960s	38	20
1970s	34	38
1980s	24	27
1990s	37	27
2000s	10	20
2010s	13	15
2020s	12	9

Source: Cline Center for Advanced Social Research, University of Illinois, Coup d'État Project Dataset. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Every coup and attempt in Africa since 2001Newest first. Click a country for its page.

Showing 74 of 74


2025-12-07	Benin	Failed coup attempt	military
2025-11-26	Guinea-Bissau	Successful coup	military
2025-10-03	Madagascar	Successful coup	military, dissident faction, popular revolt
2024-05-19	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction
2023-11-30	Guinea-Bissau	Failed coup attempt	military
2023-11-26	Sierra Leone	Failed coup attempt	military, dissident faction
2023-08-30	Gabon	Successful coup	military
2023-07-25	Niger	Successful coup	military
2022-11-24	São Tomé and Príncipe	Failed coup attempt	military, dissident faction
2022-09-30	Burkina Faso	Successful coup	military
2022-02-01	Guinea-Bissau	Failed coup attempt	military
2022-01-24	Burkina Faso	Successful coup	military
2021-10-25	Sudan	Successful coup	military
2021-09-21	Sudan	Failed coup attempt	military, dissident faction
2021-09-05	Guinea	Successful coup	military
2021-07-25	Tunisia	Successful coup	self-coup by the leader
2021-05-24	Mali	Successful coup	military
2021-04-21	Chad	Successful coup	military, palace coup
2021-03-31	Niger	Failed coup attempt	military
2021-01-13	Central African Republic	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction, rebels
2020-08-18	Mali	Successful coup	military
2019-04-11	Sudan	Successful coup	military, popular revolt
2019-04-02	Algeria	Successful coup	military, popular revolt
2019-01-07	Gabon	Failed coup attempt	military
2017-11-15	Zimbabwe	Successful coup	military
2016-10-14	Libya	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction, rebels
2015-09-23	Burkina Faso	Successful coup	military, foreign-backed
2015-09-16	Burkina Faso	Successful coup	military
2015-05-13	Burundi	Failed coup attempt	military
2014-12-30	Gambia	Failed coup attempt	military
2014-10-30	Burkina Faso	Successful coup	military, popular revolt
2014-08-30	Lesotho	Failed coup attempt	military
2014-05-18	Libya	Failed coup attempt	military
2013-12-30	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction
2013-12-15	South Sudan	Failed coup attempt	military
2013-10-10	Libya	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction
2013-07-03	Egypt	Successful coup	military
2013-01-21	Eritrea	Failed coup attempt	military
2012-10-21	Guinea-Bissau	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction
2012-04-30	Mali	Failed coup attempt	military
2012-04-12	Guinea-Bissau	Successful coup	military
2012-03-22	Mali	Successful coup	military
2011-07-19	Guinea	Failed coup attempt	military, dissident faction
2011-02-17	Libya	Successful coup	rebels, popular revolt
2011-02-11	Egypt	Successful coup	military, popular revolt
2011-01-14	Tunisia	Successful coup	popular revolt
2010-11-17	Madagascar	Failed coup attempt	military
2010-04-01	Guinea-Bissau	Failed coup attempt	military
2010-02-18	Niger	Successful coup	military
2009-12-03	Guinea	Failed coup attempt	palace coup
2009-04-22	Lesotho	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction
2009-03-17	Madagascar	Successful coup	military, popular revolt
2008-12-23	Guinea	Successful coup	military
2008-11-23	Guinea-Bissau	Failed coup attempt	military
2008-08-06	Mauritania	Successful coup	military
2008-02-02	Chad	Failed coup attempt	rebels, foreign-backed
2006-11-18	Madagascar	Failed coup attempt	military
2006-04-13	Chad	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction
2005-08-03	Mauritania	Successful coup	military
2005-05-25	Guinea-Bissau	Failed coup attempt	Not published
2005-02-05	Togo	Successful coup	military
2004-06-11	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Failed coup attempt	military
2004-03-28	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction
2003-09-14	Guinea-Bissau	Successful coup	military
2003-07-16	São Tomé and Príncipe	Successful coup	military
2003-06-08	Mauritania	Failed coup attempt	military, dissident faction
2003-03-15	Central African Republic	Successful coup	military, rebels
2002-10-25	Central African Republic	Successful coup	rebels
2002-09-19	Côte d'Ivoire	Failed coup attempt	military
2001-12-19	Comoros	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction
2001-07-22	Burundi	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction
2001-05-28	Central African Republic	Failed coup attempt	rebels, palace coup
2001-04-18	Burundi	Failed coup attempt	military
2001-01-07	Côte d'Ivoire	Failed coup attempt	dissident faction, foreign-backed

Source: Cline Center for Advanced Social Research, University of Illinois, Coup d'État Project Dataset. Last checked 24 October 2026.

Democracy, stability and corruption scoresWorld Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, score 0 to 100, higher is better. Beside each country's coup record.

Showing 54 of 54

Rank
30	Algeria	North Africa	54	38	37	7	2019
21	Angola	Central Africa	58	39	34	1	1975
18	Benin	West Africa	59	51	44	6	1972
2	Botswana	Southern Africa	85	65	60	0	Not published
48	Burkina Faso	West Africa	34	36	44	11	2022
40	Burundi	East Africa	44	29	17	8	1996
4	Cabo Verde	West Africa	81	74	66	0	Not published
44	Cameroon	Central Africa	36	35	24	0	Not published
45	Central African Republic	Central Africa	36	34	21	5	2003
42	Chad	Central Africa	38	31	21	5	2021
17	Comoros	East Africa	62	38	30	6	1999
22	Congo	Central Africa	57	34	19	7	1997
32	Côte d'Ivoire	West Africa	53	48	43	2	2000
52	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Central Africa	28	36	18	3	1997
23	Djibouti	East Africa	57	33	29	0	Not published
36	Egypt	North Africa	50	28	34	6	2013
13	Equatorial Guinea	Central Africa	63	25	18	1	1979
29	Eritrea	East Africa	55	15	16	0	Not published
25	Eswatini	Southern Africa	56	31	32	2	1983
49	Ethiopia	East Africa	33	34	40	7	1991
7	Gabon	Central Africa	68	43	32	3	2023
10	Gambia	West Africa	66	54	38	1	1994
9	Ghana	West Africa	67	64	46	5	1981
33	Guinea	West Africa	53	36	27	3	2021
26	Guinea-Bissau	West Africa	56	38	20	5	2025
39	Kenya	East Africa	46	52	31	0	Not published
11	Lesotho	Southern Africa	65	60	43	5	1994
14	Liberia	West Africa	63	58	29	4	1994
50	Libya	North Africa	33	31	17	2	2011
27	Madagascar	East Africa	56	46	27	5	2025
15	Malawi	East Africa	63	58	35	0	Not published
54	Mali	West Africa	22	35	29	5	2021
31	Mauritania	West Africa	54	41	29	6	2008
3	Mauritius	East Africa	82	69	56	0	Not published
28	Morocco	North Africa	56	45	38	0	Not published
43	Mozambique	East Africa	37	41	26	0	Not published
5	Namibia	Southern Africa	79	65	51	0	Not published
46	Niger	West Africa	35	37	33	5	2023
47	Nigeria	West Africa	35	46	27	7	1993
8	Rwanda	East Africa	68	44	61	2	1994
6	São Tomé and Príncipe	Central Africa	75	61	51	2	2003
16	Senegal	West Africa	63	61	51	0	Not published
1	Seychelles	East Africa	86	70	73	1	1977
19	Sierra Leone	West Africa	59	49	32	7	1998
53	Somalia	East Africa	28	29	14	2	1991
20	South Africa	Southern Africa	59	70	45	0	Not published
41	South Sudan	East Africa	39	23	6	0	Not published
51	Sudan	North Africa	29	21	16	11	2021
24	Tanzania	East Africa	57	43	41	0	Not published
35	Togo	West Africa	51	39	34	4	2005
34	Tunisia	North Africa	53	46	44	4	2021
37	Uganda	East Africa	50	39	26	7	1986
12	Zambia	East Africa	65	52	39	0	Not published
38	Zimbabwe	East Africa	50	34	22	1	2017

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

Coups by region

West Africa: 71 successful coups
East Africa: 39 successful coups
North Africa: 30 successful coups
Central Africa: 27 successful coups
Southern Africa: 7 successful coups

Method and sources

A coup is an organised attempt by a group inside the state to remove the leader. The Cline Center counts it as successful when the leader is removed, failed when the attempt is made and defeated, and a plot when it is stopped before it starts. Self-coups, where a leader suspends the constitution to stay, are counted too. Counts run from 1947, or from independence. Licence: CC BY.

Cline Center Coup d'État Project dataset · World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators · Compare every country on stability and democracy · Longest serving presidents in Africa · Elections across Africa

Frequently asked questions

How many coups have there been in Africa?

174 successful coups and 158 failed attempts from 1947 to 2026, in the Cline Center Coup d'État Project. Counting plots, 452 events in all.

Which African country has had the most coups?

Sudan, with 11 successful coups and 10 failed attempts. Next: Burkina Faso (11), Burundi (8), Congo (7) and Sierra Leone (7).

Which African countries have had coups recently?

Since 2021: Guinea-Bissau (26 November 2025), Madagascar (3 October 2025), Gabon (30 August 2023), Niger (25 July 2023), Burkina Faso (30 September 2022), Burkina Faso (24 January 2022), Sudan (25 October 2021), Guinea (5 September 2021), Tunisia (25 July 2021), Mali (24 May 2021) and Chad (21 April 2021).

Which African countries have never had a coup?

Botswana, Cabo Verde, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia and South Africa. None of them has had a successful or attempted coup on record, though plots were uncovered in some.