Skip to content

Regions of Africa

Regions of Africa

Africa's 54 countries by region, with a map, the countries in each region and how the regions compare.

Map of Africa's regionsEach colour is a region. Hover over a country for its figures, or click it for the full country page. The key links to each region.

The 5 regions and their countries

East Africa
18 countries · 474.2 million people · $630 billion GDP
East Africa in full
West Africa
16 countries · 467 million people · $735 billion GDP
West Africa in full
Central Africa
9 countries · 210.8 million people · $370 billion GDP
Central Africa in full
North Africa
6 countries · 263.3 million people · $972 billion GDP
North Africa in full
Southern Africa
5 countries · 72.3 million people · $470 billion GDP
Southern Africa in full

Africa's regions comparedPopulation-weighted where marked. Click a region to open its page.


East Africa	18	474.2	31.9	630	1,328	65.8	50
West Africa	16	467.0	31.4	735	1,574	58.7	92
Central Africa	9	210.8	14.2	370	1,758	62.3	77
North Africa	6	263.3	17.7	972	3,690	72.4	28
Southern Africa	5	72.3	4.9	470	6,499	66.2	36

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

East Africa has the most peoplePopulation by region, millions, 2025.

View the data as a table

Item	Value
East Africa	474.2
West Africa	467.0
North Africa	263.3
Central Africa	210.8
Southern Africa	72.3

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

Each region's share of Africa's populationPopulation, millions, 2025.

View the data as a table

Part	Value	Share
East Africa	474.2	32%
West Africa	467.0	31%
Central Africa	210.8	14%
North Africa	263.3	18%
Southern Africa	72.3	5%

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

Every region keeps growingPopulation, millions: 2015 and IMF projection for 2030.

View the data as a table

Item	2015	2030	Change
East Africa	371.6	533.8	+162.2
West Africa	366.5	502.8	+136.3
Central Africa	155.3	245.8	+90.5
North Africa	219.5	287.6	+68.1
Southern Africa	63.5	76.9	+13.4

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

North Africa is the largest economyGDP by region, billions of US dollars, 2025.

View the data as a table

Item	Value
North Africa	972
West Africa	735
East Africa	630
Southern Africa	470
Central Africa	370

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

Southern Africa has the highest GDP per personGDP per person by region, US dollars, 2025.

View the data as a table

Item	Value
Southern Africa	6,499
North Africa	3,690
Central Africa	1,758
West Africa	1,574
East Africa	1,328

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

Regional economic blocs

Blocs are set by treaty, not geography, so their members cross the UN regions. Membership below is from each bloc's own site.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): 12 members

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger left ECOWAS in January 2025 and formed the Alliance of Sahel States.

ECOWAS member list

East African Community (EAC): 8 members

EAC member list

Southern African Development Community (SADC): 16 members

SADC member list

Method and sources

Regions follow the United Nations M49 standard. 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), with IMF projections from 2026. Life expectancy and child mortality are from the World Bank. Regional averages are weighted by population. Nothing is estimated by us.

More: all Africa rankings, African countries by population, largest economies in Africa, natural resources in Africa, every country's government.

Frequently asked questions

How many regions are there in Africa?

The United Nations divides Africa into 5 regions: East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa, North Africa and Southern Africa. In the UN's own wording they are Eastern Africa, Western Africa, Middle Africa, Northern Africa and Southern Africa. Some sources merge or split them differently, and trade blocs such as ECOWAS and SADC have their own membership.

Which countries are in East Africa?

18 countries: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Which countries are in West Africa?

16 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Which countries are in Central Africa?

9 countries: Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Which countries are in North Africa?

6 countries: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan and Tunisia.

Which countries are in Southern Africa?

5 countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa.

Which region of Africa has the most people?

East Africa, with 474.2 million in 2025, 31.9% of Africa's population.

Which region of Africa is the richest?

By GDP per person, Southern Africa: $6,499 in 2025. By total GDP, North Africa, at $972 billion.