Africa is so much bigger than people realize, covering 20 percent of the total land area of the world – that’s 11.7 million square miles. But just 55 countries call Africa home, which might sound like a lot, but it really isn’t considering the pure size of this continent. As a result of this, some countries in Africa are huge. While you can find several that are relatively small, like Rwanda, you can also find monstrously large nations. But what are the biggest countries in Africa? Well for the purposes of this list I will be solely taking land area into account. So without need of further introduction, here are the ten biggest countries in Africa.
10: Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a very unique nation, which can be seen in many elements of her culture. Perhaps the most visible is the Ethiopian language. Known as Amharic, it is an ancient Semitic language loosely related to Arabic, but with an even more alien looking written form. At 426 thousand square miles, Ethiopia is one of the biggest countries in Africa and has always been known as a strong independent country. Ethiopia was among just a handful of African countries not to be colonized by European powers, apart from a very brief period leading up to the second world war.
For most of it’s history, Ethiopia was a monarchy, and at one point she was a powerful regional empire. So it’s no surprise that she is a large country today. Strangely, though, Ethiopia is actually a landlocked nation and relies on other countries for access to the sea. One of the reasons Ethiopia is so large is that she controls a region that Somalia claims to be rightfully theirs. I’m speaking of the Ogaden region, which only became part of Ethiopia in the 1940s. Historically, it has been Somali land, and still today most of it’s inhabitants are ethnic Somalis. Ethiopia also has several other land disputes with other neighboring countries, but that comes with the territory (literally).
9: South Africa
South Africa is huge… but until recently she was even larger. Just a few decades ago, South Africa was even bigger. Until 1990 Namibia was under the control of South Africa. They were effectively one country – the third largest country in Africa. Since them Namibia has been entirely separate. Yet South Africa remains one of the biggest countries in Africa in it’s own right, covering over 471 thousand square miles. Strangely, South Africa has three different capital cities – Cape town, Bloemfontein, and Pretoria. Different branches of government are based in each city, making it a genuinely well thought out system.
The executive branch is based in Pretoria. South Africa’s judiciary is based in Bloemfontein, and the legislature is based in Cape Town. Johannesburg doesn’t have any branch of government despite being the largest city in South Africa…. which is kinda weird. Due to it’s immense size, many different cultures call South Africa home: from the numerous native African ethnic groups, to the descendants of Dutch settlers, and ethnic Asians who have made a life in Africa. This can be seen in the officially recognized languages of South Africa. They include everything from Dutch and English to Hindustani and Zulu.
8: Mali
Mali is the overlooked giant of North Africa, covering 478 thousand square miles but with a population of just 14 million. This is largely due to the geography of Mali, being a dessert nation stretching into the Sahara. Most of Mali’s population live in the semi arid southern region, as most of the north is little more than wasteland. Because of this, terrorist activity flourishes in the northern region – which has always been hard to govern.
To make things worse, separatist groups are struggling against the government for independence. They aim to cut Mali in half, with the northern region being their land. This war has been fought since 2012 and shows no signs of slowing down. So maybe soon Mali will only be half her current size, knowing her off the list of the biggest countries in Africa. The conflict is a real shame because Mali is a very historically and culturally rich nation, with some of Africa’s most beautiful locations.
7: Angola
Angola has one of Africa’s fastest growing economies. She also has one of the world’s most bloody histories, which can be seen in the fact that it’s flag depicts a machete. The flag actually goes back to the cold war when Angola was ruled by a communist regime. You could call it their version of the hammer and sickle. Angola is also one of the world’s most expensive countries, and has the number one most expensive city of all – Luanda. Angola’s civil war only ended in 2002, but since then the country has largely become peaceful, allowing the economy to pick up.
With her vast natural resources and relatively young population, it could soon be one of the strongest economies in the world – or at least in Africa. Another advantage the country has is the Portuguese language, as the use of an international language can be of great importance for growth. It’s a strong remnant of the time Angola was part of the Portuguese empire. In fact, over 70 percent of Angolans speak Portuguese.
6: Niger
You might have noticed that a lot of the biggest countries in Africa are located in the continents northern regions. This is no coincidence. With less fertile land available and more stretches of wasteland, north African nations find controlling land more manageable. Niger is no different, in the sense that she is massive. Covering 489 thousand square miles, Niger is genuinely huge. But with little land available for farming, being landlocked, and having an impoverished population, the struggle is real for Niger.
Her per capita income is estimated to be around 510 dollars per year, which is about 100 times smaller than the average western nation. Still, Niger has some things going for it. Among others, she has some of the world’s greatest Uranium deposits. Despite a drop in the global uranium market, it’s an industry that can operate all year round and independently of weather conditions, unlike farming. Don’t act surprised, but Niger actually borders the next country on this list, Chad.
5: Chad
Not only does Chad border Niger, it borders the next two entries on this list, proving once and for all that North Africa is the king of the biggest countries in Africa… or something like that. People tend to overlook Chad but it’s a really interesting place. Chad is known by some as “the dead heart of Africa” – thanks both to it’s central location and lack of fertile land. Much of the country is covered in wasteland, with no minerals or natural resources… or at least almost none.
But there was a time when this land was massively important to Africa’s economy, being a crossroad for several vital ancient and medieval trade routes. From 1920 to 1960 the country was under French control, which explains why French is one of their official languages. But just 5 years later a civil war broke out and Chadian history has been bloody ever since.
4: Libya
Much like Chad, Libya is a former European subject that in recent years has been torn apart by civil war. But there is so much more to Libya than that. First of all, she has some of the world’s largest proven oil reserves. So you might be forgiven for assuming she is a rich country. Well until recently she was very rich, by African standards. During the time of Libyan dictator Colonel Gadaffi the country invested oil wealth in education healthcare and infrastructure. But like all the biggest countries in Africa, there was a violent undercurrent present. Long story short, Libya is essentially in anarchy, with different armed forces fighting for control. It’s basically game of thrones in real life. Yet Libya remains one of the biggest countries in Africa, covering 679 thousand square miles.
3: Sudan
Before South Sudan gained independence in 2011, Sudan was actually the largest country in Africa. But even without the south, Sudan still ranks highly, with 718 square miles of land. One of the reasons for the split is that South Sudan is mostly Christian, while Sudan is mostly Islamic. The issue is far from settled, with ongoing border disputes between the two states. Today Sudan is a theocratic dictatorship, ruled by the same man since 1989. He has full control over the state, and therefore the future of Sudan’s 40 million people.
With massive land comes land disputes, and Sudan has several. The most prominent is probably the Halayeb triangle, a large patch of coastal land claimed by both Sudan and Egypt. A remnant of when Sudan and Egypt were governed by the British as one territory, both believe it belongs to them. In practice, the area is controlled by Egypt. But the commercial importance of the region will not allow Sudan to give up on the triangle any time soon.
2: Democratic Republic of the Congo
There are two African countries referred to as “the Congo” but one of them is a lot larger than the other. That is the Democratic Republic of the Congo, covering 905 thousand square miles of Africa’s most rich land. The vast resources available to this nation is mind blowing, more than all of Europe and North America combined. With almost 80 million people, she is actually the most populous French speaking majority country. That’s not entirely surprising when you consider that French is the most widely spoken language of Africa, but it’s still an amazing fact.
The reason for her size is that the country was once the entire African territory of the Belgian empire. Whereas other imperial territories were often broken up into multiple states, it remained as one, and still does today. From 1971 to 1992 the country was known as Zaire, another name for the Congo river, which both Congo nations derive their name from. The Democratic Republic of the Congo remains one of the most important and biggest countries in Africa and the whole world.
1: Algeria
Algeria, the absolute largest country in all of Africa. This country is enormous. Despite being huge, Algeria has little fertile land thanks to it being located within a region known as the Maghreb. The Maghreb is home to over 100 million people so clearly life here can be sustainable, but most of the land is desert. That being so, 90 percent of Algeria’s population live in it’s cooler coastal region for obvious reasons, despite it being just around 1/7th of Algeria’s total land. This is not surprising. For a long time, north African societies have tended to center of the Mediterranean coast, around the big cities of Algiers, Tangier, and Tunis. Most Algerians today speak French as a primary language, as Algeria was a French territory until 1962. But French is not one of Algeria’s two official languages: Arabic and Berber.
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