Africa

The Equator cuts Africa almost in half, and roughly four-fifths of its land sits between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The catalogue files 58 countries here across eight regions, and four of them are not sovereign states: the roster records Mayotte and Réunion under France, Saint Helena under the United Kingdom, and Western Sahara as disputed.

Read more about Africa

58 countries

Common questions

Questions about Africa

Which countries in Africa are not sovereign states?

Three dependencies and one disputed territory. The roster records Mayotte and Réunion under France and Saint Helena under the United Kingdom, and it records Western Sahara as disputed.

How much of Africa lies in the tropics?

About four-fifths of the continent sits between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, and the Equator divides it almost equally.

Why does a continent grouping carry no political meaning here?

The UN Statistics Division states that its own regional groupings are a statistical convenience implying nothing about political affiliation, and this catalogue takes the same position.