You’ve probably seen the meme. It’s that one where someone tries to point to "Africa" on a globe like it’s a single country. It's funny because it's painful. Honestly, even if you know your geography, keeping up with a map of african countries with capitals is a moving target.
Things change fast. Just this month, in early 2026, Equatorial Guinea officially moved its seat of power from the island of Malabo to a brand-new, purpose-built city in the jungle called Ciudad de la Paz.
Most maps you find online are already out of date.
Africa isn't just one thing. It's 54 countries (or 55, if you’re at the African Union and counting the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic). It is a massive, sprawling jigsaw puzzle of over 1.4 billion people speaking upwards of 2,000 languages. If you're trying to memorize the capitals for a trivia night or planning a massive cross-continental trek, you need the ground truth.
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The Shifting Seats of Power
Governments in Africa love a fresh start. You might have learned that Lagos is the capital of Nigeria. Wrong. It hasn't been since 1991 when they moved it to Abuja to be more "central."
But let’s look at the weird ones—the countries that couldn't pick just one city.
South Africa is the famous triple-threat. They have three capitals.
- Pretoria handles the paperwork (Administrative).
- Cape Town makes the laws (Legislative).
- Bloemfontein deals with the judges (Judicial).
Then you have Burundi. For a long time, Bujumbura was the name on everyone's lips. But as of the last few years, Gitega is the official political capital. Bujumbura is still the economic heartbeat, but if you're looking for the president's office, you’re headed 100 kilometers east into the central plateau.
Tanzania is another tricky one. Dodoma is the official capital. It has been for decades on paper. But Dar es Salaam is so big and so important that many embassies and government offices simply refused to leave the coast for a long time. It's only recently that the full weight of the government has truly cemented itself in Dodoma.
Why Do the Names Keep Changing?
It isn't just the cities moving; it’s the names themselves.
The Kingdom of Eswatini used to be Swaziland. King Mswati III changed it in 2018 basically because he was tired of people confusing his country with Switzerland. He also wanted to shed the colonial-era name. The capitals there? Mbabane is the executive one, while Lobamba is the royal and legislative seat.
Basically, the map is a living document.
The Big List: Countries and Capitals (Northern & Western)
Let's break these down by region. It's easier to digest than one giant block of text.
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Northern Africa
This region is dominated by the Sahara and a long Mediterranean history.
- Algeria: Algiers
- Egypt: Cairo (Though they are building a massive "New Administrative Capital" in the desert right now)
- Libya: Tripoli
- Morocco: Rabat
- Sudan: Khartoum
- Tunisia: Tunis
Western Africa
This is the most densely populated region. It’s where you’ll find some of the fastest-growing cities on Earth.
- Benin: Porto-Novo (Official), Cotonou (Economic)
- Burkina Faso: Ouagadougou
- Cabo Verde: Praia
- Côte d'Ivoire: Yamoussoukro (Official), Abidjan (Economic)
- The Gambia: Banjul
- Ghana: Accra
- Guinea: Conakry
- Guinea-Bissau: Bissau
- Liberia: Monrovia
- Mali: Bamako
- Mauritania: Nouakchott
- Niger: Niamey
- Nigeria: Abuja
- Senegal: Dakar
- Sierra Leone: Freetown
- Togo: Lomé
The Heart and the Horn: Central & Eastern Africa
Central Africa
Lush rainforests and the massive Congo River basin define this area.
- Angola: Luanda
- Cameroon: Yaoundé
- Central African Republic: Bangui
- Chad: N'Djamena
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kinshasa
- Republic of the Congo: Brazzaville (These two are the closest capitals in the world, separated only by the river)
- Equatorial Guinea: Ciudad de la Paz (Official as of 2026), Malabo (Former)
- Gabon: Libreville
- São Tomé and Príncipe: São Tomé
Eastern Africa
The "Horn" and the Great Lakes.
- Burundi: Gitega
- Comoros: Moroni
- Djibouti: Djibouti City
- Eritrea: Asmara
- Ethiopia: Addis Ababa
- Kenya: Nairobi
- Madagascar: Antananarivo
- Malawi: Lilongwe
- Mauritius: Port Louis
- Rwanda: Kigali
- Seychelles: Victoria
- Somalia: Mogadishu
- South Sudan: Juba
- Tanzania: Dodoma
- Uganda: Kampala
Southern Africa: The End of the Continent
This is where things get chilly in July.
- Botswana: Gaborone
- Eswatini: Mbabane
- Lesotho: Maseru
- Mozambique: Maputo
- Namibia: Windhoek
- South Africa: Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein
- Zambia: Lusaka
- Zimbabwe: Harare
The "New City" Phenomenon
You’ve probably noticed a pattern. Many countries are moving their capitals from old, cramped colonial ports to the interior.
Egypt is the most dramatic example. Cairo is literally sinking under the weight of 22 million people. So, they’ve spent billions on a new city (currently just called the New Administrative Capital) about 45 kilometers to the east. It’s got the tallest tower in Africa and a park double the size of Central Park in New York.
Equatorial Guinea's move to Ciudad de la Paz follows the same logic. Malabo was on an island. It’s hard to run a whole country from an island when most of your land and people are on the mainland.
Building a capital from scratch lets a country show off its wealth and modern identity. It's a "reset" button.
How to Actually Memorize This
Trying to stare at a list won't work. You'll forget half of them by lunch.
Instead, look for the stories.
Why is Monrovia (Liberia) named that? It's after James Monroe, the U.S. President.
Why is Freetown (Sierra Leone) called that? Because it was founded as a home for formerly enslaved people.
If you're using a map of african countries with capitals for study, try grouping them by language. The "Lusophone" (Portuguese-speaking) countries like Angola and Mozambique have a very different vibe and naming convention than the "Francophone" (French-speaking) ones like Senegal or Gabon.
Realities of Travel Between Capitals
Don't expect to hop on a train between these cities.
Honestly, it’s often easier to fly from Dakar to Paris than it is to fly from Dakar to a neighboring capital like Bamako. The infrastructure is catching up, but the "hub and spoke" model of aviation in Africa still favors flying out of the continent and back in.
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If you're planning to visit, remember that many of these cities are massive. Kinshasa and Lagos are gargantuan, bustling, and can be overwhelming. Meanwhile, Gaborone or Windhoek feel more like quiet, orderly towns in comparison.
Actionable Next Steps
If you need to master this map for professional or educational reasons, don't just use a static image.
- Use Interactive Layers: Tools like Google Earth or MapChart let you toggle between the geographic "physical" map and the political one. Seeing the Great Rift Valley helps you understand why Nairobi and Addis Ababa are where they are.
- Follow the News: Capitals change names and status based on political shifts. As we saw with Ciudad de la Paz this year, a "current" map can become "historic" in a single afternoon.
- Check the AU (African Union) Website: For the most formal, politically recognized names and spelling (like Côte d'Ivoire instead of Ivory Coast), the AU is the gold standard.
The map of Africa is a story of decolonization, economic booms, and a very bright future. It’s worth knowing.