On the continent of Africa, there are 58 countries and notable geographical features. The world’s largest hot desert, the Sahara, and the world’s longest river, the Nile, can be found on the continent of Africa.
Top Largest African Countries
Now, let us examine the 10 biggest nations in Africa by land area.
Ethiopia – 1,127,127 sq.km
Ethiopia is a country that is located in the easternmost part of Africa known as the Horn of Africa. Covering 435,186 square miles, Ethiopia is the 27th largest country in the world and the 10th largest on the African continent.
In Ethiopia, if you travel too far to the north, you might step over into Eritrea, too far to the east, Djibouti and Somalia; too far to the west, Sudan and South Sudan and too far to the south, you might cross the border into Kenya. Its largest and most populated city is its capital, Addis Abba.
South Africa 1,219,912 sq.km
Take out a map of Africa and trail your finger to the tip of the continent, right there is South Africa. Yes, the country of South Africa is the southernmost country of Africa.
It takes up 471,011 square miles ranking it as the 25th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Africa. As it is located at the tip, the coastline is washed by the Atlantic Ocean. The land surface is covered in plateaus, plains, mountains and beaches.
Mali – 1,240,000 sq.km
I do not know about you but I think I could use some gold right now. Mali is a landlocked country located in West Africa. Occupying 478,767 square miles. Mali is the 24th largest country in the world and the 8th largest country in Africa.
Mali, unfortunately, suffers from a dry and hot climate as most of the country lies in the southern Saharan desert. I mentioned gold earlier right? Well, Mali is a country in which large deposits of gold, phosphates, uranium, salt, limestone and kaoline can be found.
Angola – 1,246,700 sq.km
Located in Southern Africa, Angola is the 7th largest country on the African continent. It covers 481,354 square miles making it the 23rd largest country in the world.
Angola shares borders with Namibia to the south, Zambia to the east, South Atlantic Ocean to the east and the DR of Congo to the north-east. According to Cia.gov, Angola is rich in diamonds, phosphates, gold, iron ore, bauxite, uranium, feldspar and petroleum reserves.
Niger – 1,267,000 sq.km
Did you know Niger is named after the Niger River? If you did not well now you know. Niger is another landlocked country located in Western Africa. It occupies 489,191 square miles and is the largest country in West Africa and the 22nd largest country in the world.
Despite being named after the Niger river, Niger experiences very a very hot and dry climate as most of its land area is covered by the Sahara desert. The southern parts are covered in savannah land which is home to a variety of wildlife.
