As less economically developed, many countries of this continent have the lowest level of life quality in the world. Two capital cities, Cape Town and Pretoria in South Africa are considered the best places to live in this region.
Also read: Top 10 Richest African Countries (2021)
The most visited cities by tourists are Cape Town, Cairo, and Tunis. These travel destinations are popular among those who are seeking for vibrant colors, ancient monuments, natural attractions, and exotic wildlife along with beautiful beaches. Less known, but also very exciting, are such capitals like Nairobi, Dakar, Port Louis, and Antananarivo.
The struggle for independence started after world war II. This led to the independence of the Union of South Africa in 1931 through negatiations with the British empire and Libya in 1951 from Italy; followed by others in the late 1950s. The road to African independence was very hard and tortuous often through bloody fights, revolts and assasinations. For example; Britain unilatearlly granted “The Kingdom of Egypt” independence on Feb. 22nd 1922 after a series of revolts, but continued to interfere in government.
Also read: The 7 Largest Cities in Africa (pictures)
More violent revolts led to the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian treaty in 1936 and a coupe detat tagged Egyptian Revolution in 1952 finally culminated in the Egyptian Republic declaration of June 18th; 1953. The peak year for independence came in 1960 when about 17 countries gained independence. These independence days are now celebrated as national day holidays in most countries of Africa.
| Countries | Capital cities |
| A | |
| Algeria | Algiers |
| Angola | Luanda |
| B | |
| Benin | Porto-Novo |
| Botswana | Gaborone |
| Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou |
| Burundi | Gitega |
| C | |
| Cabo Verde | Praia |
| Cameroon | Yaounde |
| Central African Republic | Bangui |
| Chad | N’Djamena |
| Comoros | Moroni |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the | Kinshasa |
| Congo, Republic of the | Brazzaville |
| Cote d’Ivoire | Yamoussoukro |
| D | |
| Djibouti | Djibouti (city) |
| E | |
| Egypt | Cairo |
| Equatorial Guinea | Malabo (de jure), Oyala (seat of government) |
| Eritrea | Asmara |
| Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) | Mbabane (administrative), Lobamba (legislative, royal) |
| Ethiopia | Addis Ababa |
| G | |
| Gabon | Libreville |
| Gambia | Banjul |
| Ghana | Accra |
| Guinea | Conakry |
| Guinea-Bissau | Bissau |
| K | |
| Kenya | Nairobi |
| L | |
| Lesotho | Maseru |
| Liberia | Monrovia |
| Libya | Tripoli |
| Country | Capital city |
| M | |
| Madagascar | Antananarivo |
| Malawi | Lilongwe |
| Mali | Bamako |
| Mauritania | Nouakchott |
| Mauritius | Port Louis |
| Morocco | Rabat |
| Mozambique | Maputo |
| N | |
| Namibia | Windhoek |
| Niger | Niamey |
| Nigeria | Abuja |
| R | |
| Rwanda | Kigali |
| S | |
| Sao Tome and Principe | São Tomé |
| Senegal | Dakar |
| Seychelles | Victoria |
| Sierra Leone | Freetown |
| Somalia | Mogadishu |
| South Africa | Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial) |
| South Sudan | Juba |
| Sudan | Khartoum |
| T | |
| Tanzania | Dodoma |
| Togo | Lomé |
| Tunisia | Tunis |
| U | |
| Uganda | Kampala |
| Z | |
| Zambia | Lusaka |
| Zimbabwe | Harare |