Africa's Capital Cities

Capital cities in Africa are listed below along with images, facts and travel information. There are 54 official countries in Africa and 2 disputed countries (Western Sahara and Somaliland). Each African country has at least one capital city, (see quick list). Some countries have a de facto capital and an administrative capital. The capitals vary widely in size, the largest African city is Cairo, with an estimated population of 17 million living in its metropolitan area. Maseru, Lesotho's capital has a population of 14,000.

African capitals are not necessarily the largest cities in their respective countries nor the most populated. Nigeria is a good example. Lagos is a city of almost 8 million people whereas the official capital, Abuja, has a population of just 700,000.

Many of Africa's capitals are generally not places of interest for the average tourist. But most of the international airports are based there, as well as embassies, major hospitals, large hotels and banks.