52 countries
Map of Africa in 1960
1960, the Year of Africa
Africa at the end of 1960: seventeen countries became independent in a single year, most of them former French colonies, along with the Belgian Congo, Nigeria and Somalia. Other territories would remain colonies for years.
- The Belgian Congo became independent in June and fell into crisis straight away; its capital was still called Léopoldville.
- Somalia was born in July from the union of British Somaliland and Italian Somalia.
- Algeria was still French, in the middle of its war of independence (1954–1962).
- Portugal kept Angola, Mozambique and Guinea, and the Rhodesias and Nyasaland formed a British federation.
- South Africa ran South West Africa, today's Namibia, which would not be independent until 1990.
How it is made: the coasts are today's, and the borders follow today's divisions where they match those of the time and, where they do not, lines drawn by hand, good to about 10 km. Shapes: Natural Earth (public domain). Compare with today's Africa →
Facts: the map of Africa in 1960
- On the map
- 52 countries · 4 are so small they show as a dot (complete level)
- Largest country
- Sudan (≈ 2,506,000 km²)
- Smallest country
- British Seychelles (≈ 455 km²)
- Most populous country
- Nigeria (≈ 45,000,000 people)
- Least populous country
- Spanish Sahara (≈ 30,000 people)
- Northernmost capital
- Tunis (Tunisia)
- Southernmost capital
- Maseru (Basutoland)
- Most neighbours
- Congo (Léopoldville) and Sudan: 8
- No land border with another country on the map
- British Mauritius, British Seychelles, French Comoros, Malagasy Republic, Portuguese Cape Verde, and Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe
Fun facts: Map of Africa in 1960
- In 1960, the 'Year of Africa', 17 countries became independent.
- In 1960 the Congo won independence from Belgium, with Patrice Lumumba as its first prime minister.
- Angola and Mozambique remained Portuguese until 1975.
- Ethiopia's Abebe Bikila won the 1960 Rome marathon barefoot: the first Olympic gold for a Black African.
- Namibia only became independent in 1990.
- Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, became independent on 1 October 1960.
- Ghana, independent in 1957, led the way under Kwame Nkrumah.
- In 1960 work began on Egypt's Aswan High Dam.
Test yourself
Which was the largest country of Africa in 1960?
Sudan.
Which was the most populous country of Africa in 1960?
Nigeria.
Which was the smallest country of Africa in 1960?
British Seychelles.
Which was the least populous country of Africa in 1960?
Spanish Sahara.
More maps
The countries on the map of Africa in 1960, and what they are today
Today's countries that cover a good part of its land, largest share first.
Show the map with the names (to revise)
Show the table (52)
| Country | Capital | Today part of |
|---|---|---|
| Basutoland | Maseru | Lesotho |
| Bechuanaland | Mafeking | Botswana |
| British Cameroons | Buea | Cameroon, Nigeria |
| British Gambia | Bathurst (Banjul) | Gambia |
| British Mauritius | Port Louis | Mauritius |
| British Seychelles | Victoria | Seychelles |
| British Sierra Leone | Freetown | Sierra Leone |
| Cameroon | Yaoundé | Cameroon |
| Central African Republic | Bangui | Central African Republic |
| Chad | Fort-Lamy (N'Djamena) | Chad |
| Congo (Brazzaville) | Brazzaville | Republic of the Congo |
| Congo (Léopoldville) | Léopoldville (Kinshasa) | DR Congo |
| Dahomey | Porto-Novo | Benin |
| Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia, Eritrea |
| Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland | Salisbury (Harare) | Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi |
| French Algeria | Algiers | Algeria |
| French Comoros | Dzaoudzi | Comoros |
| French Somaliland | Djibouti | Djibouti |
| Gabon | Libreville | Gabon |
| Ghana | Accra | Ghana |
| Guinea | Conakry | Guinea |
| Ivory Coast | Abidjan | Ivory Coast |
| Kenya (British colony) | Nairobi | Kenya |
| Kingdom of Libya | Tripoli and Benghazi | Libya |
| Liberia | Monrovia | Liberia |
| Malagasy Republic | Tananarive | Madagascar |
| Mali | Bamako | Mali |
| Mauritania | Nouakchott | Mauritania |
| Morocco | Rabat | Morocco |
| Niger | Niamey | Niger |
| Nigeria | Lagos | Nigeria |
| Portuguese Angola | Luanda | Angola |
| Portuguese Cape Verde | Praia | Cape Verde |
| Portuguese Guinea | Bissau | Guinea-Bissau |
| Portuguese Mozambique | Lourenço Marques (Maputo) | Mozambique |
| Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe | São Tomé | São Tomé and Príncipe |
| Ruanda-Urundi | Usumbura (Bujumbura) | Burundi, Rwanda |
| Senegal | Dakar | Senegal |
| Somalia | Mogadishu | Somalia |
| South West Africa | Windhoek | Namibia |
| Spanish Guinea | Santa Isabel (Malabo) | Equatorial Guinea |
| Spanish Sahara | El Aaiún | Morocco |
| Sudan | Khartoum | Sudan, South Sudan |
| Swaziland | Mbabane | Eswatini |
| Tanganyika | Dar es Salaam | Tanzania |
| Togo | Lomé | Togo |
| Tunisia | Tunis | Tunisia |
| Uganda (British protectorate) | Entebbe | Uganda |
| Union of South Africa | Pretoria | South Africa |
| United Arab Republic (Egypt) | Cairo | Egypt |
| Upper Volta | Ouagadougou | Burkina Faso |
| Zanzibar | Zanzibar | Tanzania |