Blank Africa Map: Free Printable Outline

Download or print a free blank map of Africa below. The outline map shows the coastline of the African continent and Madagascar with no country borders or labels, so students can draw in borders, label the 54 countries and their capitals, or mark rivers, deserts and mountains. It is a high-resolution PNG (1900 × 1928 px) that prints cleanly on A4 or US Letter paper; use your browser's "Print to PDF" option if you need a PDF copy.

Last updated: September 2026

Below the downloads you will find an interactive practice map, a checklist of every country to label grouped by region, and a list of physical features that most geography worksheets ask for. When you have finished, check your answers against the political map of Africa or the physical map of Africa.

How to Use a Blank Map of Africa

1. Print the outline at 100% scale (turn off "fit to page" if the edges are cut).
2. Add reference lines: the Equator passes through Gabon, the two Congos, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia; the Tropic of Cancer crosses the Sahara; the Tropic of Capricorn crosses Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Mozambique.
3. Draw or label countries region by region using the checklist below, starting with the largest (Algeria, DR Congo, Sudan, Libya) and the most populous (Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt, DR Congo).
4. Add capitals and features, then compare your map with the answer key.

For younger learners, start with the five regions and the oceans. Older students can add all 54 countries and capitals, or turn the outline into a thematic map (climate zones, languages, colonial powers in 1914). For timed practice, try the Africa map game.

Checklist: The 54 Countries to Label

Grouped by the UN geoscheme regions. Western Sahara is a disputed territory and is not counted among the 54 countries, but it usually appears on maps with a dashed border.

North Africa (6)

Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia. North Africa map

West Africa (16)

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo. West Africa map

Central (Middle) Africa (9)

Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, São Tomé and Príncipe. Central Africa map

East Africa (18)

Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe. East Africa map

Southern Africa (5)

Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa. Southern Africa map

Tricky ones to remember: Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa; Eswatini is almost surrounded by South Africa and Mozambique; The Gambia is a narrow strip inside Senegal; the small island countries (Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles) are easy to miss on a small outline. Capitals are listed on the African capitals page.

Physical Features to Label

• Seas and oceans: Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Guinea, Mozambique Channel.
• Rivers: Nile (the longest, flowing north to the Mediterranean), Congo, Niger, Zambezi, Orange, Limpopo.
• Lakes: Victoria, Tanganyika, Malawi (Nyasa), Chad, Turkana.
• Mountains: Atlas Mountains, Ethiopian Highlands, Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m, highest in Africa), Drakensberg.
• Deserts: Sahara, Kalahari, Namib.
• Other: Great Rift Valley, Congo Basin, Sahel, Horn of Africa, Cape of Good Hope, Strait of Gibraltar, Suez Canal, Madagascar.

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