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Sub-region of Africa · Country Index 2026
Middle Africa
How are the countries of Middle Africa doing?
Half of Middle Africa’s 9 placed countries sit at or above 150th of 174 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 21st of 21 sub-regions. São Tomé and Príncipe is placed highest, 95th; Chad lowest, 170th. None reaches the world’s top fifth.
01Who is in it
The countries of Middle Africa
Alphabetical, with each country’s own banner photograph. The position is its place in the whole world ranking, never within the region.
Photo: Paulo César Santos derivative work: Jjtkk · CC0, greyscale
- Capital
- Luanda
- People, 2023
- 36,749,906
- Land, 2024
- 1,246,700 km²
Country Index137th of 174
Placed highest on Environment & Sustainability, 2nd of 161
Photo: ymea derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Yaoundé
- People, 2023
- 28,372,687
- Land, 2024
- 472,710 km²
Country Index143rd of 174
Placed highest on Environment & Sustainability, 66th of 161
Photo: David Holt London · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Bangui
- People, 2023
- 5,152,421
- Land, 2024
- 622,980 km²
Country Indexjoint 163rd of 174
Placed highest on Risk & Resilience, 93rd of 191
Photo: File: Robertgrafl derivative work: Jjtkk · Public domain, greyscale
- Capital
- N'Djamena
- People, 2023
- 19,319,064
- Land, 2024
- 1,259,200 km²
Country Index170th of 174
Placed highest on Risk & Resilience, 110th of 191
Photo: Christina Bergey derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Kinshasa
- People, 2023
- 105,789,731
- Land, 2024
- 2,267,050 km²
Country Index160th of 174
Placed highest on Environment & Sustainability, 10th of 161
Photo: Mehlauge · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Ciudad de la Paz
- People, 2023
- 1,847,549
- Land, 2024
- 28,052 km²
Country Index162nd of 174
Placed highest on Risk & Resilience, 34th of 191
Photo: FX derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Libreville
- People, 2023
- 2,484,789
- Land, 2024
- 257,670 km²
Country Index136th of 174
Placed highest on Risk & Resilience, 60th of 191
Photo: File: Bsm15 derivative work: Lkcl it · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
- Capital
- Brazzaville
- People, 2023
- 6,182,885
- Land, 2024
- 341,500 km²
Country Indexjoint 150th of 174
Placed highest on Environment & Sustainability, joint 51st of 161
- Capital
- São Tomé
- People, 2023
- 230,871
- Land, 2024
- 960 km²
Country Index95th of 174
Placed highest on Risk & Resilience, 5th of 191
02The region
About Middle Africa
The continent's centre, from Chad down through the Congo basin to Angola.
Middle Africa spans the centre of the continent, from the Sahara in northern Chad through the basin of the Congo River — home to the second-largest tropical rainforest on Earth — to the high plateaus of Angola. It includes the island state of São Tomé and Príncipe and Equatorial Guinea’s island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea.
Bantu-speaking peoples spread across much of the region over thousands of years, and the Kongo kingdom was among the powerful states on its Atlantic coast. It was colonised mainly by France, Belgium and Portugal, and its countries became independent between 1960 and 1975. The region holds great mineral wealth and a large share of Africa’s forests and fresh water.
03Where
Middle Africa on the map
Each member shaded by its position in the Country Index 2026, darkest for the best placed; the countries across its land borders in grey. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its profile.
Country Index position: 1st174thMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks
04Country Index 2026
Where Middle Africa’s countries place
Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 174, never a second list within the region; “=” marks a position shared with another country. Hover the ⓘ for where a country would sit if any one key statistic were dropped.
| In region | Country | In the world | 1st174th |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  São Tomé and Príncipe | 95 / 174between 83rd and 98th if any one key were dropped · standings on 9 of 12 topics | |
| 2 |  Gabon | 136 / 174between 128th and 142nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 11 of 12 topics | |
| 3 |  Angola | 137 / 174between 130th and 155th if any one key were dropped · standings on 12 of 12 topics | |
| 4 |  Cameroon | 143 / 174between 135th and 146th if any one key were dropped · standings on 12 of 12 topics | |
| 5 |  Republic of the Congo | 150 / 174between 139th and 159th if any one key were dropped · standings on 12 of 12 topics | |
| 6 |  DR Congo | 160 / 174between 153rd and 164th if any one key were dropped · standings on 12 of 12 topics | |
| 7 |  Equatorial Guinea | 162 / 174between 155th and 165th if any one key were dropped · standings on 9 of 12 topics | |
| 8 |  Central African Republic | 163 / 174between 156th and 167th if any one key were dropped · standings on 10 of 12 topics | |
| 9 |  Chad | 170 / 174between 163rd and 171st if any one key were dropped · standings on 11 of 12 topics |
Middle Africa among the 21 sub-regions with a median
21st of 21. Nothing is weighted by population or size.
- 1Western Europe7th7 of 9Placed countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 25th.
- 2Northern Europe9th10 of 13Placed countries run from Ireland 2nd to Latvia 27th.
- 3Australia and New Zealand13th2 of 2Placed countries run from New Zealand 13th to Australia 14th.
- 4Eastern Asia18th4 of 8Placed countries run from South Korea 16th to Mongolia 80th.
- 5Northern America20th2 of 4Placed countries run from Canada 20th to United States 33rd.
- 6Southern Europe30th12 of 17Placed countries run from Slovenia 15th to Albania 57th.
- 7Eastern Europe41st10 of 10Placed countries run from Czechia 12th to Russia 85th.
- 8Polynesia64th2 of 7Placed countries run from Samoa 64th to Tonga 87th.
- 9South America74th12 of 12Placed countries run from Uruguay 35th to Venezuela 139th.
- 10Caribbean76th9 of 24Placed countries run from Barbados 55th to Haiti 168th.
- 11Western Asia80th17 of 19Placed countries run from Cyprus 36th to Yemen 172nd.
- 12South-eastern Asia90th11 of 11Placed countries run from Singapore 21st to Myanmar 152nd.
- 13Central America92nd8 of 8Placed countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 132nd.
- 14Central Asia104th5 of 5Placed countries run from Kazakhstan 62nd to Turkmenistan 133rd.
- 15Melanesia108th4 of 5Placed countries run from Fiji 66th to Papua New Guinea 145th.
- 16Southern Asia109th9 of 9Placed countries run from Maldives 50th to Afghanistan 171st.
- 17Southern Africa113th5 of 5Placed countries run from South Africa 94th to Eswatini 138th.
- 18Northern Africa125th6 of 6Placed countries run from Tunisia 105th to Sudan 173rd.
- 19Western Africa141st15 of 16Placed countries run from Ghana 99th to Mauritania 166th.
- 20Eastern Africa142nd15 of 19Placed countries run from Mauritius 46th to Somalia 174th.
- 21Middle Africa150th9 of 9Placed countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 95th to Chad 170th.
- Micronesia—none placed
- Africa, the whole continent139th
- The world’s midpoint87th
1st174thmedianplaced
The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.
05By subject
Topic by topic
Every country’s position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field; select a cell for the country’s page on the topic. Strongest for Middle Africa: Environment & Sustainability, 6th of 21 sub-regions. Weakest: Health & Wellbeing, 22nd of 22.
Columns run from the topic where Middle Africa places best among sub-regions to the one where it places lowest. A region’s median on a topic needs at least two members with a standing; a hatched cell has no standing.
06In numbers
Middle Africa in 6 numbers
Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Middle Africa’s countries are the red ticks, and the dashed line is the world median. There is no regional average: a region has countries, not a life expectancy of its own.
GDP per person
international $, PPP · log scale
World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better
Human development
HDI, 0–1
UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better
Every value for Middle Africa’s countries
| Country | Population 2023 | Land area 2024 | GDP per person 2025 | Life expectancy 2023 | Human development 2023 | Unemployment 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Angola | 36,749,906rank 42 | 1,246,700rank 22 | 8,760rank 127 | 64.62rank 196 | 0.616rank 148 | 14.11rank 17 |
| Cameroon | 28,372,687rank 52 | 472,710rank 52 | 4,946rank 150 | 63.7rank 200 | 0.588rank 155 | 3.602rank 122 |
| Central African Republic | 5,152,421rank 124 | 622,980rank 43 | 1,123rank 184 | 57.41rank 219 | 0.414rank 191 | 6.251rank 68 |
| Chad | 19,319,064rank 66 | 1,259,200rank 21 | 2,481rank 174 | 55.07rank 221 | 0.416rank 190 | 1.057rank 177 |
| DR Congo | 105,789,731rank 15 | 2,267,050rank 11 | 1,641rank 180 | 61.9rank 210 | 0.522rank 171 | 4.434rank 110 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 1,847,549rank 151 | 28,052rank 140 | 13,786rank 108 | 63.71rank 199 | 0.674rank 133 | 8.337rank 48 |
| Gabon | 2,484,789rank 145 | 257,670rank 76 | 18,986rank 88 | 68.34rank 169 | 0.733rank 108 | 20.15rank 5 |
| Republic of the Congo | 6,182,885rank 113 | 341,500rank 65 | 6,194rank 141 | 65.77rank 192 | 0.649rank 138 | 19.88rank 6 |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 230,871rank 182 | 960rank 177 | 5,459rank 146 | 69.72rank 159 | 0.637rank 141 | 9.132rank 40 |
07In records
Middle Africa in records
The member at the extreme of each statistic, read from its newest edition. Where two members share the top, no record is named.
Most populous
105,789,731
people
Largest by land area
2,267,050
square kilometres
Highest GDP per person
18,986
international $ at purchasing power parity
Longest life expectancy
69.72
years at birth
Highest human development
0.733
on the Human Development Index, 0–1
Perceived as least corrupt
45
on the Corruption Perceptions Index, 0–100
08Latest editions
Who rose and fell in the published ranks
The moves of Middle Africa’s countries between each report’s two newest editions, in the publisher’s own ranks. A report whose field changed by more than 5% is left out.
Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Human Development Index: reference years 2022 (192 countries ranked) → 2023 (193 ranked), both from its 2025 report.
Declined most
rank before → after- Angola146 → 148−2
- Equatorial Guinea132 → 133−1
- Chad189 → 190−1
Ranks as published by Transparency International in the Corruption Perceptions Index: the 2024 edition (180 countries ranked) → the 2025 edition (182 ranked).
Improved most
rank before → after- Angola121 → 120+1
- Chad158 → 157+1
- Equatorial Guinea173 → 172+1
Declined most
rank before → after- Cameroon140 → 142−2
- Republic of the Congo151 → 153−2
- São Tomé and Príncipe69 → 70−1
Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Gender Inequality Index: reference years 2022 (172 countries ranked) → 2023 (172 ranked), both from its 2025 report.
Improved most
rank before → after- Gabon139 → 135+4
- Angola140 → 139+1
- Republic of the Congo152 → 151+1
Declined most
rank before → after- DR Congo158 → 162−4
- São Tomé and Príncipe129 → 130−1
Ranks as published by World Intellectual Property Organization in the Global Innovation Index: the 2024 edition (133 countries ranked) → the 2025 edition (139 ranked).
Improved most
rank before → after- Cameroon123 → 116+7
Declined most
rank before → after- Angola133 → 138−5
Ranks as published by Growth Lab at Harvard University in the Economic Complexity Index: reference years 2023 (145 countries ranked) → 2024 (145 ranked), both from its 2026 report.
Improved most
rank before → after- Angola121 → 107+14
Declined most
rank before → after- Gabon102 → 137−35
- Cameroon120 → 132−12
- Republic of the Congo137 → 142−5
Ranks as published by Oxford Insights in the Government AI Readiness Index: the 2024 edition (188 countries ranked) → the 2025 edition (195 ranked).
Declined most
rank before → after- São Tomé and Príncipe160 → 180−20
- Equatorial Guinea167 → 187−20
- Central African Republic183 → 192−9
09In context
Across the border
The countries outside Middle Africa that share a land border with one of its members, with their world positions, and the sub-regions they belong to. Land borders only, as drawn on the map.
Southern Africa
Western Africa
10Keep reading
Explore further
The rest of Africa
Northern Africa
Countries: Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia.125th
median of 174 · 6 of 6 placed
Tunisia 105th → Sudan 173rd
Western Africa
+6Countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo.141st
median of 174 · 15 of 16 placed
Ghana 99th → Mauritania 166th
Eastern Africa
+9Countries: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Somaliland, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.142nd
median of 174 · 15 of 19 placed
Mauritius 46th → Somalia 174th
Southern Africa
Countries: Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa.113th
median of 174 · 5 of 5 placed
South Africa 94th → Eswatini 138th
11Method
Questions, method and sources
Which countries are in Middle Africa?
9 countries and territories: Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo and São Tomé and Príncipe. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification.
Which country in Middle Africa is placed highest?
São Tomé and Príncipe, placed 95th of 174 in the Country Index 2026. Chad is placed lowest, 170th. 9 of the region’s 9 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.
How does Middle Africa compare with other regions?
Half of its 9 placed countries sit at or above 150th of 174, which places it 21st of 21 sub-regions. The median across Africa is 139th. The middle of the whole field is 87th. Nothing is weighted by population or size.
How many people live in Middle Africa?
206,129,903 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 9 countries and territories.
What is the largest country in Middle Africa?
By land area, DR Congo: 2,267,050 square kilometres (2024). By population, DR Congo: 105,789,731 people (2023).
How a region’s figure is made
- Membership. Countries belong to regions by the United Nations’ M49 classification; each country declares its sub-region, and a continent is the sum of its sub-regions.
- Positions. Each country’s position is its Country Index 2026 result, unchanged. This page slices the world ranking by place; it does not re-rank anyone.
- The median. A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions: half sit at or above it, half below. With an even number of placed countries it takes the better of the two middle positions, since there is no country at a half place. Countries the index does not place are named, never counted in.
- A place among peers. Continents are compared with continents and sub-regions with sub-regions, never a part with the whole that contains it; regions sharing a median share a place. Nothing is weighted by population or size, and population and land area are the only figures ever added up.
Where the regions come from
United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.
Where the positions come from
Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.
Photographs
Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Angola — Paulo César Santos derivative work: Jjtkk, CC0
- Cameroon — ymea derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Central African Republic — David Holt London, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Chad — File: Robertgrafl derivative work: Jjtkk, Public domain
- DR Congo — Christina Bergey derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Equatorial Guinea — Mehlauge, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Gabon — FX derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY 2.0
- Republic of the Congo — File: Bsm15 derivative work: Lkcl it, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Middle Africa: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/middle-africa