North Africa

In North Africa, beautiful mosques, bustling markets, and ancient ruins lie between the Mediterranean coast and the Sahara Desert. It has an ancient history, with many Berber kingdoms as well as the Greek, Roman, and Ottoman empires ruling there.
Tap on a place
to explore it

Essential Destinations

Top destinations include Egypt and Morocco.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
is known for its world-famous pyramids, mummies, temples, art, churches, mosques, bustling cities, friendly people, and hieroglyphics, is considered a cradle of civilisation and has one of the longest histories of any country in the world.

is the northwesternmost country in . has, for most people, been the gateway to . With plenty of attractive locations, historical sights, and unique cultural traditions, there's lots to see and do in this beautiful, mesmerising country.

is the largest country in . Overlooked by many travellers, the country is bursting with beauty waiting to be discovered. From the bustling markets of Algiers to the pristine beaches of its Mediterranean coast, from the jaw-droppingly beautiful mountains of the north to the mesmerising deep reaches of the Sahara desert to the south, there is something for almost everyone to explore.

Destinations to Discover

Explore places such as Tunisia and Libya.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
The Republic of , is a country in North Africa bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Tourist infrastructure is well developed, and there are several ways to enjoy the loveliness of , including spending time on the gorgeous Mediterranean beaches, viewing its ancient ruins, living its thriving desert culture, or sampling its delicious cuisine.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
is a country in the region of North Africa and a part of the Arab world. Although the country is rich in history and culture and has great tourism potential, the country has been in the news for all the wrong reasons since the 1960s.

Photo: Wikimedia, CC0.
is an area on the west coast of North Africa. A former Spanish colony, its governance is disputed between and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.

North Africa

Latitude of center
28.5447° or 28° 32′ 41″ north
Longitude of center
9.8674° or 9° 52′ 3″ east
Population
264,000,000
Wiki­data ID
Q27381
This page is based on Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons, and Wikivoyage.
We’d love your help improving our open data sources. Thank you for contributing.

Satellite Map

Discover North Africa from above in high-definition satellite imagery.

In Other Languages

From Achinese to Yue Chinese—“North Africa” goes by many names.
  • Achinese: Afrika Barôh
  • Achinese: Afrika Utara
  • Afrikaans: Noord-Afrika
  • Albanian: Afrika veriore
  • Algerian Arabic: شمال أفريقيا
  • Amharic: ስሜን አፍሪካ
  • Arabic: أفريقيا الشمالية
  • Arabic: إفريقيا الشمالية
  • Arabic: شمال أفريقيا
  • Arabic: شمال إفريقيا
  • Armenian: Հյուսիսային Աֆրիկա
  • Arpitan: Africa de Bise
  • Arpitan: Africa du Nord
  • Asturian: África del Norte
  • Azerbaijani: Şimali Afrika
  • Azerbaijani: شمالی آفریقا
  • Bashkir: Төньяҡ Африка
  • Basque: Iparraldeko Afrika
  • Batak Mandailing: Afrika Utara
  • Bavarian: Noadafrika
  • Belarusian: Паўночная Афрыка
  • Bengali: উত্তর আফ্রিকা
  • Bosnian: Sjeverna Afrika
  • Breton: Afrika an Norzh
  • Bulgarian: Северна Африка
  • Catalan: Àfrica del Nord
  • Central Bikol: Amihanan na Aprika
  • Central Kurdish: باکووری ئەفریقا
  • Chechen: Къилбаседа Африка
  • Chinese: Pak Hui-chiu
  • Chinese: 北部非洲
  • Chinese: 北阿非利加洲
  • Chinese: 北非
  • Chuvash: Çурçĕр Африка
  • Croatian: Sjeverna Afrika
  • Czech: Severní Afrika
  • Danish: Nordafrika
  • Dimli (individual language): Afrikay Zımey
  • Dimli (individual language): Afrikaya Zımey
  • Dutch: Noord-Afrika
  • Egyptian Arabic: شمال افريقيا
  • Esperanto: Nord-Afriko
  • Estonian: Põhja-Aafrika
  • Finnish: Pohjois-Afrikka
  • French: Afrique du Nord
  • French: Afrique septentrionale
  • Galician: África do Norte
  • Georgian: ჩრდილოეთი აფრიკა
  • German: Nordafrika
  • German: Nördliches Afrika
  • Greek: Βόρεια Αφρική
  • Haitian: Afrik dinò
  • Hausa: Arewacin Afirka
  • Hebrew: צפון אפריקה
  • Hindi: उत्तर अफ़्रीका
  • Hungarian: Észak-Afrika
  • Icelandic: Norður-Afríka
  • Ido: Nord-Afrika
  • Iloko: Akin-amianan nga Aprika
  • Iloko: Amianan nga Aprika
  • Inari Sami: Tave-Afrik
  • Indonesian: Afrika Utara
  • Irish: an Afraic Thuaidh
  • Irish: An Afraic Thuaidh
  • Italian: Nordafrica
  • Japanese: 北アフリカ
  • Javanese: Afrika Lor
  • Kabyle: Tafriqt ugafa
  • Kabyle: Tafriqt Ugafa
  • Kannada: ಉತ್ತರ ಆಫ್ರಿಕಾ
  • Kara-Kalpak: Arqa Afrika
  • Kashmiri: شمالی افریقہ
  • Kazakh: Солтүстік Африка
  • Kinaray-A: Afrika Naaminhan
  • Kinaray-A: Naaminhan nga Afrika
  • Kongo: Afelika ya Node
  • Korean: 북아불리가
  • Korean: 북아프리카
  • Kotava: Lentefa Afrika
  • Kurdish: Afrîkaya Bakur
  • Ladino: Afrika del Nord
  • Ladino: Afrika del Norte
  • Latin: Africa Septentrionalis
  • Latvian: Ziemeļāfrika
  • Limburgan: Naord-Afrika
  • Lingala: Afilíka ya Nola
  • Lingua Franca Nova: Africa norde
  • Literary Chinese: 北阿非利加洲
  • Lithuanian: Šiaurės Afrika
  • Luxembourgish: Nordafrika
  • Macedonian: Северна Африка
  • Magahi: उत्तर अफ्रिका
  • Malagasy: Afrika Avaratra
  • Malay: Afrika Utara
  • Malay: افريکا اوتارا
  • Malayalam: ഉത്തരാഫ്രിക്ക
  • Manx: Yn Affrick Hwoaie
  • Maori: Āwherika-ki-te-raki
  • Marathi: उत्तर आफ्रिका
  • Mazanderani: آفریقای شمال
  • Min Nan Chinese: Pak Hui-chiu
  • Mingrelian: ოორუე აფრიკა
  • Moksha: Кельмеширень Африкась
  • Mongolian: Умар Африк
  • Mongolian: Умард Африк
  • N'Ko: ߊߝߙߌߞߌ߬ ߞߐ߬ߘߎ߮
  • N'Ko: ߞߐ߬ߘߎ߮ ߊߝߙߌߞߌ߬
  • Nepali: उत्तर अफ्रिका
  • Northern Frisian: Nuurdafrikoo
  • Northern Sami: Davvi-Afrihká
  • Norwegian Bokmål: Nord-Afrika
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nordre Afrika
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: Nord-Afrika
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nordlege Afrika
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nordre Afrika
  • Norwegian: Nord-Afrika
  • Occitan (post 1500): Africa del Nòrd
  • Ossetian: Цæгат Африкæ
  • Panjabi: ਉੱਤਰੀ ਅਫ਼ਰੀਕਾ
  • Pedi: Afrika Leboa
  • Persian: شمال آفریقا
  • Polish: Afryka Północna
  • Portuguese: Norte da África
  • Portuguese: Norte de África
  • Pushto: شمالي افريقا
  • Romanian: Africa de Nord
  • Romanian: Africa Nordică
  • Russian: Северная Африка
  • Rusyn: Сіверна Африка
  • Santali: ᱠᱚᱧᱮ ᱟᱯᱷᱨᱤᱠᱟ
  • Sardinian: Àfrica de su Norti
  • Scots: North Africae
  • Scottish Gaelic: Afraga a Tuath
  • Serbian: Северна Африка
  • Serbo-Croatian: Sjeverna Afrika
  • Shona: Afurika ye Maodzanyemba
  • Sicilian: Africa dû Nord
  • Sicilian: Àfrica dû Nord
  • Silesian: Pōłnocnŏ Afryka
  • Sindhi: اتر آفريڪا
  • Skolt Sami: Tâʹvv-Afrikk
  • Slovak: Severná Afrika
  • Slovenian: Severna Afrika
  • Somali: Waqooyiga Afrika
  • South Azerbaijani: قوزئی آفریقا
  • Southern Sotho: Afrika Leboa
  • Spanish: Norte de Africa
  • Spanish: Norte de África
  • Sundanese: Afrika Kalér
  • Swahili: Afrika ya Kaskazini
  • Swedish: Nordafrika
  • Swiss German: Nordafrika
  • Tachelhit: Tafriqt n ugafa
  • Tagalog: Hilagang Aprika
  • Tajik: Африқои Шимолӣ
  • Talysh: Kobəsonə Afrikə
  • Tamil: வடக்கு ஆப்பிரிக்கா
  • Tatar: Төньяк Африка
  • Thai: แอฟริกาเหนือ
  • Tosk Albanian: Nordafrika
  • Turkish: Kuzey Afrika
  • Turkmen: Demirgazyk Afrika
  • Tyap: Afi̱rika A̱za
  • Tyap: A̱za Afi̱rika
  • Ukrainian: Північна Африка
  • Upper Sorbian: Sewjerna Afrika
  • Urdu: شمالی افریقا
  • Urdu: شمالی افریقہ
  • Uzbek: Shimoliy Afrika
  • Venetian: Nordàfrica
  • Vietnamese: Bắc Phi
  • Vlaams: Nôord-Afrika
  • Walloon: Afrike bijhrece
  • Waray (Philippines): Amihanan nga Apriká
  • Welsh: Gogledd Affrica
  • Western Frisian: Noard-Afrika
  • Western Panjabi: اتلا افریقہ
  • Western Panjabi: شمالی افریقا
  • Wolaytta: Huuphessa Afriqqaa
  • Wolof: Bëj-gànnaaru Afrig
  • Wu Chinese: 北非
  • Yakut: Хоту Африка
  • Yiddish: צפון אפריקע
  • Yoruba: Àríwá Áfríkà
  • Yue Chinese: 北非

Africa: Must-Visit Destinations

Delve into West Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa, and Central Africa.

Explore These Curated Destinations

Discover places selected for their distinct character and enduring appeal.
About Mapcarta. Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license, except for photos, directions, and the map. Description text is based on the Wikivoyage page “North Africa”. Photo: Wikimedia, CC BY 2.0.