Reference

Countries

Get reference records for 54 African countries, country profiles, and selected latest observations. Data coverage and reporting periods vary by metric and source.

African Countries API

Query country reference records, selected indicators, and the latest available observations. The reference catalog contains 54 African countries; metric and source coverage varies.

Choosing The Country Routes

  • Use /v1/countries for country discovery and reference records.
  • Use /v1/countries/{country_code} for the full country detail record.
  • Use /v1/countries/{country_code}/profile for selected indicators, trade data, and government records.
  • Use /v1/countries/{country_code}/signals for selected latest observations and alerts.

List Countries

GET/v1/countries

Returns country metadata for Africa.

Authentication required.

paginateboolean
Set true to enable paginated results
pageinteger
Page number when pagination is enabled
per_pageinteger
Items per page (1-100)
regionstring
Filter by region alias such as west, east, north, south, central
sortstring
Sort by name, area, or region; prefix with - for descending
Request
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/countries" \
  -G \
  -d "paginate=true" \
  -d "page=1" \
  -d "per_page=5" \
  -d "region=west" \
  -d "sort=name" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"
Response
{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "gh",
      "name": "Ghana",
      "official_name": "Republic of Ghana",
      "capital": "Accra",
      "region": "West Africa",
      "subregion": "Western Africa",
      "area_km2": 238533,
      "currencies": ["GHS"],
      "languages": ["eng"],
      "flag": "GH"
    }
  ],
  "meta": {
    "total": 16,
    "page": 1,
    "per_page": 5,
    "total_pages": 4
  }
}

Get Country By Code

GET/v1/countries/{country_code}

Returns a detailed country record by ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code.

country_codestringrequired
ISO alpha-2 code such as ng, ke, za
Request
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/countries/ng" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"
Response
{
  "data": {
    "id": "ng",
    "name": "Nigeria",
    "official_name": "Federal Republic of Nigeria",
    "capital": "Abuja",
    "region": "West Africa",
    "subregion": "Western Africa",
    "area_km2": 923768,
    "iso3": "NGA",
    "timezone": "Africa/Lagos",
    "calling_code": "+234",
    "flag": "NG",
    "coordinates": {
      "latitude": 9.082,
      "longitude": 8.6753
    },
    "borders": ["bj", "cm", "ne", "td"],
    "currencies": [
      {
        "code": "NGN",
        "name": "Nigerian naira",
        "symbol": "NGN"
      }
    ],
    "languages": [
      {
        "code": "eng",
        "name": "English"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Get Country Profile

GET/v1/countries/{country_code}/profile

Returns selected indicators, trade highlights, government records, and transport data for one country. Government fields include current leaders, cabinet members, and the latest election when available.

Use /v1/data or the individual domain endpoints, such as /v1/trade/overview/{country_code}, for detailed queries.

Request
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/countries/ke/profile" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

The following example illustrates the response structure. Its values are examples, not current country statistics or government records.

Response shape
{
  "data": {
    "country": {
      "code": "ke",
      "name": "Kenya",
      "capital": "Nairobi",
      "region": "East Africa"
    },
    "highlights": {
      "population_total": {
        "value": 55100586,
        "year": 2024,
        "source": "world_bank_wdi",
        "unit": "persons"
      },
      "median_age_years": {
        "value": 20.4,
        "year": 2024,
        "source": "un_wpp",
        "unit": "years"
      },
      "unemployment_pct": {
        "value": 5.7,
        "year": 2024,
        "source": "ilo_ilostat",
        "unit": "percent"
      },
      "agricultural_land_1000ha": {
        "value": 30350,
        "year": 2023,
        "source": "faostat_agriculture",
        "unit": "thousand_hectares"
      },
      "access_to_clean_fuels_pct": {
        "value": 30.8,
        "year": 2023,
        "source": "world_bank_wdi",
        "unit": "percent"
      },
      "mobile_subscriptions_per_100": {
        "value": 118.6,
        "year": 2024,
        "source": "world_bank_wdi",
        "unit": "subscriptions_per_100_people"
      },
      "paved_roads_pct": {
        "value": 14.2,
        "year": 2022,
        "source": "world_bank_wdi",
        "unit": "percent"
      },
      "pm25_air_pollution_ug_per_m3": {
        "value": 18.4,
        "year": 2023,
        "source": "world_bank_wdi",
        "unit": "micrograms_per_cubic_meter"
      },
      "government_effectiveness_estimate": {
        "value": -0.41,
        "year": 2024,
        "source": "world_bank_wdi",
        "unit": "estimate"
      }
    },
    "trade": {
      "latest_year": 2024,
      "granular_latest_year": 2024,
      "granular_years": [2023, 2024],
      "latest_snapshot": {
        "year": 2024,
        "exports_goods_services_usd": 15420000000,
        "imports_goods_services_usd": 18610000000,
        "trade_balance_usd": -3190000000,
        "exports_goods_services_pct_gdp": 12.1,
        "imports_goods_services_pct_gdp": 14.6,
        "current_account_balance_pct_gdp": -3.4,
        "sources": {
          "exports_goods_services_usd": "world_bank_wdi",
          "imports_goods_services_usd": "world_bank_wdi",
          "trade_balance_usd": "world_bank_wdi"
        }
      },
      "top_export_partners": [
        {
          "partner_country_code": "ug",
          "partner_country_name": "Uganda",
          "flow_type": "export",
          "total_value_usd": 1210000000
        }
      ],
      "top_import_partners": [
        {
          "partner_country_code": "cn",
          "partner_country_name": "China",
          "flow_type": "import",
          "total_value_usd": 3180000000
        }
      ],
      "top_export_products": [
        {
          "product_code": "09",
          "product_name": "Coffee, tea, mate and spices",
          "classification": "HS",
          "flow_type": "export",
          "total_value_usd": 730000000
        }
      ],
      "top_import_products": [
        {
          "product_code": "84",
          "product_name": "Machinery and mechanical appliances",
          "classification": "HS",
          "flow_type": "import",
          "total_value_usd": 1110000000
        }
      ]
    },
    "government": {
      "current_head_of_state": {
        "wikidata_id": "LEADER_WIKIDATA_ID",
        "name": "William Ruto",
        "office_name": "President of Kenya",
        "role_type": "head_of_state",
        "start_date": "2022-09-13",
        "source": "wikidata_government_history"
      },
      "current_head_of_government": {
        "wikidata_id": "LEADER_WIKIDATA_ID",
        "name": "William Ruto",
        "office_name": "President of Kenya",
        "role_type": "head_of_government",
        "start_date": "2022-09-13",
        "source": "wikidata_government_history"
      },
      "cabinet_member_count": 2,
      "current_cabinet_members": [
        {
          "wikidata_id": "CABINET_MEMBER_WIKIDATA_ID",
          "name": "John Mbadi",
          "office_name": "Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury",
          "role_category": "minister",
          "party_name": "ODM",
          "start_date": "2024-08-08",
          "source": "wikidata_current_governments"
        }
      ],
      "latest_election": {
        "wikidata_id": "ELECTION_WIKIDATA_ID",
        "name": "2022 Kenyan general election",
        "election_scope": "general",
        "election_date": "2022-08-09",
        "office_name": "President of Kenya",
        "election_status": "completed",
        "successful_candidate_name": "William Ruto",
        "source": "wikidata_elections"
      },
      "active_policy_count": 14,
      "latest_policy": {
        "wikidata_id": "POLICY_WIKIDATA_ID",
        "title": "POLICY_TITLE",
        "document_type": "law",
        "policy_status": "active",
        "published_at": "2016-05-27",
        "source": "wikidata_policies"
      },
      "latest_policy_event": {
        "event_key": "POLICY_WIKIDATA_ID:EVENT_TYPE:EVENT_DATE",
        "policy_wikidata_id": "POLICY_WIKIDATA_ID",
        "title": "POLICY_TITLE",
        "document_type": "law",
        "event_type": "implemented",
        "event_date": "2016-06-01",
        "summary": "Kenya Climate Change Act entered into force",
        "source": "wikidata_policies"
      }
    }
  }
}

Get Country Signals

GET/v1/countries/{country_code}/signals

Returns selected latest observations for one country.

The response combines available:

  • current macro and infrastructure observations
  • FX rates
  • exchange market snapshots
  • trade summaries
  • government records

Signals can describe different reporting periods. Check each observation's frequency and period; monthly/latest metrics expose as_of_period.

Use /v1/data for available history and additional filters.

Request
curl "https://api.africa-api.com/v1/countries/ke/signals" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $AFRICA_API_KEY"

This example illustrates the signals response. Its dates and values are not a current country snapshot.

Illustrative signals response
{
  "data": {
    "country": {
      "code": "ke",
      "name": "Kenya",
      "capital": "Nairobi",
      "region": "East Africa"
    },
    "observations": [
      {
        "metric_key": "inflation_cpi_latest_yoy_pct",
        "value": 4.8,
        "year": 2025,
        "source": "world_bank_gem_signals",
        "freshness": "current",
        "as_of_period": "2025-12"
      }
    ],
    "fx_rates": [
      {
        "base_currency": "USD",
        "quote_currency": "KES",
        "rate": 129.44,
        "date": "2026-03-08",
        "source": "fx_usd_daily",
        "freshness": "current"
      }
    ],
    "market_snapshots": [],
    "trade": {
      "latest_year": 2024,
      "granular_latest_year": 2024
    },
    "government": {
      "current_head_of_state": {
        "name": "William Ruto",
        "role_type": "head_of_state"
      }
    },
    "generated_at": "2026-03-09T18:00:00Z"
  }
}

Caching

GET /v1/countries returns ETag and Cache-Control: public, max-age=300. Send If-None-Match to receive 304 Not Modified when the list is unchanged.

World Bank API vs Africa API: Which One for African Data?

Compare World Bank API and Africa API queries, geographic coverage, source selection, authentication, and refresh information.

Signals

Query selected latest observations, exchange rates, commodity benchmarks, alerts, trade summaries, and government records for one country. Coverage and reporting periods vary by source.

On this page

African Countries APIChoosing The Country RoutesList CountriesGet Country By CodeGet Country ProfileGet Country SignalsCaching