All 54 African countries have national anthems. The current national anthems of all nations in Africa were Adopted between 1960 and 2012. The National Anthems of Africa are an enchanting assortment of patriotism, poetry, and the inspiration.
List of 54 National Anthems of Africa
Africa National Anthems
List of 54 National Anthems of Africa
| Students from a township of Cape Town in South Africa sing the National Anthem of South Africa |
Africa National Anthems | |
African Country | Name of African National Anthem |
Algeria | Kassaman (We Pledge) adopted 1962; Zakariah wrote Kassaman as a poem while imprisoned in Algiers by French colonial forces |
Angola | Angola Avante (Forward Angola) adopted 1975 |
Benin | L'Aube Nouvelle (The Dawn of a New Day) adopted 1960 |
Botswana | Fatshe leno la rona (Our Land) adopted 1966 |
Burkina Faso | Le Ditanye (Anthem of Victory) adopted 1974; also known as Une Seule Nuit (One Single Night); written by the country's president, an avid guitar player |
Burundi | Burundi Bwacu (Our Beloved Burundi) adopted 1962 |
Cabo Verde | Cantico da Liberdade (Song of Freedom) adopted 1996 |
Cameroon | O Cameroun, Berceau de nos Ancetres (O Cameroon, Cradle of Our Forefathers) adopted 1957; Cameroon's anthem, also known as Chant de Ralliement (The Rallying Song), has been used unofficially since 1948 and officially adopted in 1957; the anthem has French and English versions whose lyrics differ |
Central African Republic | Le Renaissance (The Renaissance) adopted 1960; Barthelemy Boganda wrote the anthem's lyrics and was the first prime minister of the autonomous French territory |
Chad | La Tchadienne (The Chadian) adopted 1960 |
Comoros | Udzima wa ya Masiwa (The Union of the Great Islands) adopted 1978 |
Congo-Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) | Debout Congolaise (Arise Congolese) adopted 1960; replaced when the country was known as Zaire; but readopted in 1997 |
Congo Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo) | La Congolaise (The Congolese) originally adopted 1959, restored 1991 |
Cote d'Ivoire | L'Abidjanaise (Song of Abidjan) adopted 1960; although the nation's capital city moved from Abidjan to Yamoussoukro in 1983, the anthem still owes its name to the former capital |
Djibouti | Jabuuti (Djibouti) adopted 1977 |
Egypt | Bilady, Bilady, Bilady (My Homeland, My Homeland, My Homeland) adopted 1979; Sayed Darwish, commonly considered the father of modern Egyptian music, composed the anthem |
Equatorial Guinea | Caminemos pisando la senda (Let Us Tread the Path) adopted 1968 |
Eritrea | Ertra, Ertra, Ertra (Eritrea, Eritrea, Eritrea) adopted 1993; upon independence from Ethiopia |
Ethiopia | Whedefit Gesgeshi Woud Enat Ethiopia (March Forward, Dear Mother Ethiopia) adopted 1992 |
Gabon | La Concorde (The Concorde) adopted 1960 |
The Gambia | For The Gambia, Our Homeland adopted 1965; the music is an adaptation of the traditional Mandinka song Foday Kaba Dumbuya. Some say that it was the father of Marcel Thomasi, the previous head of the Information Department who wrote the words to the anthem as well as designed The Gambia national flag. |
Ghana | God Bless Our Homeland Ghana music adopted 1957, lyrics adopted 1966; the lyrics were changed twice, in 1960 when a republic was declared and after a 1966 coup |
Guinea | Liberte (Liberty) adopted 1958 |
Guinea-Bissau | Esta e a Nossa Patria Bem Amada (This Is Our Beloved Country) adopted 1974; a delegation from then Portuguese Guinea visited China in 1963 and heard music by XIAO He; Amilcar Lopes Cabral, the leader of Guinea-Bissau's independence movement, asked the composer to create a piece that would inspire his people to struggle for independence |
Kenya | Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu (Oh God of All Creation) adopted 1963; based on a traditional Kenyan folk song |
Lesotho | Lesotho fatse la bo ntat'a rona (Lesotho, Land of Our Fathers) adopted 1967; music derives from an 1823 Swiss songbook |
Liberia | All Hail, Liberia Hail! lyrics adopted 1847, music adopted 1860; the anthem's author later became the third president of Liberia |
Libya | Libya, Libya, Libya also known as Ya Beladi or Oh, My Country!; adopted 1951; readopted 2011 with some modification to the lyrics; during QadhafI presidency between 1969 and 2011, the anthem was Allahu Akbar, (God is Great) a marching song of the Egyptian Army in the 1956 Suez War |
Madagascar | Ry Tanindraza nay malala o (Oh, Our Beloved Fatherland) adopted 1959 |
Malawi | Mulungu dalitsa Malawi (Oh God Bless Our Land of Malawi) adopted 1964 |
Mali | Mulungu dalitsa Malawi (Oh God Bless Our Land of Malawi) adopted 1964 |
Mauritania | Hymne National de la Republique Islamique de Mauritanie (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania) adopted 1960; the unique rhythm of the Mauritanian anthem makes it particularly challenging to sing |
Mauritius | Motherland adopted 1968 |
Morocco | Hymne Cherifien (Hymn of the Sharif) music adopted 1956, lyrics adopted 1970 |
Mozambique | Patria Amada (Lovely Fatherland) adopted 2002 |
Namibia | Namibia, Land of the Brave adopted 1991 |
Niger | La Nigerienne (The Nigerien) adopted 1961 |
Nigeria | Arise Oh Compatriots, Nigeria's Call Obey adopted 1978; lyrics are a mixture of the five top entries in a national contest |
Rwanda | Rwanda nziza (Rwanda, Our Beautiful Country) adopted 2001 |
Sao Tome and Principe | Independencia total (Total Independence) adopted 1975 |
Senegal | Pincez Tous vos Koras, Frappez les Balafons (Pluck Your Koras, Strike the Balafons) adopted 1960; lyrics written by Leopold Sedar Senghor, Senegal's first president |
Seychelles | Koste Seselwa (Seychellois Unite) adopted 1996 |
Sierra Leone | High We Exalt Thee, Realm of the Free adopted 1961 |
Somalia | Qolobaa Calankeed (Every Nation Has its own Flag) adopted 2012; written in 1959 |
South Africa | National Anthem of South Africa adopted 1994; a combination of N'kosi Sikelel' iAfrica (God Bless Africa) and Die Stem van Suid Afrika (The Call of South Africa), which were respectively the anthems of the non-white and white communities under apartheid; official lyrics contain a mixture of Xhosa, Zulu, Sesotho, Afrikaans, and English |
South Sudan | South Sudan Oyee! (Hooray!) adopted 2011; anthem selected in a national contest |
Sudan | Nahnu Djundulla Djundulwatan (We Are the Army of God and of Our Land) adopted 1956; originally served as the anthem of the Sudanese military |
Swaziland | Nkulunkulu Mnikati wetibusiso temaSwati (Oh God, Bestower of the Blessings of the Swazi) adopted 1968; uses elements of both ethnic Swazi and Western music styles |
Tanzania | Adopted 1961 Mungu ibariki Afrika (God Bless Africa) |
Togo | Salut a toi, pays de nos aieux (Hail to Thee, Land of Our Forefathers) adopted 1960, restored 1992; this anthem was replaced by another during one-party rule between 1979 and 1992 |
Tunisia | Humat Al Hima (Defenders of the Homeland) adopted 1957, replaced 1958, restored 1987; Mohamad Abdel WAHAB |
Uganda | Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty! adopted 1962 |
Zambia | Lumbanyeni Zambia (Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free) adopted 1964 |
Zimbabwe | Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe [Northern Ndebele language] Simudzai Mureza WeZimbabwe [Shona] (Blessed Be the Land of Zimbabwe) adopted 1994 |
Did you know?
Words to The Gambia National Anthem
"For The Gambia, our homeland, We strive and work and pray, That all may live in unity, Freedom and peace each day. Let justice guide our actions Towards the common good, And join our diverse peoples To prove man's brotherhood. We pledge our firm allegiance, Our promise we renew; Keep us, great God of nations, To The Gambia ever true."
Words to The Gambia National Anthem
| The Gambia Flag |
