Burundi is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of East Africa. Historically a Bantu Kingdom that was incorporated into German East Africa, it then came under Belgian rule until independence in 1962. It initially maintained its monarchy which was subsequently replaced by a one-party system. A multi-party system […]

The archipelago island nation of Comoros lies off the east coast of Africa and has a population of around 800,000, making it one of the least but also most densely populated countries. Around 98% of the population identify as Sunni Muslim.1https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/comoros/ Following a referendum in 2009, the government introduced a […]

Djibouti is a small country located on the horn of Africa and bordered by Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. The Republic of Djibouti is a semi-presidential system in which legislative power is shared between the executive branch and parliament, the National Assembly.1https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/DJI#pos1 The President of Djibouti, Ismael Omar Guelleh, has been […]

The State of Eritrea, a country in East Africa, is a one-man dictatorship under President Isaias Afewerki without a functioning legislature or independent judiciary.1United Nations General Assembly, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, Mohamed Abdelsalam Babiker”, A/HRC/53/20, 9 May 2023, https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/ahrc5320-situation-human-rights-eritrea-report-special-rapporteur There has […]

The Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia stipulates that the country is secular, and guarantees the freedom of religion, belief and opinion and the right to freedom of expression.1https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/et/et007en.pdf About 43% of the population is Orthodox Christian, one third are Muslim, and approximately 22% of the population are […]

The Republic of Kenya is situated between Somalia and Uganda. The population is largely Christian (85.5%), with a large Muslim minority (10.9%), with other religious minorities making up the rest of the population.1https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ke.html Kenya is home to more than 498,000 refugees, the majority of whom come from neighbouring Somalia.2https://www.unhcr.org/ke/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/09/Kenya-Infographics-31-August-2020.pdf; https://www.unhcr.org/ke/figures-at-a-glance […]

A former French colony, Madagascar, a country with a population of about 28 million, is a religiously pluralistic country.1https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=MG According to the most recent national census, in 1993, 52% of the population are adherents of indigenous religions and Christians make up 41% of the population. 7% of the population are […]

Malawi is a landlocked state in southern central Africa, a former British colony, with an estimated population of 17.5 million people, from several tribal groupings.1https://malawi.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/resource-pdf/2018%20Malawi%20Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%20Main%20Report%20%281%29.pdf Constitutionally, it has been a multi-party democracy since 1994. According to the 2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census, 67.4% of the population identify as Christian, […]

The volcanic, island nation of Mauritius is a former British Colony, obtaining independence in 1968. In 1991, when the country became a Republic, a President designated by the National Assembly replaced the Governor General, who had previously represented the Queen of the United Kingdom, the former Head of State. Mauritius is […]

The Republic of Mozambique, which gained independence from Portugal in 1975, continues to suffer from the effects of a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992. The country held its first multi-party democratic elections in 1994.1https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13890416; https://www.britannica.com/place/Mozambique/Peace-in-Mozambique#ref343969 Situated on the southeast of the African continent, its neighbors are Tanzania, Malawi, […]

The Republic of Rwanda is a small country in Central East Africa bordering Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It’s mainly rural population is over 12 million giving the country the highest population density on mainland Africa.1https://data.worldbank.org/country/RW Rwanda’s recent history is dominated by Hutu/Tutsi ethnic tensions […]

The Republic of Seychelles, an archipelago off the east coast of Africa, has the smallest population of any African nation. Recent census data has not recorded the religious demography of the country.1https://www.nbs.gov.sc/downloads/36-data-acquisition-census/16-population-and-vital-statistics At the time of last documentation (2010), it was estimated that 76% of the population was Roman Catholic, […]

Somalia has lacked an effective central government for decades. The ousting of President Siad Barre in 1991 precipitated a decades-long civil war between rival factions and the disintegration of central authority, which the terrorist group Al-Shabaab was able to make significant territorial gains. Al-Shabaab imposes a strict version of Sharia […]

South Sudan remains in a state of transition since achieving independence from Sudan in 2011. It has no state religion, and humanist advocates appear to have some presence in the country. However, despite vocal commitments to religious tolerance by political leaders, escalating inter-ethnic and inter-religious violence between Muslims and Christians […]

Established as a United Republic in 1964 following decades of colonial occupation, Tanzania is formed from mainland Tanzania (formerly known as Taganyika) and Zanzibar, and boasts an estimated population of more than 58 million inhabitants – among them up to 130 unrecognized indigenous ethnic groups.1https://www.iwgia.org/en/tanzania.html As of 2010, an estimated […]

Uganda, located on the north and north-western shores of Lake Victoria, is a predominantly Christian country, with a significant Muslim minority (primarily Sunni), and a president, Yoweri Museveni, of some 34 years standing. The Christian population is divided between protestant denominations and Roman Catholics, accounting for 45% and 39% of […]

The Republic of Zambia, a landlocked state in south central Africa has a population of 19.6 million people, as of the 2022 Census.1https://www.zamstats.gov.zm/2022-census/reports/ According to 2010 census data,2Although the 2022 census did ask about religious affiliation, available reports do not provide such data. more than 90% of the population is […]

The Republic of Zimbabwe is an entirely landlocked sovereign state in southern Africa, with a population of approximately 14.6 million.1https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=ZW Zimbabwe is declared a secular state, but the government is strongly influenced by Christianity. Since acquiring its independence in 1980, the state has been dominated by the liberation party, ZANU-PF […]