Timeline
The "colonial power" and "colonial name" columns are merged when required to denote territories, where current countries are established, that have not been decolonized, but achieved independence in different way.
| Country | Colonial name | Colonial power | Independence date | First head of state | Independence won through |
| Liberia | Commonwealth of Liberia | United States (indirectly) | July 26, 1847 | Joseph Jenkins Roberts | American Colonization Society |
| Egypt | Egypt | Britain | 28 February 1922 | Sarwat Pasha | Urabi Revolt, Suez Crisis |
| South Africa | Union of South Africa | Britain | 11 December 1931 | James Barry Munnik Hertzog | Statute of Westminster 1931 |
| Libya | Italian Libya, Allied Military Administration | Italy | December 24, 1951 | Idris | - |
| Sudan | Anglo-Egyptian Sudan | Britain & Egypt | 19 December 1955 | Ismail al-Azhari | - |
| Tunisia | French protectorate of Tunisia | France | March 20, 1956 | Muhammad VIII al-Amin | - |
| Morocco | Protectorate of Morocco | France & Spain | April 7, 1956 | Mohammed V | Rif War, Ifni War |
| Ghana | Gold Coast | Britain & Germany; Britain | March 6, 1957 | Kwame Nkrumah | - |
| Guinea | French Guinea (part of French West Africa) | France | October 2, 1958 | Sékou Touré | - |
| Cameroon | Cameroun | Germany; France & Britain | January 1, 1960 | Ahmadou Ahidjo | UPC rebellion |
| Togo | French Togoland | Germany; France | April 27, 1960 | Sylvanus Olympio | - |
| Mali | French Sudan (part of French West Africa) | France | June 20, 1960 | Modibo Keita | - |
| Madagascar | Malagasy Protectorate | France | June 26, 1960 | Philibert Tsiranana | Malagasy Uprising |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | Belgian Congo | Belgium | June 30, 1960 | Patrice Lumumba | Congo Crisis |
| Somalia | British Somaliland Italian Somaliland |
Britain & Italy | June 26, 1960 July 1, 1960 |
Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal Aden Abdullah Osman Daar |
- - |
| Benin | French Dahomey (part of French West Africa) | France | August 1, 1960 | Hubert Maga | - |
| Niger | Colony of Niger (part of French West Africa) | France | August 3, 1960 | Hamani Diori | - |
| Burkina Faso | French Upper Volta (part of French West Africa) | France | August 5, 1960 | Maurice Yaméogo | - |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Ivory Coast (part of French West Africa) | France | August 7, 1960 | Félix Houphouët-Boigny | - |
| Chad | French Chad (part of French Equatorial Africa) | France | August 11, 1960 | François Tombalbaye | - |
| Central African Republic | Ubangi-Shari (part of French Equatorial Africa) | France | August 13, 1960 | David Dacko | - |
| Republic of the Congo | French Congo (part of French Equatorial Africa) | France | August 15, 1960 | Fulbert Youlou | - |
| Gabon | part of French Equatorial Africa | France | August 17, 1960 | Léon M'ba | |
| Senegal | part of Sudanese Republic | Mali | 20 August 1960 | Léopold Senghor | - |
| Nigeria | British Nigeria | Britain | October 1, 1960 | Nnamdi Azikiwe | - |
| Mauritania | part of French West Africa | France | November 28, 1960 | Moktar Ould Daddah | - |
| Sierra Leone | Sierra Leone | Britain | April 27, 1961 | Milton Margai | - |
| Tanzania | Tanganyika Zanzibar |
Britain | December 9, 1961 December 10, 1963 |
Julius Nyerere Jamshid ibn Abdullah |
- - |
| Rwanda | part of Ruanda-Urundi | Belgium | July 1, 1962 | Grégoire Kayibanda | Rwandan Revolution |
| Burundi | part of Ruanda-Urundi | Belgium | July 1, 1962 | André Muhirwa | - |
| Algeria | French Algeria | France | July 3, 1962 | Ahmed Ben Bella | Algerian War of Independence |
| Uganda | Uganda Protectorate | Britain | October 9, 1962 | Milton Obote | - |
| Kenya | Kenya Colony | Britain | December 12, 1963 | Jomo Kenyatta | Mau Mau Uprising |
| Malawi | Nyasaland Protectorate | Britain | July 6, 1964 | Hastings Kamuzu Banda | - |
| Zambia | Northern Rhodesia | Britain | October 24, 1964 | Kenneth Kaunda | - |
| The Gambia | Gambia | Britain | February 18, 1965 | Dawda Kairaba Jawara | - |
| Zimbabwe | Southern Rhodesia | Britain | 11 November 1965 | Ian Smith | Rhodesian Bush War |
| Botswana | Bechuanaland Protectorate | Britain | September 30, 1966 | Seretse Khama | - |
| Lesotho | Basutoland | Britain | October 4, 1966 | Leabua Jonathan | - |
| Mauritius | Britain | March 12, 1968 | - | ||
| Swaziland | Swaziland | Britain | September 6, 1968 | Sobhuza II | - |
| Equatorial Guinea | Spanish Guinea | Spain | October 12, 1968 | Francisco Macías Nguema | - |
| Guinea-Bissau | Portuguese Guinea | Portugal | September 24, 1973 | Luís Cabral | Guinea-Bissau War of Independence |
| Mozambique | Portuguese East Africa | Portugal | June 25, 1975 | Samora Machel | Mozambican War of Independence |
| Cape Verde | Portugal | July 5, 1975 | influenced by Guinea-Bissau War of Independence | ||
| Comoros | France | July 6, 1975 | - | ||
| São Tomé and Príncipe | Portugal | July 12, 1975 | - | ||
| Angola | Portuguese West Africa | Portugal | November 11, 1975 | Agostinho Neto | Angolan War of Independence |
| Seychelles | Britain | June 29, 1976 | James Richard Marie Mancham | - | |
| Djibouti | French Somaliland | France | June 27, 1977 | Hassan Gouled Aptidon | - |
| Namibia | South West Africa | South Africa | March 21, 1990 | Sam Nujoma | Namibian War of Independence |
| Eritrea | Eritrea | Ethiopia | May 24, 1993 | Isaias Afewerki | Eritrean War of Independence |
| South Sudan | Southern Sudan | Sudan | July 9, 2011 | Salva Kiir Mayardit | Sudanese Civil War |
Read more about this topic: Decolonization Of Africa