Tourism in Africa grew by 8% in 2025 most of any continent increasing up to 81 million foreign tourists arriving on the African soil. In 2026, tourism in Africa is projected to grow by 9% driven by economic recovery of Asia, European and North American economies.
North African countries take the lions share of the number of tourists coming to Africa with South Africa the leading country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Africa is a diverse continent and touristic attractions range from a wide variety of features including weather, flora and fauna, nightlife, artefacts, culture, sports, natural physical features and many others.
Here are the 10 Most Visited African Countries
10. Cape Verde: 1.2 million visitors.
Cape Verde is the west most country in Africa. Located in the Atlantic Ocean, the island country had 1.2m visitors in 2025 with the number projected to slightly increase in 2026.
Beach life, music festivals, volcanic landscapes and peace and stability are the key contributing factors to the high number of tourists in the country.
9. Uganda: 1.3 million visitors.
Uganda is located in East Africa. It is the only landlocked country to appear on the list. With 1.3 million visitors in 2025, the number is expected to increase to 1.36-1.4 million in 2026.
The source of River Nile -the longest river in the world, Lake Victoria – the second largest fresh water lake in the world, Gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Rwenzori Mountains with snow near the equator and various national parks are the major tourist attractions in Uganda!
8. Mauritius: 1.4 million visitors.
Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean in the East African region. The island country received 1.4 million visitors. The country’s economy relies heavily on tourism.
Luxury travel and holiday making are major reasons behind number of tourists in Mauritius, beaches, coral reefs and national parks are some other major attractions in the country.
7. Tanzania: 2.4 million visitors.
Tanzania is located in the East African region on bordering Indian Ocean in the east. The country received between 2.1 – 2.4 million in 2025 with the number expected to keep at the ceiling of 2.4m in 2026.
Close to 30% of Tanzania’s land is made up gazetted national parks, sanctuaries, forest reserves all which attract tourists. Serengeti National Park receives over 350,000 visitors annually. Kilimanjaro mountain, the tallest mountain in Africa is located in Northern Tanzania. Beaches and holiday life in Zanzibar are some of the most popular tourist attractions.
6. Kenya: 2.4 million visitors.
Kenya is located in East Africa on the Indian Ocean coast. Estimates put both direct and indirect contribution of tourism to Kenya’s economy to 10% of GDP. Kenya received 2.4m visitors in 2025 and the number is projected to remain relatively stable in 2026 at 2.6m.
Major attractions include Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya that is the only capital city with a national park, Masai region, beach life in Mombasa, Flamingos in Nakuru and many others.
5. Algeria: 3.5 million visitors.
Algeria is located in the Maghreb region, northern Africa. the country’s capital Algiers is located on the Mediterranean Sea.
The country received 3.5 million visitors in 2025 and the number is expected to keep stable in 2026.
Major attractions include the capital Algiers, Roman empire ruins, Sahara, beach resorts on the Mediterranean and many others.
4. South Africa: 9 million visitors.
South Africa tops list of most visited countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The country is located in Southern Africa at the tip of the continent sharing coastlines on both Atlantic and Indian Ocean.
South Africa received 9 million tourists in 2025 and the number is projected to remain stable in 2026. Tourism provides between 3-4% of the national GDP.
Major touristic attractions include medical tourism, education tourism, Kruger National Park receiving over 1.6 million visitors a year, Cape Town, Nightlife and many others.
3. Tunisia: 10 million visitors.
Tunisia is located in North Africa on the coast of Mediterranean Sea. The country received 10 million visitors in 2025 and the number is projected to increase to 10.5 million in 2026.
Major tourist attractions in Tunisia include ruins of Carthage, beach life on the Mediterranean Sea, El Djem amphitheatre, Tunis city and many others.
2. Egypt: 19 million visitors.
Egypt is located in northeast Africa with the great seas Mediterranean and Red Sea bordering the country on the north and eastern flanks respectively. Egypt received 19 million visitors in 2025 and the number is projected to increase to 20 million.
The country rivals Morocco for the first spot in Africa. Tourism is a strong sector to the economy of Egypt directly contributing 8.5% to the GDP and supporting 12% of Egypt’s work force.
Huge number of tourists arrive every year in Egypt due to a number of reasons including touring the great cities of Cairo and Alexandria, Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza, Lixor Temples and all the ancient artefacts and writings of ancient Egypt. Boat cruising River Nile, Red Sea resorts are also some of the most popular tourist attractions.
Egypt is a research centre especially those studying Egyptology. American University in Cairo and Cairo University are often ranked among the top 10 Universities in Africa and therefore education tourism is also high in Egypt.
1. Morocco 19.8 million tourists.
Morocco is located in Northwest Africa bordering Atlantic Ocean in the West and Mediterranean Sea in the North. Morocco received 19.8M visitors in 2025 and the number is projected to increase to hit 20 million which will be the record high for the Maghreb country.
Tourism contributes around 7% of Morocco’s GDP. Reasons for the high number of tourists include the location, being near Europe, improved infrastructure development especially Air transport infrastructure and roads making it easy for tourists to travel, great cities like Casablanca and Marrakech, Sahara Desert, Atlas Mountains and many others.
Morocco is also a popular destination for film makers. Sports events like the concluded AFCON 2025 which spanned across 2025 and 2026 is also one of the many factors increasing the number of tourists in Morocco.
Tourism in Africa is expected to continue to rise spearheaded by Sub-Saharan African countries that have opened up to attract more tourists. Various African countries are waiving of visa restrictions for tourists while others are establishing support facilities like international airports in tourism hotspots and 5-star hotels and etc.
However, more marketing will be required and also harmonization of regions that are marred with endless conflicts like Ethiopia, Northern Nigeria, Sahel, Libya, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia, which scare away tourists.
