List of World Heritage Sites in Africa
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The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
(UNESCO) has designated 147
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
s in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. These sites are located in 46 countries (also called " state parties").


Selection of World Heritage Sites

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
has the lead with ten sites; followed by
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
and
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to A ...
being home to nine sites; then
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
with eight sites; and
Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...
,
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
,
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
, and
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...
at seven. Nine countries have only a single site each. Four sites are shared between two countries: Maloti-Drakensberg Park (
Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...
and
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
), the
Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve is a protected area and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in both Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire, extending over a total of area of 17,540 hectares, with 12,540 hectares in Guinea, and 5,000 hectares in Côte d'Ivo ...
(
Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre ...
and
Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
), the Stone Circles of Senegambia (
the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
and
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
), and Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls (
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are t ...
and
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
). Two sites are shared among three countries:
Sangha Trinational Sangha Trinational is a forest divided between the nations of Central African Republic, Cameroon and Congo-Brazzaville. It was added as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012 because of its outstanding biodiversity and unique biological communit ...
(
Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
,
Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...
, and Congo) and W-Arly-Penjari Complex (
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
,
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana t ...
, and
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languages. The first sites from the continent were inscribed in 1978, when the Island of Gorée of
Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
and the Rock-Hewn Churches and
Simien National Park Simien Mountains National Park is the largest national park in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, its territory covers the highest parts of the Simien Mountains and includes Ras Dashan, the highest point in E ...
of
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
were chosen during the list's conception. As of September 2017,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
has no official World Heritage Sites since the Somali government is not party to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. However, there are -- at the very least -- around a dozen archaeological sites in the country that are believed to be potential future candidates for World Heritage status. Each year, UNESCO's
World Heritage Committee The World Heritage Committee selects the sites to be listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance ...
may inscribe new sites on the list or delist sites that no longer meet the criteria. Selection is based on ten criteria: six for
cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soc ...
(i–vi) and four for
natural heritage Natural heritage refers to the sum total of the elements of biodiversity, including flora and fauna, ecosystems and geological structures. It forms part of our natural resources. Definition Heritage is that which is ''inherited'' from past gener ...
(vii–x). Some sites, designated "mixed sites", represent both cultural and natural heritage. In Africa, there are 91 cultural, 50 natural, and 6 mixed sites. Several efforts have been devoted to increasing the number of sites and preserving the heritage of existing sites on the continent; for example, on 5 May 2006, the African World Heritage Fund was launched by UNESCO to target the region of
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
. It planned to protect the sites by hiring personnel for state parties to maintain national inventories of existing sites, as well as to "prepare nomination dossiers for inscription onto the World Heritage List". Grants were also destined to help the " onservationand management of heritage properties in general" and to rehabilitate properties in danger. The drive was initially funded by
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
with US$3.5 million, and, as of March 2011, has amassed $4.7 million from various countries, with an additional $4.1 million in pending pledges. UNESCO has also attempted to increase awareness of African human origin sites in Ethiopia, with a goal of conserving and protecting the areas from further deterioration. The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List". Along with other World Heritage Sites, sites in danger are subject to re-evaluation by the committee every year at their "ordinary sessions". Africa has 21 sites on the danger list, accounting for 14% of all African sites and 40% of the 52 endangered sites worldwide.
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
has 5 sites on the danger list, the second-highest of any country in the world.. Sites in Africa have been marked as such for a variety of reasons, such as
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...
and hunting, civil war, threats to and
hostage taking A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...
of reserve staff, oil and gas projects and mining, declines in
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity'') ...
, and structural damage to buildings. Ten sites were formerly declared as being in danger, but have since lost the status; examples include the
Ngorongoro Conservation Area The Ngorongoro Conservation Area (, ) is a protected area and a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Ngorongoro District, west of Arusha City in Arusha Region, within the Crater Highlands geological area of northern Tanzania. The area is na ...
(1984–1989), the
Rwenzori Mountains National Park Rwenzori Mountains National Park is a Ugandan national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Rwenzori Mountains. Almost in size, the park has Africa's third highest mountain peak and many waterfalls, lakes, and glaciers. The park i ...
(1999–2004), and
Tipasa Tipasa, sometimes distinguished as Tipasa in Mauretania, was a colonia in the Roman province Mauretania Caesariensis, nowadays called Tipaza, and located in coastal central Algeria. Since 1982, it has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Si ...
(2002–2006).
Garamba National Park Garamba National Park is a nearly national park in north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is among Africa's oldest parks, and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for nort ...
and
Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...
have also lost their statuses in 1992 and 2005, respectively, but later regained it in 1996 and 2012. Despite its large number of endangered sites and the circumstances surrounding them, African World Heritage Sites have never been stripped of their title, something that has only occurred three times.


World Heritage Sites


Legend

The list below ignores UNESCO's geopolitical definition of Africa and includes what it describes as sites in the "Arab States".
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
is included as part of
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
. The list also comprises a number of sites for which the state party is outside the continent, but the site itself is located in Africa; four such sites are located on the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, :es:Canarias, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to ...
(belonging to
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
), one on
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
(belonging to
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
), one on
Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island o ...
(belonging to
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
), and one on the
Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the Extreme points of Earth, most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town, Sou ...
archipelago (belonging to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
). :Site – named after the World Heritage Committee's official designation :Location – sorted by country, followed by the region at the regional or provincial level. In the case of multinational or multi-regional sites, the names are sorted alphabetically. :Criteria – as defined by the World Heritage Committee :Area – in hectares and acres, excluding any buffer zones. A value of "—" implies that no data has been published by UNESCO :Year – during which the site was inscribed to the World Heritage List :Description – brief information about the site, including reasons for qualifying as an endangered site, if applicable


Sites


Performance of Africa in UNESCO

The countries are divided according to their regions: blue for Northern Africa, orange for Eastern Africa, purple for Central Africa, green for Western Africa, and red for Southern Africa. (Note: this chart does not include the sites located in Africa that belong to European countries.) ImageSize = width:602 height:auto barincrement:15 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:30 right:50 left:20 AlignBars = early DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:15 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:1 start:0 Colors = id:canvas value:rgb(1,1,1) id:purple value:purple id:red value:red id:redl value:rgb(0.84,0.41,0) id:orange value:orange id:green value:green id:blue value:blue Backgroundcolors = canvas:canvas BarData = barset:Studentenbuden PlotData = width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:Studentenbuden from: 0 till: 7 color:blue text:"Algeria" (7) from: 0 till: 7 color:blue text:"Egypt" (7) from: 0 till: 5 color:blue text:"Libya" (5) from: 0 till: 9 color:blue text:"Morocco" (9) from: 0 till: 3 color:blue text:"Sudan" (3) from: 0 till: 8 color:blue text:"Tunisia" (8) from: 0 till: 0 color:blue text:"Western Sahara" (0) from: 0 till: 0 color:orange text:"Burundi" (0) from: 0 till: 0 color:orange text:"Comoros" (0) from: 0 till: 0 color:orange text:"Djibouti" (0) from: 0 till: 1 color:orange text:"Eritrea" (1) from: 0 till: 9 color:orange text:"Ethiopia" (9) from: 0 till: 7 color:orange text:"Kenya" (7) from: 0 till: 3 color:orange text:"Madagascar" (3) from: 0 till: 2 color:orange text:"Malawi" (2) from: 0 till: 2 color:orange text:"Mauritius" (2) from: 0 till: 1 color:orange text:"Mozambique" (1) from: 0 till: 0 color:orange text:"Rwanda" (0) from: 0 till: 2 color:orange text:"Seychelles" (2) from: 0 till: 0 color:orange text:"Somalia" (0) from: 0 till: 0 color:orange text:"South Sudan" (0) from: 0 till: 7 color:orange text:"Tanzania" (7) from: 0 till: 3 color:orange text:"Uganda" (3) from: 0 till: 1 color:orange text:"Zambia" (1) from: 0 till: 5 color:orange text:"Zimbabwe" (5) from: 0 till: 1 color:purple text:"Angola" (1) from: 0 till: 2 color:purple text:"Cameroon" (2) from: 0 till: 2 color:purple text:"Central African Republic" (2) from: 0 till: 2 color:purple text:"Chad" (2) from: 0 till: 5 color:purple text:"Democratic Republic of the Congo" (5) from: 0 till: 1 color:purple text:"Republic of the Congo" (1) from: 0 till: 0 color:purple text:"Equatorial Guinea" (0) from: 0 till: 2 color:purple text:"Gabon" (2) from: 0 till: 0 color:purple text:"São Tomé and Príncipe" (0) from: 0 till: 2 color:green text:"Benin" (2) from: 0 till: 3 color:green text:"Burkina Faso" (3) from: 0 till: 1 color:green text:"Cape Verde" (1) from: 0 till: 5 color:green text:"Ivory Coast" (5) from: 0 till: 2 color:green text:"Gambia" (2) from: 0 till: 2 color:green text:"Ghana" (2) from: 0 till: 1 color:green text:"Guinea" (1) from: 0 till: 0 color:green text:"Guinea-Bissau" (0) from: 0 till: 0 color:green text:"Liberia" (0) from: 0 till: 4 color:green text:"Mali" (4) from: 0 till: 2 color:green text:"Mauritania" (2) from: 0 till: 3 color:green text:"Niger" (3) from: 0 till: 2 color:green text:"Nigeria" (2) from: 0 till: 7 color:green text:"Senegal" (7) from: 0 till: 0 color:green text:"Sierra Leone" (0) from: 0 till: 1 color:green text:"Togo" (1) from: 0 till: 2 color:red text:"Botswana" (2) from: 0 till: 0 color:red text:"Eswatini" (0) from: 0 till: 1 color:red text:"Lesotho" (1) from: 0 till: 2 color:red text:"Namibia" (2) from: 0 till: 10 color:red text:"South Africa" (10) barset:skip


See also

*
Lists of World Heritage Sites This is a list of the lists of World Heritage Sites. A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having special cultural or physical significance. General lis ...


Notes


References


External links

* agoras.typepad.fr/regard_eloigne/dominique-sewane/ * www.sciencespo.fr/psia/users/dominiquesewane * http://www.unesco.org/fr/university-twinning-and-networking/access-by-region/africa/togo/unesco-chair-in-influence-of-african-thought-preservation-of-african-cultural-heritage-718/ {{featured list
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...