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Complete list of 54 African National Anthems

The National Anthems of Africa are enchanting words of patriotism, poetry, and inspiration. List of 54 National Anthems of Africa meanings.

Learn about 54 African national anthems. African national anthems praise Africa’s history, traditions, and struggles. African national anthems patriotic songs recognized officially by the African countries' official government. 

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 inspiration. 


The list of 54 National Anthems of Africa has deep meanings in each anthem.
Students from a township of Cape Town in South Africa sing the National Anthem of South Africa
Students from a township of Cape Town in South Africa sing the National Anthem of South Africa

African National Anthems in Alphabetical Order



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.


The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Debout Congolaise Arise Congolese adopted 1960; replaced when the country was known as Zaire; but readopted in 1997.


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 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.



eSwatini former 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 Blessed Be the Land of Zimbabwe adopted 1994.

The Gambia Flag
The Gambia Flag

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.


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