ErebusFact library / Countries
8 countries in Central Africa, each with a picture to fix its place, shape or name in your memory.
Chad is a large, landlocked country in north-central Africa, named after Lake Chad, with its capital at N'Djamena.
Picture it
A man named CHAD sits in the middle of Africa beside a lake that shrinks every time he blinks. He's furious: "IN JAM-EEN-A jar, it'd last longer!" (N'DJAMENA).
Memory hooks
Say it: N'Djamena (n'jah·MAY·nah)
Gabon, a rainforest country on the equator in Central Africa, has its capital at Libreville, meaning "free town".
Picture it
A rainforest country sits right on the equator, so green it's almost all trees. A GABBY baboon ("ga-BON") opens the gates of the capital and shouts: "LIBRE! It's a free town!" (LIBREVILLE).
Memory hooks
São Tomé and Príncipe is a two-island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, just off Central Africa near the equator, and its capital is São Tomé.
Picture it
In the Gulf of Guinea, right by the equator, Saint Thomas and a young PRINCE each sit on their own volcanic island, sipping hot chocolate made from the cocoa they grow.
Memory hooks
Equatorial Guinea is the only African country with Spanish as an official language, and its capital Malabo is on the island of Bioko.
Picture it
A Spanish flamenco dancer stamps her feet right by the equator, the only spot in Africa where Spanish is the official language. Her stage is out on an island, and the crowd chants "MA-LA-BO!" for an encore in Malabo.
Memory hooks
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa's second-largest country, and its capital Kinshasa faces Brazzaville across the Congo River.
Picture it
In the rainforest heart of Africa, a huge country stands on one bank of the Congo River, close enough to wave at its neighbour's capital on the other side. A KING in a fur hat shouts "KIN-SHA-SA!" across the water.
Memory hooks
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The Republic of the Congo lies west of the Congo River, and its capital Brazzaville faces Kinshasa across the water.
Picture it
Across the Congo River from Kinshasa, a smaller country waves back. Its capital is a BRASS band ("BRAZZA-ville") playing so loudly the big neighbour can hear every note.
Memory hooks
The Central African Republic is a landlocked country at the heart of Africa, with its capital at Bangui on the Ubangi River.
Picture it
Throw a dart at the very middle of Africa and it lands in a landlocked country named for exactly that. On its southern border, a drummer goes "BANG-EE!" on the riverbank at Bangui.
Memory hooks
Cameroon, named after the Portuguese for "river of prawns", is called "Africa in miniature" for its varied landscapes; its capital is Yaoundé.
Picture it
Portuguese sailors row up a river in Central Africa that's wriggling with prawns: "Rio dos Camarões!" The country takes the prawns' name. Inland, the rainforest, the savanna and a big volcano are all crammed in like a mini Africa, and a cowboy yells "YAH-OON-DAY" in Yaoundé.
Memory hooks