Map of Africa in 1914
In 1914 European powers ruled about 90% of Africa. Only Ethiopia and Liberia were independent. This page lists who ruled which territory, using the names of the time.
Last updated: September 2026
In 1914, on the eve of the First World War, seven European powers ruled about 90% of Africa: Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Italy and Spain. Only two African states were fully independent: Ethiopia and Liberia. France held the largest area, mostly in West and North Africa, while Britain ruled the most people, in a chain of territories from Egypt to South Africa and in West Africa.
Who Ruled Africa in 1914
The table uses the names in use in 1914. Several later colonial names (for example Upper Volta, French Sudan or Tanganyika) did not yet exist.
| Power | Territories in 1914 | Modern countries |
|---|---|---|
| France | French West Africa (Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Dahomey, Upper Senegal and Niger, Military Territory of Niger); French Equatorial Africa (Gabon, Middle Congo, Ubangi-Shari–Chad); Algeria; Tunisia and Morocco (protectorates); Madagascar and Comoros; French Somali Coast | Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Benin, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Chad, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Madagascar, Comoros, Djibouti |
| Britain | Egypt (occupied since 1882, protectorate from December 1914); Anglo-Egyptian Sudan; Union of South Africa (self-governing dominion from 1910); Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Swaziland; Southern and Northern Rhodesia (run by the British South Africa Company); Nyasaland; East Africa Protectorate; Uganda; Zanzibar; British Somaliland; Nigeria (unified January 1914); Gold Coast; Sierra Leone; Gambia; Mauritius; Seychelles | Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan, South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Zanzibar (Tanzania), northern Somalia, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Mauritius, Seychelles |
| Germany | Togoland; Kamerun; German South West Africa; German East Africa | Togo and part of Ghana; Cameroon and part of Nigeria (plus areas of Chad, CAR, Gabon and Congo added in 1911); Namibia; mainland Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi |
| Belgium | Belgian Congo (a Belgian colony since 1908) | DR Congo |
| Portugal | Angola; Mozambique; Portuguese Guinea; Cape Verde; São Tomé and Príncipe | Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe |
| Italy | Eritrea; Italian Somaliland; Libya (Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, annexed from the Ottoman Empire in 1912 but largely held only along the coast) | Eritrea, southern Somalia, Libya |
| Spain | Northern zone of Morocco and Cape Juby (protectorate from 1912); Río de Oro and Saguia el-Hamra; Ifni (claimed); Spanish Guinea (Río Muni and Fernando Po) | Parts of Morocco, Western Sahara, Equatorial Guinea |
| Independent | Ethiopia (Abyssinia); Liberia | Ethiopia (with Eritrea later separating from it), Liberia |
The Two Independent States
Ethiopia kept its independence by defeating an Italian invasion at the Battle of Adwa on 1 March 1896, under Emperor Menelik II; the Treaty of Addis Ababa that year forced Italy to recognise it. Ethiopia even expanded during the Scramble. Liberia was founded from 1822 as a settlement for freed and free-born African Americans and declared independence in 1847. It survived the Scramble but lost land claims to British Sierra Leone and French West Africa.
Two other cases are often confused with independence. Egypt was still formally part of the Ottoman Empire in 1914 but had been under British occupation since 1882; Britain declared it a protectorate in December 1914. The Union of South Africa, formed in 1910, was a self-governing British dominion ruled by its white minority, with Black South Africans excluded from power.
Africa in the First World War
The war reached Africa within weeks. British and French troops took Togoland in August 1914; German South West Africa surrendered to South African forces in July 1915; and Kamerun fell in early 1916. In German East Africa, General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck fought a guerrilla campaign until after the armistice in November 1918. Over a million Africans served as soldiers or carriers, and hundreds of thousands of carriers died, mostly from disease and exhaustion.
What Changed After the War
Under the 1919 Treaty of Versailles Germany gave up all its colonies, which became League of Nations mandates: German East Africa was divided between Britain (Tanganyika) and Belgium (Ruanda-Urundi), with the small Kionga Triangle going to Portuguese Mozambique; Kamerun and Togoland were each split between Britain and France; and German South West Africa went to South Africa. Egypt gained nominal independence in 1922. European control continued to expand in places: Italy did not subdue inland Libya until the early 1930s and occupied Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941. Almost all of the territories on the 1914 map became independent between 1956 and 1980; Namibia, the former German South West Africa, followed only in 1990.
For the full sequence of events see the Scramble for Africa timeline, and for independence dates by country see the African independence timeline.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which African countries were independent in 1914?
Only Ethiopia and Liberia. Egypt was under British occupation and became a British protectorate in December 1914, and the Union of South Africa was a self-governing British dominion ruled by its white minority.
How much of Africa was colonised by 1914?
About 90% of the continent was under European rule by 1914, compared with roughly 10% around 1870, mostly coastal footholds.
What African colonies did Germany have in 1914?
Four: Togoland, Kamerun, German South West Africa (Namibia) and German East Africa (mainland Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi). All were lost in the First World War and became League of Nations mandates.
Which European country had the most land in Africa in 1914?
France controlled the largest area, much of it in the Sahara and the Sahel. Britain ruled more people and the richer territories, including Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa.