Which African country was the last to gain independence?

South Sudan was the last internationally recognized African country to gain independence, becoming sovereign on 9 July 2011. It separated from Sudan after decades of conflict and a referendum on self-determination.

The referendum took place in January 2011 under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. Voters overwhelmingly chose independence. On 9 July, South Sudan formally declared independence in its capital, Juba, with Salva Kiir becoming the country’s first president.

The new state became Africa’s 54th country at independence and the world’s newest sovereign country at the time. It was admitted to the United Nations on 14 July 2011, only five days after independence. South Sudan is landlocked and lies in east-central Africa; its territory includes large wetlands around the White Nile, including the Sudd.

The answer is sometimes confused with Namibia or Eritrea because both became independent relatively recently. Namibia gained independence in 1990, while Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993. South Sudan’s 2011 independence makes it the canonical answer.