Which country is the smallest in Africa by land area?

Seychelles is Africa's smallest country by land area.

The Republic of Seychelles is an island country in the western Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar. Its land area is about 459 square kilometres, spread across an archipelago of more than 100 islands. Most residents live on Mahé, the largest island.

Seychelles was uninhabited before French settlement in the eighteenth century and later became a British colony. It achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1976 and became a republic within the Commonwealth.

Its small territory is different from the small size of The Gambia, which is Africa's smallest mainland country by area. Seychelles is also known for protected habitats, including rare plants and animals such as the coco de mer palm and the Seychelles giant tortoise.