2020 in East Africa


The following lists events that happened during 2020 in East Africa. The countries listed are those described in the United Nations geoscheme for East Africa:
Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mozambique, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
The combined population of these 18 independent countries and two dependent territories is 445,405,606.

Countries and territories

Burundi

declared its independence from Belgium as a constitutional monarchy on July 1, 1962 and became the Republic of Burundi in 1965. Over the years the country has suffered through political instability including two civil wars and two instances of genocide. The political capital is Gitega and the economic capital is Bujumbura. — June 8, 2020
consists of three main islands and several smaller islands in the Indian Ocean. Comoros became independent of France on 6 July 1975. The capital of the Union of Comoros is Moroni.
is located at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It is Africa's smallest country. Called the French Territory of the Afars and the Issas from 1967 until its independence on 27 June 1977, the capital of the Republic of Djibouti is Djibouti City.
became independent on 24 May 1993, after a thirty-year struggle. Sporadic fighting continued over the years, resulting in the Eritrean–Ethiopian War that only ended in 2018. The capital of the State of Eritrea is Asmara.
is one of the world's oldest countries; it became part of Italian Ethiopia in the early 20th century and regained its independence after World War II. It became the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the “Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia” in 1991. Ethioppia has gone through costly drought and a bloody war with Eritrea in recent years. The capital is Addis Ababa.
became independent of the United Kingdom on 12 December 1963; it became the “Republic of Kenya” a year later. The capital is Nairobi.
freed itself from the French colonial empire in 1960; its official name is the “Republic of Madagascar” and its capital is Antananarivo.
was called Nyasaland until 1953 when it became part of Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1964, Nyasaland became an independent country within the Commonwealth with the new name Malawi. In 1966 it became the “Republic of Malawi”. The capital is Lilongwe.
is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean that became independent within the Commonwealth on 12 March 1968. It became the “Republic of Mauritius” on 12 March 1992. The capital is Port Louis.
is an overseas department and region of France.
was colonized by Portugal from 1505 to 1975. The People's Republic of Mozambique was founded on 25 June 1975; after the Mozambican Civil War it joined the Commonwealth in 1995 and later became the “Republic of Mozambique.” The capital is Maputo.
is an overseas department and region of France, first colonized in the 17th century. The capital is Saint-Dennis.
became independent of Belgium on 1 July 1962. The Republic of Rwanda is a member of the AU, the Commonwealth, COMESA, OIF, and the East African Community. Its capital is Kigali.
consists of about 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. The country became independent of the UK on 29 June 1976. The Republic of Seychelles is a member of the UN, the AU, the Southern African Development Community, and the Commonwealth. The capital, Victoria, is located on the island of Mahé.
was formed by the merger of British Somaliland and the Trust Territory of Somaliland in 1960. It was the Somali Democratic Republic from 1969 to 1991, when the Somali Civil War broke out. The Federal Republic of Somalia is a member of the UN, the Arab League, AU, Non-Aligned Movement, and the OIC. The capital is Mogadishu.

January

20 February – The government and rebels reach a peace agreement in South Sudan.

July to September

The Arts

Sports

January

Citations