National team appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations
This article lists the performances of each of the 39 national teams which have made at least one appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations finals.All-time table
Up to and including the 2019 tournament.
| Rank | Team | Titles | Part's | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pts% |
| 1 | | 7 | 24 | 100 | 57 | 17 | 26 | 164 | 88 | +76 | 188 | 62.7 |
| 2 | | 4 | 22 | 99 | 54 | 20 | 25 | 130 | 82 | +48 | 182 | 61.3 |
| 3 | | 3 | 18 | 93 | 51 | 21 | 21 | 132 | 89 | +43 | 174 | 62.4 |
| 4 | | 2 | 23 | 95 | 42 | 25 | 28 | 138 | 100 | +38 | 151 | 53.0 |
| 5 | | 5 | 19 | 84 | 41 | 27 | 16 | 123 | 76 | +47 | 150 | 59.5 |
| 6 | | 2 | 18 | 74 | 28 | 21 | 25 | 93 | 85 | +8 | 105 | 47.3 |
| 7 | | 1 | 17 | 67 | 26 | 20 | 21 | 81 | 69 | +12 | 98 | 48.8 |
| 8 | | 1 | 19 | 75 | 23 | 29 | 23 | 94 | 91 | +3 | 98 | 43.5 |
| 9 | | 1 | 17 | 65 | 24 | 23 | 18 | 74 | 58 | +16 | 95 | 48.7 |
| 10 | | 2 | 19 | 73 | 20 | 24 | 29 | 88 | 102 | −14 | 84 | 38.3 |
| 11 | | | 15 | 60 | 23 | 14 | 23 | 69 | 54 | +15 | 83 | 46.1 |
| 12 | | | 11 | 50 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 61 | 64 | −3 | 68 | 45.3 |
| 13 | | 1 | 10 | 42 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 61 | 48.4 |
| 14 | | | 12 | 43 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 59 | 63 | −4 | 52 | 40.3 |
| 15 | | | 11 | 41 | 7 | 13 | 21 | 38 | 62 | −24 | 34 | 27.6 |
| 16 | | 1 | 7 | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 27 | 40 | −13 | 28 | 35.9 |
| 17 | | 1 | 8 | 24 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 38 | −10 | 27 | 37.5 |
| 18 | | | 7 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 19 | 26 | −7 | 25 | 39.7 |
| 19 | | | 8 | 26 | 4 | 12 | 10 | 30 | 39 | −9 | 24 | 30.7 |
| 20 | | 1 | 10 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 17 | 29 | 61 | −32 | 24 | 29.6 |
| 21 | | | 8 | 25 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 19 | 42 | −23 | 17 | 22.7 |
| 22 | | | 2 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 15 | 50.0 |
| 23 | | | 7 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 21 | 38 | −17 | 15 | 21.7 |
| 24 | | | 3 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 14 | 42.4 |
| 25 | | | 6 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 11 | 12 | 31 | −20 | 10 | 19.6 |
| 26 | | | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 53.3 |
| 27 | | | 2 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 8 | 38.1 |
| 28 | | | 4 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 13 | 27 | −14 | 8 | 22.2 |
| 29 | | | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 5 | 33.3 |
| 30 | | | 4 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 24 | −17 | 5 | 11.9 |
| 31 | | | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 44.4 |
| 32 | | | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 | −5 | 4 | 22.2 |
| 33 | | | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 4 | 26.7 |
| 34 | | | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 2 | 22.2 |
| 35 | | | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 2 | 11.1 |
| 36 | | | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 24 | −14 | 2 | 7.4 |
| 37 | | | 4 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 26 | −22 | 2 | 5.6 |
| 38 | | | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 1 | 5.6 |
| 39 | | | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 14 | −9 | 1 | 5.5 |
| 40 | | | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 41 | | | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 42 | | | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | −7 | 0 | 0.0 |
Comprehensive team results by tournament
For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament are shown.
;Legend
Keys:
| Year | Host nation | Finish |
| 1957 | | Third Place † |
| 1959 | | Champions ★ |
| 1962 | | Champions ★ |
| 1963 | | Champions ★ |
| 1965 | | Runners-up † |
| 1968 | | Fourth Place |
| 1970 | | Champions ★ |
| 1972 | | Third Place † |
| 1974 | | Third Place |
| 1976 | | Group Stage |
| 1978 | | Champions ★ |
| 1980 | | Champions ★ |
| 1982 | | Runners-up ★ |
| 1984 | | Group Stage |
| 1986 | | Champions ★ |
| 1988 | | Fourth Place |
| 1990 | | Champions ★ |
| 1992 | | Quarter-finalist |
| 1994 | | Group Stage |
| 1996 | | Champions ★ |
| 1998 | | Fourth Place |
| 2000 | | Quarter-finalist |
| 2000 | | Runners-up |
| 2002 | | Fourth Place |
| 2004 | | Champions ★ |
| 2006 | | Champions ★ |
| 2008 | | Third Place |
| 2010 | | Quarter-finalist |
| 2012 | | Quarter-finalist |
| 2012 | | Quarter-finalist |
| 2013 | | Quarter-finalist |
| 2015 | | Fourth Place |
| 2017 | | Group Stage |
| 2019 | | Round of 16 |
| 2021 | | TBD |
| 2023 | | TBD |
| 2025 | | TBD |
Results of defending champions
Each successive Africa Cup of Nations from 1962 onwards has had at least one team appearing for the first time. Teams in parentheses are considered successor teams by FIFA.
| Year | Debutants | Total |
| 1957 | ,, | 3 |
| 1962 | , | 2 |
| 1963 | , | 2 |
| 1965 |  Congo-Léopoldville,, | 3 |
| 1968 | ,  Congo-Brazzaville | 2 |
| 1970 | , | 2 |
| 1972 | ,,, | 4 |
| 1974 | , | 2 |
| 1978 |  Upper Volta | 1 |
| 1980 | | 1 |
| 1982 | | 1 |
| 1984 | | 1 |
| 1986 | | 1 |
| 1994 | , | 2 |
| 1996 | ,, | 3 |
| 1998 | | 1 |
| 2004 | ,, | 3 |
| 2012 | ,, | 3 |
| 2013 | | 1 |
| 2017 | | 1 |
| 2019 | ,, | 3 |
- Never qualified:,,,,,,,,,,,
