A coup is an unconstitutional and overt attempt to remove the government’s elected leader by the military or other state apparatus elites. Africa is the second largest continent and here are the five facts you need to know about the coups in the continent:
1. Country with the Highest Number of Coups: Sudan, situated in North Africa, has the highest number of attempted military takeovers in the world. To date, Sudan has experienced a total of eighteen coup attempts spanning various historical periods, with six of them successfully resulting in a change of power.
The successful coups are;
• 1958 Coup: On November 17, 1958, Sudan witnessed its first successful military coup, peacefully transferring power from Prime Minister Abdalla Khalil to General Ibrahim Abboud, who was the head of the army at the time. Remarkably, this coup was carried out without any loss of life.
• 1969 Coup: Eleven years following the initial successful coup, Sudan experienced another pivotal event on May 25, 1969. Colonel Gaafar Nimeiry spearheaded this coup, overthrowing President Ismail al-Azhari and marking the end of Sudan’s second democratic era. This event ushered in a sixteen-year rule under Nimeiry’s leadership.
• 1985 Coup: To terminate Nimeiry’s rule, Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab, who served as the Defense Minister and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, orchestrated a successful coup on April 6, 1985. The catalyst for this coup was primarily the rising food prices, which had triggered significant social unrest.
• 1989 Coup: On June 30, 1989, Omar al-Bashir orchestrated a coup that ousted Sudan’s Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and President Ahmed al-Mirghani. The seizure of power was justified as a means of ending the Second Sudan Civil War, which the democratically elected government had been unable to resolve. This coup also marked the end of the democratic government established in 1985 and became the longest-lasting military takeover in Sudan, spanning three decades.
• 2019 Coup: Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf led the army in toppling the enduring military regime in Sudan after months of protests fueled by the high cost of living.
• 2021 Coup: In another significant turn of events, the Sudanese military, under the leadership of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, assumed control of the Sudanese government through a military coup.
The highest coups in a continent: According to the Voice of Africa Statistics in 2023, there have been a total of 492 attempted coups globally since 1950. Among them, Africa stands out with an alarming 220 attempts, of which 109 were carried out successfully. Research conducted by Powell and Thyne highlights that 45 out of Africa’s 54 nations experienced at least one coup attempt during this period. However, when we narrow our focus to those countries that underwent a successful takeover, meaning the perpetrators managed to maintain power for at least seven days, the number drops to 37, which represents roughly two-thirds of the continent’s nations.
2020-2023 coups: From 2020 to 2023, Africa is the sole continent where a series of distinct coups unfolded. During this period, a total of fourteen coup attempts were recorded, with nine of them successfully seizing power in seven different nations: Sudan, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Gabon, and Republic of Guinea. Majority of the country except Sudan were colonized by France and this might bring the question WHY? This might be attributed to the high influence of France in the governance of their former colonies. For instance, for more than 70 years after independence all the 14 countries colonised by France were using CFA Franc as guaranteed by the French Treasury as the legal tender in their various countries. Voice of Africa in 2023 reported that many citizens of the affected countries saw it as a way of escaping from the influence of their colonial masters. There are also economic and political instabilities in these former colonies to the extent that they have been flagged by Fund For Peace as either high alert or very high alert zones to live in.
4. Seven Decades of Coups in Africa: The African continent has experienced over seven decades of attempted and, at times, successful coups from 1950 to the 2020s. In each of these decades, Africa has witnessed no fewer than six coup attempts, with the highest concentration occurring between 1970 and 1979, totaling 42 coups.
5. The 1966 Coup Surge: The year 1966 stands out as the pinnacle of coup activity in Africa, with a total of ten coups occurring across seven different countries: Nigeria, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Republic of Congo, Burundi, and Sudan.
1966 Coups Breakdown
| Countries | Date | Successful Coups | Failed Coups | Total |
| Central African Republic | Jan 1, 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Burkina Faso | Jan 3, 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Nigeria | Jan 15, 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Ghana | February 24, 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Republic of Congo | June 27, 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Burundi | July 8, 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Nigeria | July 28, 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Burundi | November, 28 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Sudan | December 18, 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Sudan | December, 28 1966 | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 8 | 2 | 10 |
In summary, coups have remained a recurring theme in Africa’s history over the decades. This not only places Africa at the forefront of global coup attempts but also highlights its ongoing experience with military takeovers, as recent as 2023.
