African Nations Colonized by Britain: The List

Britain colonized or administered the following territories in Africa (modern countries, with colonial names where different):

West Africa

• Gambia (Crown Colony & Protectorate)
• Sierra Leone (Crown Colony)
• Ghana (Gold Coast)
• Nigeria (Colony & Protectorate, Northern/Southern Protectorates)

East Africa

• Kenya (Colony & Protectorate)
• Uganda (Protectorate)
• Tanzania (Tanganyika — League mandate then UN trust; Zanzibar — Protectorate)

Central/Southern Africa

• Zambia (Northern Rhodesia)
• Malawi (Nyasaland)
• Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia — self-governing colony 1923)
• Botswana (Bechuanaland Protectorate)
• Lesotho (Basutoland Protectorate)
• Eswatini (Swaziland Protectorate)

Southern Africa

• South Africa (Cape, Natal, Transvaal, Orange River — Union 1910, dominion 1931)

Notes & Exceptions

• Cameroon: Only part (British Cameroons — League mandate/UN trust); French Cameroon was larger.
• Rwanda & Burundi: Belgian (League mandate/UN trust) — not British. (Original list error.)
• Somalia: British Somaliland (north) — merged with Italian Somaliland 1960.
• Egypt & Sudan: British occupation/condominium (1882–1956) — not formal colonies but de facto control.

Total: ~18 modern African nations had British colonial rule (wholly or partly).