Know the top sunniest countries in Africa

Africa is a sunlight-rich continent and is home to some of the top sunniest countries in the world due to its geographical location near the equator.

This continent is located between latitudes of 37 degrees North to 35 degrees South with the Equator, Tropic of Cancer, and Tropic of Capricorn lines passing through it.

It lies in both hemispheres (Northern hemisphere and Southern hemisphere) and the major portion of this continent is spanning around the equator.

Although all the countries in this continent receive good sunlight and have high solar potential with attractive financial feasibility,  some countries are sunniest among others.

Interestingly, these countries are slightly away from the equator, contradicting the fact that the equator receives the maximum sunlight.

There is a reason behind it!

The Congo Basin, the basin of river Congo, has a total area of around 4 million square km (slightly more than the sum of the areas of India and Somalia).

This basin surrounds the equator and the river crossing the equator twice.

The sunlight creates a heavy cloud cover over the equator which in turn blocks the sunlight from reaching the land surface.

whereas, the areas slightly away from the equator are free from this phenomenon.

Hence, the equator receives less sunlight compared to the locations away from it.

Let us start the countdown:

6. Libya: 5.57 Peak sun hours

Location of Libya

Libya is located in North Africa and its capital is Tripoli.

The major portion of this country lies in the Sahara desert.

The climate of Libya is majorly dominated by the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean sea in the North. 

The coordinates of Libya are 26.33° N and 17.22° E and it is surrounded by the Mediterranean sea in the North, bordering Algeria in the West, bounded by Egypt from East, Niger, and Chad are covering it from the South.

If I talk about the number of solar radiations then it receives an annual daily average of 5.57 kWh/m²/day, making it on the list of 6th sunniest countries on the continent.

• (*1 kWh/m² = 1 Peak Sun Hour)
• Total Peak Sun Hours in 1 year= 5.57 x 365 days = 2033

Solar radiations in Libya

Let’s check out the solar radiation chart:

Although, the 3 months June, July, and August receive solar radiation of more than 7 kWh/m²/day, the month of July is the one that receives the maximum sunlight of 7.6 kWh/m²/day.

December is the month of minimum sunlight of 3.3 kWhr/m²/day in this country.

A difference of 4.3 kWh/m²/day between the month of maximum and minimum sunlight.

Somalia: The 5th most sunniest country in Africa with PSH 5.61

Somalia (capital: Mogadishu) is the easternmost country of Africa and it is surrounded by the Gulf of Aden on North, the Indian Ocean on the East, Kenya on the South-west, Ethiopia on the West, and Djibouti on North-west.

Its coordinates are: 5.15° N and 46.19° E and are near to the equator but far away by around 1800 miles from the Congo basin.

It stands at 5th position as the top sunniest country in Africa with average solar radiation of 5.61 kWh/m²/day.

Total Peak Sun Hours in a year = 365 x 561 = 2048

February is the month with maximum sunlight of 7.3 kWh/m²/day and June receives the minimum sunlight of 4.3 kWh/m²/day, making it a difference of 3 kWh/m²/day between the maximum and the minimum values.

4. Kenya: 5.61 Peak Sun Hours

Kenya is located in East Africa and it is bisected by the Equator line.
Its capital Nairobi is at an altitude of 1700 meters from sea level.

It has a low-lying area along the coastal line of the Indian ocean and mountains and plateaus at its center.

It is bounded by Ethiopia in the North, Uganda (North-west), Sudan in the West, Tanzania in the South, and the Indian ocean in the East.

Kenya is in 4^th place with an average of 5.61 kWh/m^2/day.

Total Peak Sun Hours in a Year = 2048

The sunniest months are January and February, the latter receiving the maximum sunlight of 6.8 kWh/m^2/day and the least amount of sunlight in the month of June which is 4.7 kWh/m^2/day.

*Although both countries Kenya and Somalia receive an equal amount of sunlight (5.61 kWh/m^2/day) the difference in the maximum and the minimum values of sunlight (2.1 kWh/m^2/day) is less in the case of Kenya, meaning more uniform sunlight as compared to that in Somalia where the difference between the 2 extremes is 3 kWh/m^2/day.

Hence Kenya is placed at a higher slot.

3. Ethiopia with PSH of 5.73

a) Capital: Addis Abeba
b) Coordinates: 9.14° N and 40.48° E
c) Total Sun Peak Hours in a year; 2091
d) Location:

• East: Indian ocean
• West and North-west: Sudan
• South: Kenya
• North: Eritrea

It receives an average of 5.7 kWh/m^2/day of sunlight throughout the year.

November to February are the sunniest months in this country and November is the sunniest among all with average sunlight of 7.1 kWh/m^2/day.

July receives the minimum sunlight of 4.2 kWh/m^2/day.

The total Peak Sun Hours in a year = 5.7 x 365 days = 2080

2. Sudan and Eritrea: 6.1 Peak Sun Hours

The number 2 position is a tie shared by 2 neighboring countries Sudan and Eritrea with average solar radiation of 6.1 kWh/m^2/day.

Both the countries lie between 2 tropics that are Equator and Tropic of Cancer.

January: 7.04 kWh/m^2/day (Maximum Sunlight)
​July: 4.6 kWh/m^2/day (Minimum)

Total Peak Sun Hours in a year = 2226

1. Egypt with Peak Sun Hours of 6.8

Egypt, the land of the Great Pyramids, is at the top of my list and it is the sunniest country in Africa with average solar radiation of 6.8 kWh/m^2/day.

The Tropic of Cancer passes through the bottom of this country and its coordinates are 26.82° N and 30.80° E
​
Its neighbors are:

• North: Mediterranean sea
• West : Libya
• South: Sudan
• East: Red sea

This sunlight-rich country receives more than 7 kWh/m^2/day of sunlight from March to September in a year.

August is the month with the maximum sunlight of 7.5 kWh/m^2/day whereas December receives a minimum of 5.5 kWh/m^2/day.

Total Peak Sun Hours = 2482

List of the top sunniest countries in Africa

Solar energy has high potential in Africa and installing solar power systems in these top sunlight-rich countries is very much feasible and financially rewarding.