North Africa

American  

[nawrth af-ri-kuh] / ˈnɔrθ ˈæf rɪ kə /

noun

1. the northern part of Africa, especially the region north of the tropical rainforest and comprised of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and that part of Egypt west of the Gulf of Suez.

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North Africa British  

noun

1. the part of Africa between the Mediterranean and the Sahara: consists chiefly of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and N Egypt

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• North African
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of North Africa

First recorded in 1840–45

Example Sentences

“This was a multi-pronged effort at reasserting deterrence,” said Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House, a London-based think tank.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026

The crossing route is overseas from North Africa to Italy and Malta.

From BBC • Jun. 8, 2026

Conversely, tsunamis generated further away from France, for example off the northern coast of North Africa, can reach the French Riviera in less than 90 minutes.

From Science Daily • May 21, 2026

Then it flashes back to the 1490s expulsions of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, which triggered migrations to other European countries, North Africa and the New World.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

Equally puzzling is the failure of people to domesticate flax in its wild range in western Europe and North Africa, or einkorn wheat in its wild range in the southern Balkans.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond