Top 10 African Countries With the Most Coups Since 1960, Ranked

Published: November 7, 2026

Key Facts

• Sudan leads Africa with 14 coup attempts since 1960, and only 5 of them succeeded. Its 9 failed attempts alone outnumber Nigeria's entire coup history.
• Burkina Faso is the most efficient coup maker on the continent. It turned 9 of its 10 attempts into takeovers, a 90 percent success rate.
• The top 10 countries account for exactly 100 of Africa's 214 coup attempts since 1960, or 46.7 percent of the total. Exactly half of all 214 attempts succeeded.
• Seven of the top 10 are in West Africa, and those seven account for 66 of the top 100 attempts.
• The table moved in the last year. Guinea-Bissau's November 2025 coup, Benin's December 2025 failed attempt and Niger's August 2026 failed attempt all changed the order. Without Niger's August 2026 attempt, Mali would take 10th place.

Africa has seen more coups than any other continent since independence. The Powell and Thyne dataset records 214 attempts across the continent since 1960, and 44 of the 54 countries have had at least one. This ranking counts every attempt, successful and failed, from 1960 through August 2026. It uses the latest version of the dataset, published on August 29, 2026.

Sudan sits at the top, but not in the way its generals would want. It has tried more often than anyone and failed more often than anyone. Burkina Faso is the opposite case. It has tried 10 times and succeeded 9 times. Nigeria, the continent's most populous country, sits last in the top 10, and it has not had a single attempt since 1993.

Source: Powell and Thyne, Global Instances of Coups dataset, version V2026.08.29. Attempts counted from January 1960 through August 2026. A coup counts as successful when those behind it hold power for at least 7 days.

The top three countries alone have 35 attempts between them. That equals the combined total of the bottom four in the top 10. The average top 10 country has 10 attempts and 5.5 successful takeovers. Eleven of the top 10's 100 attempts have come since 2020, and all 11 happened in just five countries: Sudan, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Niger and Benin.

1. Sudan: 14 attempts, 5 successful

Sudan has had more coup attempts than any other African country since 1960. It has also failed more often than anyone, with 9 failed attempts. Its first attempts in this count came in December 1966, when two separate plots failed in the same month. Colonel Jaafar Nimeiry seized power in May 1969 and ruled for 16 years. He was himself removed by a successful coup in April 1985. Omar al-Bashir took power in a coup in June 1989 and ruled for 30 years until soldiers removed him in April 2019. The army then seized power again in October 2021. The latest attempt came in April 2023, when a failed power grab opened the civil war that still rages today. Sudan's success rate is just 35.7 percent, the lowest in the top 10.

2. Burundi: 11 attempts, 5 successful

Burundi's coups track its ethnic divide between Hutu and Tutsi communities. Its first attempt came in October 1965 and failed. Two successful coups followed in 1966, first in July and then in November. Jean-Baptiste Bagaza seized power in November 1976, and Pierre Buyoya did the same in September 1987 and again in July 1996. The latest attempt came in May 2015, when generals tried to stop President Pierre Nkurunziza from seeking a third term. It failed. Burundi has had no attempt since then, more than 11 years ago.

3. Burkina Faso: 10 attempts, 9 successful

No country turns coup attempts into takeovers like Burkina Faso. It has succeeded 9 times out of 10, a 90 percent success rate. Its first takeover came in January 1966. Thomas Sankara seized power in August 1983 and was himself overthrown in October 1987. Blaise Compaore, who replaced him, was removed by a successful coup in October 2014 after 27 years in power. The only failed attempt in the dataset came in September 2015. Two more successful coups followed in 2022, first in January and then in September, bringing Captain Ibrahim Traore to power. One caution: the dataset's last coded event for Burkina Faso is September 2022. At least three further reported attempts since then, in September 2023, January 2024 and April 2025, are not yet coded in the dataset. If those three were added, Burkina Faso would have 13 attempts and rank second, ahead of Burundi.

4. Ghana: 10 attempts, 5 successful

Ghana packed all 10 of its attempts into 18 years, from 1966 to 1984, and has had none since. Kwame Nkrumah, the country's first leader, was removed in February 1966 while he was abroad. Jerry Rawlings seized power twice, in June 1979 and again in December 1981, and went on to rule for 20 years. The latest attempt came in March 1984 and failed. Ghana has now gone 42 years without a coup attempt, the longest quiet stretch of any country in the top 10.

5. Guinea-Bissau: 10 attempts, 5 successful

Guinea-Bissau is the most recent mover in this ranking. Its first takeover came in November 1980. Successful coups followed in May 1999, September 2003 and April 2012. A failed attempt in February 2022 left the president in place. Then, in November 2025, soldiers seized power again, lifting Guinea-Bissau from 9 attempts to 10 and from a tie for seventh to fifth place. It is the most recent successful coup anywhere in the top 10.

6. Sierra Leone: 10 attempts, 5 successful

Sierra Leone's coups cluster in its first 30 years of independence. Two attempts came in March 1967, one failed and one successful. A successful coup followed in April 1968. Valentine Strasser seized power in April 1992, and Johnny Paul Koroma did the same in May 1997, during the civil war. The latest attempt was that May 1997 takeover. Sierra Leone has had no attempt in 29 years.

7. Benin: 9 attempts, 6 successful

Benin had five successful takeovers in six years, from October 1963 to December 1969. That run is unmatched anywhere in the top 10. Mathieu Kerekou seized power in October 1972 and ruled for 19 years. Benin then went quiet for half a century. Its latest attempt came in December 2025, when soldiers tried and failed to seize power. That failed attempt lifted Benin from 8 attempts to 9 and from a tie for eighth to seventh place.

8. Niger: 9 attempts, 5 successful

Niger's first takeover came in April 1974. Successful coups followed in January 1996, April 1999 and February 2010. The army seized power again in July 2023, removing President Mohamed Bazoum. The latest attempt came in August 2026 and failed. The dataset's authors flag that August 2026 attempt as tentatively coded, so its outcome may still be revised. Niger's place in this top 10 hangs on it. Without that attempt, Niger would have 8 attempts and Mali would take 10th place instead.

9. Comoros: 9 attempts, 4 successful

Comoros is the smallest country in the top 10, an island nation of under a million people. Its first takeover came in August 1975, just after independence. French mercenary Bob Denard helped return Ahmed Abdallah to power in May 1978. Abdallah was assassinated in November 1989, and Azali Assoumani seized power in April 1999. The latest attempt came in March 2000 and failed. Comoros has had no attempt since then.

10. Nigeria: 8 attempts, 6 successful

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, sits last in the top 10, and its coup era ended long ago. Its first takeover came in January 1966, and a second followed in July the same year. Successful coups followed in July 1975, December 1983 and August 1985. Sani Abacha seized power in November 1993, the latest attempt in the dataset. Nigeria has had no attempt in 33 years. Six of its 8 attempts succeeded, a 75 percent success rate, but Burkina Faso's 9 successful coups alone outnumber Nigeria's entire coup history.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as a coup in this ranking?

The ranking uses the Powell and Thyne definition: an illegal and overt attempt by the military or other elites within the state apparatus to unseat the sitting executive. A coup counts as successful when those behind it hold power for at least 7 days. Mass protests and rebellions by outsiders do not count.

Why does the ranking start in 1960?

1960 is the year of African independence, when 17 countries became independent. Attempts before 1960 are excluded so the ranking covers the independence era only. Sudan, for example, had 3 attempts before 1960, which is why some sources report 17 Sudanese attempts in total while this ranking counts 14 since 1960.

Why is Burkina Faso ranked third when it has had more coups since 2022?

The ranking follows the Powell and Thyne dataset exactly as published in version V2026.08.29. That version's last coded event for Burkina Faso is September 2022. At least three further reported attempts, in September 2023, January 2024 and April 2025, are not yet coded. The dataset's authors say larger updates with substantial revisions are coming. If those three attempts were added, Burkina Faso would have 13 attempts and rank second.

Which country has had the most successful coups?

Burkina Faso, with 9 successful takeovers out of 10 attempts. Benin and Nigeria are next with 6 each. Sudan has had the most attempts, 14, but only 5 of them succeeded.

Has Nigeria really had no coup attempt since 1993?

Yes, according to the dataset. Nigeria's last attempt was Sani Abacha's takeover in November 1993. That is 33 years without an attempt, even though Nigeria had 8 attempts in the 27 years before that. Ghana has gone even longer, 42 years since its last attempt in March 1984.

Data Sources

• Powell, Jonathan and Thyne, Clayton, "Global Instances of Coups, 1950 - Present", dataset version V2026.08.29, jonathanmpowell.com/coups/. Primary source for every figure in the table.
• BBC News, "Are military coups on the rise in Africa?" (2023), via NewsRangers. Cross-check: Sudan 17 attempts in total, Burkina Faso 9 successful of 10, Burundi 11, Nigeria 8.
• Statista, "Number of coups per year in Africa" (August 2023), statista.com. Cross-check: Sudan 17, Burundi 11, Ghana 10, Sierra Leone 10 since 1950.
• LBNN, "Top 10 African countries with the most number of attempted coup" (Powell and Thyne data, vintage 2023), lbnntv.com. Cross-check: matches the dataset on 8 of 10 rows; the two differences are the new 2025 events.
• Wikipedia, "Coups d'etat in Sudan", en.wikipedia.org. Cross-check on Sudan's total count and the 1966 and 1971 attempts.

Methodology

This ranking counts coup attempts, successful and failed, from January 1960 through August 2026. The source is the Powell and Thyne Global Instances of Coups dataset, version V2026.08.29, downloaded on November 7, 2026. A coup is an illegal and overt attempt by the military or other elites within the state apparatus to unseat the sitting executive. It counts as successful when those behind it hold power for at least 7 days. Countries are ranked by total attempts. Ties are broken first by more successful coups, then alphabetically. Sudan's total of 17 attempts since 1950 becomes 14 in this ranking because 3 attempts, in November 1958, May 1959 and November 1959, fall before the 1960 cutoff. Some news reports give Ghana 8 coups rather than 10; the dataset records 10 because it includes the failed attempts of 1967 and 1984, which the shorter counts leave out. Two figures in this ranking depend on very recent coding. The dataset's authors flag the August 2026 Niger attempt as tentatively coded, and they note that larger updates with substantial revisions are pending. Burkina Faso's reported attempts of September 2023, January 2024 and April 2025 are not yet coded in the dataset, so its total of 10 will likely rise when the next version is published. Every derived claim in this article, including totals, shares, averages and combined comparisons, was recomputed from the final table values before publication. This article supersedes the site's early-2025 coups ranking, published September 22, 2025, which gave combined counts with no named dataset or methodology. This 2026 edition is built entirely on the Powell and Thyne dataset, version V2026.08.29, so its figures are lower and fully sourced. For more on the continent's armies and its most dangerous countries, see our rankings of Africa's biggest armies by active soldiers, the most dangerous countries in Africa, the longest-serving presidents and the most powerful countries in Africa.