US Green Card Lottery: Full list of African countries selected for 2026 DV programme

The United States Department of State has released details of applicants selected for the 2026 Diversity Visa (DV) programme, popularly known as the US Green Card Lottery.

According to the department, the Kentucky Consular Center registered about 129,516 prospective applicants, including selected applicants, their spouses and children, from 20,822,624 eligible entries submitted during the 2024 application period.

The Diversity Visa programme provides up to 55,000 permanent resident visas every year to people from countries with historically low levels of immigration to the United States.

However, the number of visas available under the 2026 programme has been reduced to about 51,850 because of deductions required by US law.

The available visas are shared among six geographic regions. Under the programme, no more than seven per cent of the available visas can be issued to people from any single country.

The US Department of State advised selected applicants to complete the required visa or adjustment-of-status process as quickly as possible.

Applicants selected for the DV-2026 programme who do not receive their visa or adjustment of status by September 30, 2026, will lose the benefit of their selection.

African countries and number of prospective applicants

The State Department recorded prospective applicants from the following African countries:

Algeria — 5,457

Angola — 763

Benin — 1,064

Botswana — 7

Burkina Faso — 252

Burundi — 1,616

Cabo Verde — 35

Cameroon — 3,533

Central African Republic — 19

Chad — 482

Comoros — 12

Democratic Republic of the Congo — 2,210

Republic of the Congo — 448

Côte d’Ivoire — 926

Djibouti — 204

Egypt — 5,527

Equatorial Guinea — 12

Eritrea — 206

Eswatini — 3

Ethiopia — 3,287

Gabon — 62

The Gambia — 198

Ghana — 1,642

Guinea — 1,051

Guinea-Bissau — 10

Kenya — 3,949

Lesotho — 6

Liberia — 1,593

Libya — 276

Madagascar — 48

Malawi — 159

Mali — 268

Mauritania — 261

Mauritius — 2

Morocco — 3,670

Mozambique — 4

Namibia — 3

Niger — 109

Rwanda — 1,252

Senegal — 478

Sierra Leone — 639

Somalia — 1,554

South Africa — 187

South Sudan — 72

Sudan — 5,226

Tanzania — 404

Togo — 2,473

Tunisia — 202

Uganda — 1,513

Western Sahara — 2

Zambia — 236

Zimbabwe — 327

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