US Green Card Lottery: List of African countries selected for 2026 Diversity Visa Programme

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The United States Department of State has released the statistical breakdown of prospective applicants registered for the DV-2026 Diversity Visa programme, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery.

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

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The Diversity Visa programme makes up to 55,000 permanent resident visas available annually to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. However, the effective DV-2026 limit is approximately 51,850 visas after deductions required under US law.

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The State Department said visa numbers are distributed across six geographic regions, with no more than seven percent allocated to applicants chargeable to any single country.

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Selected applicants must complete the required process quickly. Those who do not receive a visa or adjustment of status by September 30, 2026 will lose the benefit of their DV-2026 selection.

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Full list of African countries and prospective applicants

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

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• Algeria — 5,457
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• Angola — 763
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• Benin — 1,064
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• Botswana — 7
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• Burkina Faso — 252
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• Burundi — 1,616
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• Cabo Verde — 35
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• Cameroon — 3,533
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• Central African Republic — 19
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• Chad — 482
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• Comoros — 12
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• Democratic Republic of the Congo — 2,210
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• Republic of the Congo — 448
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• Côte d’Ivoire — 926
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• Djibouti — 204
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• Egypt — 5,527
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• Equatorial Guinea — 12
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• Eritrea — 206
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• Eswatini — 3
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• Ethiopia — 3,287
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• Gabon — 62
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• The Gambia — 198
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• Ghana — 1,642
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• Guinea — 1,051
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• Guinea-Bissau — 10
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• Kenya — 3,949
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• Lesotho — 6
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• Liberia — 1,593
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• Libya — 276
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• Madagascar — 48
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• Malawi — 159
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• Mali — 268
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• Mauritania — 261
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• Mauritius — 2
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• Morocco — 3,670
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• Mozambique — 4
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• Namibia — 3
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• Niger — 109
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• Rwanda — 1,252
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• Senegal — 478
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• Sierra Leone — 639
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• Somalia — 1,554
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• South Africa — 187
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• South Sudan — 72
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• Sudan — 5,226
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• Tanzania — 404
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• Togo — 2,473
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• Tunisia — 202
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• Uganda — 1,513
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• Western Sahara — 2
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• Zambia — 236
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• Zimbabwe — 327
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