Regions continent
Africa
54 countries and 2 territories in Africa. The average score is 8.7 of 100, 4.6 below the world average; South Africa is the freest and Comoros the harshest.
- average score · world 13.3
- 8.7
- countries, and 2 territories
- 54
- people
- 1.55 billion
- legal for adults · 0 with a medical route
- 1
Africa on the map
Each country coloured by its score: red means prison risk, green means free. Select a country for its profile.
A 2018 Constitutional Court ruling protects adult possession, use and cultivation in private, and the 2024 Cannabis for Private Purposes Act writes that into law. The Act is not yet in force: draft regulations published in February 2026 propose caps of 750 g and five plants. Buying and selling remain illegal.
The 2020 Narcotics Control Commission Act fines possession for personal use. Buying a narcotic drug or plant for personal use is a separate offence, and the Second Schedule allows a fine of 2,000 to 10,000 penalty units or four to ten years in prison. A 2023 amendment licenses low-THC cultivation for industrial and medicinal purposes.
Law 13-21 (2021) licenses cultivation for medical, cosmetic and industrial use in the Rif provinces. Recreational kif remains illegal but is widely tolerated; thousands of growers were pardoned in 2024.
Possession of 60 g or less remains an offence, but a December 2025 amendment excludes prison and caps the fine at P10,000. Licensed medical and industrial cannabis is permitted, though no patient-dispensing route was verified.
CBD medicine rules introduced in 2020 require specialist assessment and public-health approval; recreational cannabis remains illegal.
Holding or using cannabis (liamba) for personal use is a crime with up to three months in prison, or up to a year above three days' supply; a court can suspend the sentence for treatment.
Possession for personal use carries one to three months with treatment as the default response; supply and cultivation carry five to ten years. A licensing regime for medical cannabis does not operate.
Drug possession remains a serious offence. The 1993 decree expressly covered cultivation, possession, use and gifts; its penalties need reconciliation with the 2022 Penal Code. A report of open use in 2000 does not establish current tolerance.
Illegal, though "Swazi Gold" is a major smallholder cash crop. A 1922 Act and the 1929 Pharmacy Act both apply; the Pharmacy Act allows up to fifteen years for possession. Bills to license medical and hemp production have been debated for years but not enacted.
First African country to license medical cannabis cultivation (2017), mostly for export. Personal use remains illegal although matekoane is widely grown. The 2008 Act has no standalone possession offence; prosecutors use its licensing and trafficking provisions.
The 2020 Cannabis Regulation Act legalised cultivation for medical and industrial use, including industrial hemp at up to 1% THC, under a licensing authority. Recreational use of the famous 'Malawi Gold' remains illegal.
Use and personal possession carry up to two years plus a fine, with possible waivers for occasional users. More than three days' personal supply brings a one-year minimum.
Cannabis remains prohibited. Eritrea’s published 2015 drug penalties were still awaiting enforcement in the government’s 2024 account and a 2025 UN report.
Illegal for all purposes; possession is reported to carry two to five years in prison, with some informal tolerance outside the cities.
Cannabis possession and use are crimes; judges can impose one to five years in prison, a fine, or both.
Small personal-use possession, cultivation and consumption are criminal but have a separate three-month-or-fine provision. Trafficking has heavier penalties. Scientific growing and controlled-medicine authorisations exist in law; a functioning cannabis patient service remains unverified.
Growing cannabis is banned. The main offences allow 10 to 20 years in prison, a fine, or both; a small amount possessed, bought or grown for personal use falls under a lighter tier, and a court can waive punishment after a promise not to reoffend.
Cannabis is prohibited. The 2001 drug law distinguishes small personal possession and growing from ordinary production and trafficking, with a fine alone possible for small personal quantities.
Chad prohibits cannabis. Its 2000 pharmacy law provides prison and fine alternatives for narcotics offences and compulsory treatment powers. The full 1995 drug law and a current consolidated account of the overlapping rules remain unverified, as do the scores below.
The 2025 law allows a fine alone for small personal possession, purchase or growing; cannabis derivatives other than oil carry a one-to-six-month prison range.
Illicit use carries up to one year and possession up to ten under the Penal Code; general sentencing rules let courts impose just one of the listed penalties.
Recreational cannabis is prohibited. A 2022 ministerial order specifies licensing and controls for medical and scientific cannabis activities; an operating patient programme was not verified.
Possession for personal use can bring up to seven years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of up to 50,000 Birr. Supply with the intent to traffic starts at five years.
Cannabis is prohibited. The 2020 Penal Code separates illicit use, carrying up to one year and a fine, from general possession and direct supply, which carry longer prison terms.
First-time possession of 0.1–150 grams carries a 50,000–100,000-dalasi fine, one to two years in prison, or both.
Cannabis possession and use are offences. The 2016 Penal Code gives small personal possession, purchase and growing a separate one-to-three-year range, a value-based fine, or both.
The 1993 decree-law criminalises use and small personal possession or cultivation, with different custody bands for high-risk plants, cannabis oil and other cannabis derivatives. Its youth waiver is conditional, not a general first-offender exemption.
Cannabis use carries four months to one year on a first offence under the 2023 law. Possession and growing for personal use are separate felonies; trafficking is non-bailable.
Small personal quantities of cannabis bring two to six months, a fine, or both; rongony is nonetheless grown on a large scale. Cannabis is in Table I, with no medical, hemp or research route.
Cannabis is illegal. The 2001 law gives small personal supplies, including cultivation, a lighter penalty with a fine-only option. Ordinary high-risk drug cultivation carries five to ten years and a fine. A limited industrial-hemp authorisation was withdrawn in 2020.
Prohibited under a 1971 Act; over 115 g is presumed dealing. Court challenges by cannabis activists have failed so far.
Cannabis is a high-risk drug under the 1999 ordinance. Small personal possession and growing have shorter prison ranges, a fine, or both; a fine alone is expressly possible.
Cannabis use, possession and personal growing are crimes. The Penal Code allows a fine instead of prison for a small personal quantity, and courts may excuse an occasional consumer. Giving cannabis to another person falls under trafficking.
Personal possession carries two months to one year in prison; trafficking ten to twenty years since 2007.
Cannabis remains illegal. The 2015 code sets one to three years for small personal-use amounts, a fine, or both; judges can substitute treatment for a person with drug dependence.
Recreational cannabis remains criminalised. The criminal code provides a fine, up to five years in prison, or both for unlawful possession, use or personal cultivation. Medical production and industrial hemp have separate licensing routes.
Strict prohibition, but since 2022 medical cannabis can be approved by specialist committees in public hospitals.
Mainland Tanzania provides at least thirty years for unlawful cannabis cultivation. A separate small-personal-use tier allows a fine, prison or both; trafficking penalties can reach life imprisonment.
Personal use or possession carries two months to two years and a fine; personal growing two to five years. Supply and production carry ten years to life, and the 2025 law allows death for aggravated supply, never for simple use.
Cannabis use is criminalised and drug users face jail. The 2018 Penal Code set shorter prison ranges for small personal possession and growing, alongside fines. Parliament adopted a further replacement code on 20 October 2026.
Cannabis held solely for personal use carries up to five years or a fine of up to 100,000 shillings. Where that is not shown, 1 to 100 grams carries a fine of at least 30 million shillings, thirty years in prison, or both.
Cannabis sits in the highest drug category. Caught use or possession carries one to two years or community service; supply, transport, storage and production carry life imprisonment with a fine of more than 20 million and up to 30 million francs, subject to mitigation down to at least fifteen years. A licensing regime for medical cannabis exists but no patient supply was found.
Possession carries up to twenty years with no lesser tier for personal use; a handful of licences exist for medical cultivation for export.
Personal use and possession for use carry up to five years under the published narcotics statute. Unpaid supply carries at least ten years; aggravated trafficking can carry death. Current wartime enforcement remains insufficiently documented.
Hashish and bango are widely used, but the law is harsh: prison for possession, and large-scale trafficking can carry the death penalty.
The 1993 law treats possession of any amount as high-risk trafficking: 15–30 years and a large fine, with death on a repeat conviction. Simple use can bring up to two years. Executions have been suspended since 1987.
Cannabis possession carries long mandatory prison terms. Cultivation carries life under the NDLEA Act; the older Indian Hemp Act prescribes at least 21 years after its amendments. An October 2026 replacement bill remains before the Senate.
Cannabis remains prohibited; surviving drug laws prescribe prison, while enforcement depends on territorial control. Later amendments and nationwide sentencing practice remain incompletely verified.
Law 52 still makes use or possession of any amount a crime with one to five years, though since 2017 judges may go below the minimum. A full rewrite has been in committee since 2025.
The Cannabis Act of 2021 would license medicinal growing, but it has not come into force. Industrial hemp has been under licence since 3 January 2025. Possession without lawful authority remains a serious offence.
Cannabis is banned in every form. Personal use or possession carries three to fifteen years; import, production or cultivation with intent to traffic carries death or life, and death is mandatory with aggravating facts.
Cannabis possession and use remain crimes. The Pharmacy Board has rules for licensed medical cultivation and processing for export; patient access through local pharmacies has not been established.
Possession or use is up to five years, a fine, or both. Dealing is up to fourteen years, a fine, or both. The death or life sentence is written for a dangerous drug other than cannabis.
The 2021 Penal Code punishes holding, buying or using narcotics with 10 to 15 years in prison and production with 10 to 20 years. Cannabis was briefly legal here from 1975 to 1978.
French prohibition applies: cannabis use, possession and growing are criminal offences, and the only patient route is the restricted national French medical framework. Locally the plant is known as zamal and grows wild in several regions.
Cannabis is controlled through inherited Somali drug laws, with prison terms for unauthorised possession, cultivation and supply. Those laws contain medical licensing provisions. Somaliland police reported a cultivation arrest in Hargeisa in 2023.
How the 54 countries divide
For adults
- Legal 1South Africa
- Illegal 48Ghana, Morocco, Botswana, Seychelles, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire…
- Death penalty 5Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Mauritania, Libya
For patients
- Limited 12South Africa, Morocco, Botswana, Seychelles, Malawi, Cabo Verde…
- None verified 42Ghana, Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Lesotho…
Africa over time
The average score and the share of countries, or of people, in each band, rebuilt from the recorded history.
Cannabis freedom in Africa over time
Africa average score
8.7Prohibition−89.2 since 18608.7Prohibition+1.0 since 20118.7Prohibition−90.1 since 18608.7Prohibition+1.9 since 2011
Countries under prohibition or worse
Countries under prohibition or worse
People under prohibition or worse
People under prohibition or worse
96%52 of 54+94 points since 186096%52 of 54−4 points since 201194%of Africa's people+93 points since 186094%of Africa's people−6 points since 2011
Every country, ranked
The index score from 0 to 100 and its six parts from 0 to 10. Territories follow, unranked.
| # | Country | Score | Adults | Patients | Possession | cultivation | enforcement | Sharing | Consumption | Legal access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1#3 | South AfricaLegal with limits | 49 | Legal | Limited | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 2#55 | GhanaRestrictive | 16 | Illegal | None verified | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 3#71 | MoroccoProhibition | 13 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 4#73 | BotswanaProhibition | 12 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 5#77 | SeychellesProhibition | 12 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 6#79 | AngolaProhibition | 11 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 7#82 | Côte d'IvoireProhibition | 11 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8#83 | Equatorial GuineaProhibition | 11 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 9#84 | EswatiniProhibition | 11 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10#88 | LesothoProhibition | 11 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 11#89 | MalawiProhibition | 11 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 12#92 | MozambiqueProhibition | 11 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 13#104 | EritreaProhibition | 10 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14#109 | BeninProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 15#111 | BurundiProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 16#112 | Cabo VerdeProhibition | 9 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17#113 | CameroonProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 18#114 | Central African RepublicProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 19#115 | ChadProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 20#116 | CongoProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 21#117 | DjiboutiProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 22#118 | DR CongoProhibition | 9 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 23#119 | EthiopiaProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 24#120 | GabonProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 25#121 | GambiaProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 26#123 | GuineaProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 27#124 | Guinea-BissauProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28#127 | LiberiaProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 29#128 | MadagascarProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 30#129 | MaliProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 31#130 | NamibiaProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 32#131 | NigerProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 33#133 | São Tomé and PríncipeProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34#134 | SenegalProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 35#138 | TogoProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 36#139 | ZimbabweProhibition | 9 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 37#140 | MauritiusProhibition | 9 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 38#146 | TanzaniaProhibition | 8 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 39#149 | AlgeriaProhibition | 6 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 40#150 | Burkina FasoProhibition | 6 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 41#154 | KenyaProhibition | 6 | Illegal | None verified | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 42#155 | RwandaProhibition | 6 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 43#157 | UgandaProhibition | 6 | Illegal | Limited | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 44#159 | SudanSevere prohibition | 5 | Death penalty | Limited | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45#163 | EgyptSevere prohibition | 3 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 46#165 | MauritaniaSevere prohibition | 3 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 47#166 | NigeriaSevere prohibition | 3 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 48#168 | SomaliaSevere prohibition | 3 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 49#171 | TunisiaSevere prohibition | 3 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 50#172 | ZambiaSevere prohibition | 3 | Illegal | Limited | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 51#176 | LibyaSevere prohibition | 2 | Death penalty | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 52#180 | Sierra LeoneSevere prohibition | 2 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53#181 | South SudanSevere prohibition | 2 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 54#190 | ComorosSevere prohibition | 0 | Illegal | None verified | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| – | RéunionFrench overseas department | 14 | Illegal | Limited | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| – | Somalilanddisputed territory | 3 | Illegal | Limited | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
The second number under the rank is the country's place worldwide, of 196.
Latest in Africa
The newest entries in the history. All history →
- 20 October 2026
- 20 October 2026
- 16 October 2026
- 15 October 2026
- 15 October 2026
- 13 October 2026
- 13 October 2026
- 12 October 2026
- 10 October 2026
- 5 October 2026
- 4 October 2026
- 2 October 2026