The coups have largely been similar in nature; most came from dissatisfied militaries who criticised their respective government's handling ofIslamic insurgents or protests since 2003.[6] Resentment overFrench military, financial and political influence over African governments has also played a role.[7] The incoming juntas tend to have worse relations withthe West, with many seeking support from eitherRussia and theWagner Group orTurkey instead ofFrance, which previously helped the countries fight against Islamic insurgents throughOperation Barkhane. This has ledUkraine, which is atwar with Russia, to fund opposition groups, which in turn has caused aproxy war between Russia and Ukraine in Africa.[8][9]
The number of successful coups d'état in postcolonial Africa (as of 28 September 2023)[10]Human Development Index (HDI) ofAfrican countries, with the Coup Belt outlined in red (Gabon is sometimes included following the 2023 coup). Every country in the Coup Belt, exceptGabon andGuinea-Bissau, has an HDI below 0.500, indicatinglow human development.
Since 1990, 21 of the 27 coups in sub-Saharan Africa have taken place in formerFrench colonies. This has led some to question whether French influence in Africa has a destabilising impact.[20]
The military juntas of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger cancelled military agreements that allowed French troops to operate on their territory, and removed French as an official language.[21][22][23][24]
ECOWAS has tried to actively work on changing the label associated with the region, but has been unsuccessful. The regional bloc suspended Mali after its coup in 2021,[25] and also suspended Guinea on 8 September 2021, shortly after amilitary coup took place in the country.[26][27] The three members of theAlliance of Sahel States were suspended before ultimately withdrawing from ECOWAS in 2023.
Considering only the subregion of West Africa, the2020 coup d'état in Mali occurred after a period of nearly six years since the2014 Burkina Faso uprising and the ousting of Burkina Faso’s PresidentBlaise Compaoré, during which there was not a single undemocratic change of government in West Africa.[28] For this subregion where many countries have a history of civil war and violent conflict, this was a period of remarkable stability during which ECOWAS even managed to find a peaceful resolution to the2016–2017 Gambian constitutional crisis.
The following list includes countries described as part of the Coup Belt, along with their respective successful coups in the 2020s, in order of the first successful coup:
^Chris Ewokor; Christy Cooney (5 January 2025)."Chad foils attempt to destabilise country - minister".BBC. Retrieved10 December 2025.Chad is also part of a region stretching across Africa that has become known as the Coup Belt following a succession of military coups since 2020, including in Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso and Sudan.
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