Amateur radio or ham radio is practised by operators holding nationally allocated call signs in African countries or foreign administered territories and other nations or DXCC entities. Callsign allocation from the International Telegraph Union is administered by national political authorities and international mandates, the story of African callsigns reflects colonialism and the independence movements within the 20th Century.
The International Telecommunication Union assignes Africa as ITU region #1. It has assigned call signs prefix blocks to countries including 77 DXCC entities in and off-shore of Africa. Western Sahara is not a DXCC entity but uses SØ as a prefix.
The following call sign blocks are used for all radio communication, broadcasting or transmission:[1]
| Call sign block | DXCC Entity | Apprx. # callsigns[2] |
|---|---|---|
| 3V, TS | Tunisia | 53 |
| 7R, 7T - 7Y | Algeria | 94 |
| CN, 5C - 5G | Morocco | 453 |
| CQ3, CQ9, CR3, CR9, CS3, CS9, CT3, CT9 | Madeira Is. (Portugal) | 408 |
| AM8, AN8, AO8, EA8 - EH8 | Canary Is. (Spain) | 3,693 |
| AM9, AN9, AO9, EA9, EB9. EC9, ED9. EE9, EF9, EG9, EH9 | Ceuta (Spain) | 771 |
| AM9, AN9, AO9, EC9, ED9 | Melilla (Spain) | incl. in Ceuta |
| IG9 & IH9 | Pelagie, Pantelleria (Italy) | ?? |
| SØ | Western Sahara | 32 |
In Morocco CN8 is for residents, CNØ is for visitors. SØ for Western Sahara is an unofficial prefix, not issued by the ITU.
| Call sign block | DXCC Entity | Apprx. # callsigns |
|---|---|---|
| 5A | Libya | 22 |
| ST, 6TA - 6UZ | Sudan | 46 |
| ST, 6TA - 6UZ | South Sudan | ?? |
| SSA - SUZ, 6AA - 6BZ | Egypt | 113 |
Sudan further subdivides its call signs thusly, with those assigned to what is now South Sudan continuing: ST2 Khartoum and its region, ST3 Wad Madani, central region, ST4 Al Ubayyid, Kurdufan region, ST5 Kassala, eastern region, ST6 Port Sudan, northeast region, ST7 Ad'Damir, northwest region, ST8 Al'Fashir, Darfour region, and ST9 Malakal, central-south region; Wau, Bahr-al-Ghazal region.
| Call sign block | DXCC Entity | Apprx. # callsigns |
|---|---|---|
| 3X | Guinea | 46 |
| 5N - 5O | Nigeria | 152 |
| 5T | Mauritania | 69 |
| 5U | Niger | 38 |
| 5V | Togo | 49 |
| 6V - 6W | Senegal | 137 |
| 9G | Ghana | 121 |
| 9L | Sierra Leone | 62 |
| C5 | The Gambia | 86 |
| D4 | Cape Verde | 26 |
| EL, 5L - 5M, 6Z, A8, D5 | Liberia | 127 |
| J5 | Guinea-Bissau | 45 |
| TU | Côte d'Ivoire | 108 |
| TY | Benin | 46 |
| TZ | Mali | 52 |
| XT | Burkina Faso | 59 |
Nigeria further subdivides its prefixes thusly: 5N1 = OGUN, OYO, ONDO; 5N2 = KWARA, KOGI, NIGER, OSUN; 5N3 = EDO, DELTA, ANAMBRA; 5N4 = ENUGU, RIVERS, ABIA; 5N5 = CROSS RIVERS, AKWA-IBOM, IMO, BENUE; 5N6 = PLATEAU, TARABA, BAUCHI; 5N7 = ADAMAWA, YOBE, BORNO; 5N8 = KANO, JIGAWA; 5N9 = KADUNA, SOKOTO, KEBBI, KATSINA; and 5NØ = LAGOS STATE AND ABUJA, F.C.T.
Senegal further subdivides its prefixes thusly: 6W1 Dakar, 6W2 Ziguinchor, 6W3 Diourbei, 6W4 St. Louis 6W5 Tambacounda, 6W6 Kaolack, 6W7 Thies, 6W8 Louga, 6W9 Fatick and 6WØ Kolda.
Liberia further subdivides its prefixes thusly: EL1 Grand Bassa, River Cess, EL2 Montserrado, Bomi, Margibi, EL3 Sinoe, EL4 Maryland, Grand Kru, EL5 Lofa, EL6 Grand Gedeh, EL7 Bong, EL8 Nimba, EL9 Grand Cape Mount,and ELØ for Novices and Club Stations
| Call sign block | DXCC Entity | Apprx. # callsigns |
|---|---|---|
| 3C | Equatorial Guinea | 29 |
| 3CØ | Annobon Is. (Equatorial Guinea) | 9 |
| 9I - 9J | Zambia | 89 |
| 9O - 9T | Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire) | 62 |
| 9U | Burundi | 18 |
| 9X | Rwanda | 32 |
| D2 - D3 | Angola | 42 |
| S9 | Sao Tome & Principe | 50 |
| TJ | Cameroon | 39 |
| TL | Central Africa Republic | 45 |
| TN | Republic of Congo | 27 |
| TR | Gabon | 90 |
| TT | Chad | 62 |
| ZD7 | St. Helena (UK) | 49 |
| ZD8 | Ascension Is. (UK) | 52 |
Democractic Republic of Congo (Zaire) further subdivides its call signs thusly: 9Q1-Kinshasa, 9Q2-Bas Congo, 9Q3-Bandundu, 9Q4-Equateur, 9Q5-Province orientale, 9Q6-North Kivu-South Kivu-Maniema, 9Q7-Katanga, 9Q8-Oriental Kasai, 9Q9-Occidental Kasai, and 9QØ-Reserved
| Call sign block | DXCC Entity | Apprx. # callsigns |
|---|---|---|
| 5H - 5I | Tanzania | 199 |
| 5X | Uganda | 56 |
| 5Y - 5Z | Kenya | 145 |
| 7O | Socotra (Yemen) | ?? |
| 7Q | Malawi | 95 |
| C8 - C9 | Mozambique | 98 |
| E3 | Eritrea | 15 |
| ET, 9E - 9F | Ethiopia | 39 |
| J2 | Djibouti | 82 |
| T5, 6OA - 6OZ | Somalia | 39 |
For Eritrea only contacts made November 14, 1962, and before, or May 24, 1991, and after, count for this entity.
Tanzania further subdivides its prefix thusly: 5H1-Zanzibar and Pemba Islands, 5H2-Arysha,Kilimanjaro,Tanga, 5H3-Pwani,Dar Es Salaam(including Mafia Island), 5H4-Morogoro, 5H5-Lindi,Mtwara,Ruvuma, 5H6-Iringa, 5H7-Mbeya, 5H8-Kigoma,Rukwa, Tabora, 5H9-Ziwa Magharibi,Mwanza,Mara,Shinyanga(including Ukerewe Islands), and 5HØ-Dodoma,Singida.
Somalia further subdivides its call signs according to the province of issue: 6OØ indicates the license was issued in Puntland, Northern Somalia, and; 6O1 is issued in Southern Somalia.[3]
| Call sign block | DXCC Entity | Apprx. # callsigns |
|---|---|---|
| 3DA | Swaziland | 101 |
| 3Y | Bouvet (Norway) | 12 |
| 7P | Lesotho | 98 |
| A2, 8O | Botswana | 100 |
| V5A - V5Z, V51, V52 | Namibia | 170 |
| Z2 | Zimbabwe | 121 |
| ZD9 | Tristan da Cunha & Gough Is. (UK) | 15 |
| ZR - ZU, S8 | South Africa | 9,696 |
| ZS8 | Prince Edward & Marion Is. (South Africa) | 7 |
South Africa further divides its call signs thusly:
| Call sign block | DXCC Entity | Apprx. # callsigns |
|---|---|---|
| 3B6,7 | Agalega & St. Brandon Is. (Mauritius) | 14 |
| 3B8 | Mauritius | 123 |
| 3B9 | Rodrigues Is. (Mauritius) | 15 |
| 5R - 5S, 6X | Madagascar | 93 |
| D6 | Comoros | 25 |
| FH | Mayotte (France) | 51 |
| FR/G | Glorioso Is. (France) | ?? |
| FR/J,E | Juan de Nova, Europa (France) | ?? |
| FR | Reunion Is. (France) | 237 |
| FR/T | Tromelin Is. (France) | ?? |
| FT5W | Crozet Is. (France) | ?? |
| FT5X | Kerguelen Is. (France) | ?? |
| FT5Z | Amsterdam & St. Paul Is. (France) | ?? |
| S7 | Seychelles | 86 |
| VKØ | Heard Is. (Australia) | 35 |
| VQ9 | Chagos Is. (UK) | 80 |
The callsign allocation history of mainland Africa and off-shore islands is complex and related to the colonial status of European powers in the early-20th century period. Call signs changed in relation to various independence movements, particularly following World War II and in the 1960s.
The conference held in 1927 assigned call prefixes to Morocco (CNA-CNZ), Egypt (SUA-SUZ), Republic of Liberia (ELA-ELZ), Ethiopia (ETA-ETZ), and the Union of South Africa (ZSA-ZUZ). These, however, did not necessarily include amateur radio operation.[5] African areas administered politically by colonizing countries (i.e. Great Britain, Portugal, France, etc.) adopted call signs issued to those countries for colonial purposes.
The 1947 Atlantic City ITU Conference reallocated call sign blocks to African countries and European colonies according to this table.[6]
| 1947 Call sign block | 1947 Country or Colonial power |
|---|---|
| CNA - CNZ | Morocco |
| CQA - CRZ | Portuguese colonies |
| DNA - DQZ | Belgian Congo |
| ELA - ELZ | Republic of Liberia |
| ETA - ETZ | Ethiopia |
| FAA - FZZ | France and its colonies |
| HWA - HYZ | France and its colonies |
| IAA - IZZ | Italy and its colonies |
| SSA - SUZ | Egypt |
| THA - THZ | France and its colonies |
| VPA - VSZ | British Colonies |
| XXA - XXZ | Portuguese colonies |
| ZBA - ZJZ | British Colonies |
| ZQA - ZQZ | British Colonies |
| ZRA - ZUZ | Union of South Africa |
| 3VA - 3VZ | France and its colonies |