Countries on the Equator
The twelve countries whose land the Equator crosses, on its way through South America, Africa, Indonesia and the Pacific, and the Maldives, where it crosses only water.
12 countriesAs of September 2026Short notes, not sourcedSuggest a correction
The Equator is the line of 0° latitude, halfway between the poles, and about 40,075 km long. It divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Almost four-fifths of it runs across open ocean, and the land it does cross is mostly rainforest, but also the Andes and the savannas of East Africa, where it passes close to snow-capped mountains.
Near the Equator the sun is high overhead at midday all year, days and nights are about twelve hours each, and the seasons are wet and dry rather than warm and cold. The Earth’s spin is fastest there, one reason rockets are launched from as close to it as possible.
South America3
EcuadorNamed after the Equator. The Mitad del Mundo monument near Quito marks the line, though GPS puts the real Equator about 240 m away. The line also crosses the Galápagos Islands.
ColombiaCrosses the south of the country, in the Amazon rainforest.
BrazilPasses the city of Macapá at the mouth of the Amazon, where a football stadium has the Equator along its halfway line.
Africa7
São Tomé and PríncipeThe line crosses only the tiny islet of Rolas, off the south of São Tomé, where a marker stands.
GabonCrosses the middle of the country, which is mostly rainforest.
DR CongoCrosses the Congo Basin, the second-largest rainforest in the world, and the river itself crosses the Equator twice.
UgandaCrosses Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa, and a road near Kayabwa has a well-known Equator marker.
KenyaPasses just north of Mount Kenya, whose peaks, barely 20 km from the line, still hold small glaciers.
SomaliaCrosses the far south, just north of the port of Kismayo.
Asia and the Pacific2
Close calls
The Maldives
The Equator runs through the Maldives between two atolls, Huvadhu and Fuvahmulah, but over sea, not land, so it isn’t counted. Many lists of thirteen Equator countries include it.
France and the United States
France’s overseas lands lie on both sides of the Equator, from French Guiana to Réunion, and the United States has Pacific islands north and south of it, but the line crosses neither country’s land. The uninhabited American island of Baker is only about 20 km north of it.
Equatorial Guinea
Despite its name, Equatorial Guinea lies entirely north of the Equator, apart from its island of Annobón, which is south of it. The line passes between them without touching either.
More country lists
- Amazon rainforest countries
- Andean countries
- Arab League member states
- Arctic Ocean countries
- ASEAN member countries
- Atlantic Ocean countries
- Baltic Sea countries
- Black Sea countries
- BRICS member countries
- Caribbean Sea countries
- Commonwealth member countries
- Countries in the Arctic Circle
- Countries in the European Union
- Countries of the former Yugoslavia
- Countries that drive on the left
- Countries that use the euro
- Countries with a monarch
- Countries with nuclear weapons
- Danube countries
- FIFA World Cup host countries
- Former Soviet republics
- G20 member countries
- Indian Ocean countries
- Island nations
- Landlocked countries
- Mediterranean countries
- Mekong countries
- NATO member countries
- OECD member countries
- OPEC member countries
- Pacific Ocean countries
- Persian Gulf countries
- Red Sea countries
- Sahara Desert countries
- Schengen Area countries
- Summer Olympics host countries
- Winter Olympics host countries