DV-2026 Green Card lottery: Full list of African countries and selectee numbers

• Egypt leads Africa in the DV-2026 Green Card Lottery with 5,527 selectees, followed by Algeria with 5,457 and Sudan with 5,226.

• Ghana recorded 1,642 selectees, while more than 129,000 prospective applicants, including spouses and children, were selected globally from over 20.8 million qualified entries.

• Selection does not guarantee a US visa. Eligible applicants must meet education or work-experience requirements and complete the process by September 30, 2026, or lose their DV-2026 eligibility.

Official figures from the US Department of State show that the Kentucky Consular Centre in Williamsburg registered about 129,516 prospective applicants selected for the DV-2026 programme.

The figure covers principal applicants as well as their eligible spouses and children.

The selections were made from 20,822,624 qualified entries submitted during the 37-day registration period, which ran from October 2 to November 7, 2024.

For the 2026 fiscal year, which runs from October 1, 2025, to September 30, 2026, approximately 51,850 Diversity Visas are available worldwide after statutory deductions under provisions including the Nicaraguan and Central American Relief Act (NACARA) and the National Defence Authorisation Act.

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Egypt emerged as the African country with the largest number of prospective DV-2026 applicants, recording 5,527 selectees.

Algeria followed with 5,457, while Sudan recorded 5,226.

Other countries with sizeable numbers included Kenya with 3,949, Morocco with 3,670, Cameroon with 3,533 and Ethiopia with 3,287.

Ghana recorded 1,642 prospective applicants, while several other African countries also registered hundreds or thousands of selectees.

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• Algeria — 5,457

• Angola — 763

• Benin — 1,064

• Botswana — 7

• Burkina Faso — 252

• Burundi — 1,616

• Cabo Verde — 35

• Cameroon — 3,533

• Central African Republic — 19

• Chad — 482

• Comoros — 12

• Democratic Republic of the Congo — 2,210

• Republic of the Congo — 448

• Côte d’Ivoire — 926

• Djibouti — 204

• Egypt — 5,527

• Equatorial Guinea — 12

• Eritrea — 206

• Eswatini — 3

• Ethiopia — 3,287

• Gabon — 62

• The Gambia — 198

• Ghana — 1,642

• Guinea — 1,051

• Guinea-Bissau — 10

• Kenya — 3,949

• Lesotho — 6

• Liberia — 1,593

• Libya — 276

• Madagascar — 48

• Malawi — 159

• Mali — 268

• Mauritania — 261

• Mauritius — 2

• Morocco — 3,670

• Mozambique — 4

• Namibia — 3

• Niger — 109

• Rwanda — 1,252

• Senegal — 478

• Sierra Leone — 639

• Somalia — 1,554

• South Africa — 187

• South Sudan — 72

• Sudan — 5,226

• Tanzania — 404

• Togo — 2,473

• Tunisia — 202

• Uganda — 1,513

• Western Sahara — 2

• Zambia — 236

• Zimbabwe — 327

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Being selected for the Diversity Visa programme does not mean an applicant is automatically guaranteed a US visa.

Successful principal applicants must still meet the programme's eligibility requirements, including the education or work-experience criteria.

Applicants must have either completed at least a high school education or its equivalent, or accumulated at least two years of qualifying work experience during the previous five years in an occupation requiring a minimum of two years of training or experience.

Applicants must also complete the required immigration procedures before a visa can be issued.

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DV-2026 selectees who are legally living in the United States may be eligible to apply to adjust their status through US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Those living outside the US must complete the immigrant visa process through the appropriate US embassy or consulate, following the instructions provided in their official selection notification.

The Diversity Visa programme allocates visas across six geographic regions. Immigration rules also limit the number of visas that can be issued to nationals of any single country to seven per cent of the total available in a fiscal year.

One of the most important dates for DV-2026 selectees is September 30, 2026.

All DV-2026 cases must be completed by the end of the fiscal year. Applicants who have not obtained their visa or successfully adjusted their status by that deadline will no longer be eligible for a DV-2026 visa.

The deadline also applies to eligible spouses and children seeking visas through the principal applicant.

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The US Department of State has said it will announce the registration dates for the DV-2027 programme on its official website.

Prospective applicants are advised to rely on official US government sources for registration information and updates.

Applicants should also be cautious of individuals, agents or websites claiming they can guarantee selection or visa approval, as selection in the Diversity Visa lottery does not itself guarantee the issuance of a visa.

The DV programme remains one of the routes through which eligible individuals from countries with historically lower rates of immigration to the United States can seek permanent residence, subject to meeting all applicable requirements and completing the process before the relevant deadline.