What is .africa?
ICANN's records put the delegation of .africa on February 15, 2017. Like most of the newer endings, it was applied for in the 2012 New gTLD Program round and its registry agreement was signed on March 24, 2014.
Under the hood, the root zone points to 3 name servers for .africa, every one of them reachable over IPv6. The delegation is DNSSEC-signed, so resolvers can verify that answers for .africa haven't been tampered with on the way. Registration data is published over RDAP and WHOIS (the WHOIS server is whois.nic.africa).
.africa FAQ
What does .africa mean?
.africa is a generic top-level domain named for the word "africa", and it's aimed at cities & regions. It doesn't belong to any country.
What is .africa used for?
.africa is mostly used for cities & regions. Like most gTLDs, it's a label of intent rather than a guarantee — check the site, not just the ending.
What country is .africa?
None. .africa is a generic top-level domain, so it isn't tied to any country.
Who owns the .africa domain extension?
ZA Central Registry NPC trading as Registry.Africa operates .africa as its registry, under a registry agreement with ICANN.
When was .africa created?
.africa was delegated to the DNS root zone on February 15, 2017.
Is .africa a valid domain?
Yes. .africa is an active top-level domain in the DNS root zone, delegated in 2017, so .africa addresses work in every browser.
Can I buy a .africa domain?
.africa names are sold through ICANN-accredited registrars. Some gTLDs restrict who can register, so read ZA Central Registry NPC trading as Registry.Africa's policy if you're unsure.
Is .africa DNSSEC-signed?
Yes, the root zone holds a DS record for .africa.
Sources
Data from IANA root zone version 2026102000. Last changed August 5, 2025. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
