13 Countries Crossed by the Equator

The Equator is an imaginary line that circles Earth at 0 degrees latitude, dividing the planet into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Stretching for roughly 40,075 kilometers around the Earth, it passes through land and territorial waters in several countries across three continents.

In South America, the Equator crosses Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil. Ecuador is famously named after the Equator and has several attractions dedicated to its geographical position. In Colombia, the Equator crosses remote tropical areas, including parts of the country's Amazonian region.

Brazil contains the longest section of the Equator in South America, crossing the northern part of the country and passing through the state of Amapá. The surrounding region contains tropical forests, rivers, wetlands, and diverse wildlife.

Africa has the greatest number of countries along the Equator, with seven. The line reaches the continent through São Tomé and Príncipe, where it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, a small island south of São Tomé. It then passes through Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Much of this central African region is covered by the enormous Congo Basin, one of the world's most important tropical rainforest ecosystems.

Continuing eastward, the Equator crosses Uganda, Kenya, and Somalia. These countries feature a mixture of rainforest, savanna, lakes, highlands, and semi-arid landscapes, showing that being near the Equator does not necessarily mean having identical climates.

In Asia, the Equator crosses Indonesia, while it also passes through the territorial waters of the Maldives and Kiribati. Indonesia has the most substantial land areas crossed by the Equator in Asia, particularly on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo, as well as other islands.

The Maldives lies near the Equator in the Indian Ocean, with its southern atolls particularly close to the line. Kiribati is a Pacific island nation whose territorial waters are crossed by the Equator.

These thirteen countries demonstrate the remarkable geographic diversity of the Equatorial world.

From the Amazon and Congo rainforests to African savannas and Pacific and Indian Ocean islands, the Equator connects regions with very different landscapes and cultures while sharing the same fundamental geographic distinction: their lands or waters lie directly on, or encompass, Earth's 0-degree latitude line.