South Africa to Egypt: the shortest border chain

You can get from South Africa to Egypt crossing only land borders — the shortest chain passes through 5 countries.

Fewest countries

1. StartSouth Africa
2. 1Botswana
3. 2Zambia
4. 3DR Congo
5. 4Central African Republic
6. 5Sudan
7. FinishEgypt

Shortest route by distance

Measured between country centers, the shortest chain covers about 6,640 km — and it takes a different path:

1. StartSouth Africa
2. 1Zimbabwe
3. 2Zambia
4. 3Tanzania
5. 4Uganda
6. 5South Sudan
7. 6Sudan
8. FinishEgypt

The rules behind the route

These routes come from Bordlr's border graph: strict land borders plus three permanent fixed crossings (Øresund Bridge, King Fahd Causeway, Johor–Singapore Causeway). Ferry routes don’t count. Distances are great-circle measurements between country centers, so they rank routes fairly without pretending to be driving distances.