Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) what are the total number of FCO and DfID staff employed in UK embassies and High Commissions in Africa; (2) which countries have no UK permanent ambassador or High Commissioner; and (3) whether there are plans to establish permanent missions in any such countries.

The below data provides a breakdown of the total number of Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for International Development (DFID) staff employed in UK embassies and High Commissions in Africa.

Across all posts in Africa (North and sub-Saharan) staff numbers are as follows:

Although Heads of Post elsewhere are accredited as non-resident Ambassadors or High Commissioners, the following fifteen African countries do not have a resident UK Ambassador or High Commissioner:

Benin

Burkina Faso

Burundi

Cape Verde

Central African Republic

Chad

Comoros

Congo

Djibouti

Equatorial Guinea

Gabon

Guinea Bissau

Niger

Sao Tome

Togo

The UK currently maintain offices in Burundi, Chad and Niger, though our Ambassadors reside in Rwanda, Cameroon and Bamako respectively. The offices in Chad and Niger will become full missions in the near future when the new resident Ambassadors are appointed. We are also planning to establish a mission in Djibouti with a resident Ambassador.