The United States Department of State has released the statistical breakdown of prospective applicants registered for the DV-2026 Diversity Visa programme, commonly known as the Green Card Lottery.
The Kentucky Consular Center registered 129,516 prospective applicants, including selected entrants, their spouses and children, from 20.8 million qualified entries submitted during the 2024 application period.
The programme makes up to 55,000 permanent resident visas available annually to people from countries with historically low rates of immigration to the United States. However, the effective DV-2026 limit is about 51,850 visas after deductions required under US law.
Visa numbers are distributed across six geographic regions, with no more than 7% allocated to applicants from any single country.
African countries recorded in the programme
Some of the highest numbers of prospective applicants in Africa came from Egypt (5,527), Algeria (5,457), Sudan (5,226), Kenya (3,949), Morocco (3,670), Cameroon (3,533) and Ethiopia (3,287).
Other countries with notable figures include Togo (2,473), Democratic Republic of the Congo (2,210), Burundi (1,616), Liberia (1,593), Somalia (1,554), Uganda (1,513) and Rwanda (1,252).
Selected applicants must complete the required visa or adjustment-of-status process before the deadline. Those who do not receive a visa or adjustment of status by September 30, 2026, will lose the benefit of their DV-2026 selection.
