A Coup d’etat (French: “coup de tat”) is the overthrow of a lawful government by illegal means, often with violence or intimidation. If no force is used, the coup is sometimes called a soft or bloodless coup. A variant is a self-coup, where a ruler who came to power through legal means seeks to keep power by illegal means and prevent the next legal ruler from taking it over.
A coup d’etat can involve military, police, or civilian forces. In some cases, a coup d’etat is followed by a constitutional process, while in other cases the illegal takeover is followed immediately by an overthrow of the constitution and the establishment of a dictatorship.
The Cline Center Coup D’etat Project Dataset contains information on all military and non-military coups and coup attempts that occurred in the world since 1946.
This list includes coups that were backed by foreign governments, as well as those that were not. It also lists coups that were successful, and those that failed.
Coups d’etat that have been successful are marked with a bolded title. Those that were unsuccessful are marked with a dashed line.
The Coup d’etats in this article are sorted alphabetically by country. The following list includes all of the coups d’etat that have ever happened in Africa.
For a list sorted by country, see the List of coups and attempted coups d’etat by country. This article also contains a chronological list of major coups and attempted coups d’etat in the world since 1946, including their dates and causes.
