UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register lists documentary heritage – texts, audio-visual materials, library and archive holdings – that have been judged to be of global importance. The register brings that heritage to the attention of experts and the wider public, promoting the preservation, digitization, and dissemination of those materials. The first inscriptions were added to the register in 1997. As of 2025, 570 pieces of documentary heritage were included in the register. Of these, 41 are from Africa. They include recordings of folk music, ancient languages and phonetics; aged remnants of religious and secular manuscripts; collected lifetime works of renowned figures of literature, science, and music; copies of motion pictures and short films; and accounts documenting changes in the world’s political, economic and social stage.
In additional to the international register, there is a regional register for Africa, maintained by the Africa Regional Committee of the Memory of the World Programme (ARCMoW). As of August 2026, it has two inscriptions, both in the Institute of National Archives of Cabo Verde. The country of Ghana has its own national register, maintained by the Ghana National Committee for UNESCO Memory of the World Programme. As of August 2026, this has nine inscriptions.
List by country/territory
Documentary heritageCountry/TerritoryCustodian(s), Location(s) Yearinscribed Reference Christopher Okigbo CollectionAfricaChristopher Okigbo Foundation, Brussels 2007 Al-Mustamlah Min Kitab Al-TakmilaAlgeriaNational Library of Algeria, Algiers 2017 First Summit Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement ArchivesAlgeria,Egypt,India,Indonesia,SerbiaEgyptian National Library and Archives, Cairo National Archives of India, Delhi National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia, South Jakarta Archives of Yugoslavia, Belgrade National Archives of Algeria, Algiers 2023Kitab Al-Qanun fi Al-Tibb: the Book of Medical Laws (Book Four)AlgeriaNational Library of Algeria, Algiers2025 Arquivos dos Dembos / Ndembu ArchivesAngola,PortugalArquivo Nacional de Angola, Luanda 2011 Colonial archives BeninNational Archives, Porto-Novo 1997Documents on Slavery in the Archives of the General Secretariat of the Government (Cabo Verde, 1842-1869)Cape VerdeNational Archives Institute of Cape Verde, Praia2025 Memory of the Suez Canal Egypt, Paris Suez Canal Authority, Ismailia Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris 1997 Deeds of Sultans and PrincesEgyptNational Library and Archives of Egypt, Cairo 2005 Persian Illustrated and Illuminated Manuscripts EgyptNational Library and Archives of Egypt, Cairo 2007 National Library of Egypt's Collection of Mamluk Qur'an ManuscriptsEgyptNational Library and Archives of Egypt, Cairo 2013 Treasures from National Archives and Library Organizations EthiopiaNational Archives and Library, Addis Ababa 1997 Dutch West India Company (Westindische Compagnie) archivesGhana,Netherlands,Brazil,Guyana,Suriname,United Kingdom,United StatesNational Archives of Ghana, Accra 2011 Royal Archives (1824–1897)MadagascarDepartment of National Archives, Antananarivo 2009 Kitāb Shifā al-Asqām al-Āriḍat min al-Ẓahir wa al-Bāṭin min al-Ajsām/the Book of Healing from internal and external diseases affecting the bodyMaliMamma Haidara Commemorative Library, Timbuktu 2017 Tadkirat al gāfilin ‘anqubhihtilāf al- mu’minin/ Reminder to those who do not pay attention to the harms caused by the divergence between believersMaliAhmed Baba Institute, Timbuktu 2017 Maṣāliḥ al-Insān al-Mutaʿalliqat bi al-Adyānwa al-Abdān, The human being interests linked to the religions and the bodyMali,NigeriaMamma Haidara Commemorative Library, Timbuktu 2017 Records of the French Occupation of MauritiusMauritiusMauritius Archives, Port Louis 1997 The Records of Indentured ImmigrationMauritiusNational Archives Department National Library Mahatma Gandhi Institute 2015 The Slave Trade and Slavery Records in Mauritius (1721-1892)MauritiusNational Archives Department, Coromandel 2023 The archival collections on the Bienheureux Père Jacques Désiré Laval - The Apostle of MauritiusMauritiusNational Archives Department, Coromandel National Library of Mauritius, Port Louis Centre Père Laval, Sainte-Croix 2023 Kitab al-ibar, wa diwan al-mobtadae wa al-khabarMoroccoal-Qarawiyyin library, Fez 2011 Manuscript of al- ZahrāwīsurMoroccoBibliothèque Nationale du Royaume du Maroc, Rabat 2017Al Orjoza fi teb by Ibn ToufailMoroccoArchives du Maroc, Rabat2025Census of slaves in Angola, Cape Verde and Mozambique determined by Portuguese decree of 12/14/1854Mozambique, Cape Verde, Angola Arquivo Nacional de Angola, Luanda Arquivo Histórico de Moçambique, Maputo National Archives Institute of Cape Verde, Praia 2025 Letter Journals of Hendrik WitbooiNamibiaNational Archives of Namibia, Windhoek Personal Archives of Dr. , Munich 2005 Windhoek DeclarationNamibiaNamibia National Commission for UNESCO, Windhoek2025 Fonds of the "Afrique occidentale française" (AOF) SenegalNational Archives of Senegal, Dakar 1997 Collection of old postcards from French West AfricaSenegalNational Archives of Senegal, Dakar 2015 William Ponty School Collection of PapersSenegalInstitut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar 2015 The Bleek collection South AfricaUniversity of Cape Town/South African Library, Cape Town 1997 Archives of the Dutch East India CompanySouth Africa,Netherlands,India,Indonesia,Sri LankaCape Town Archives Repository (office of the National Archives of South Africa) Tamil Nadu Archives, Chennai Department of National Archives of Sri Lanka, Colombo Arsip Nasional Republik Indonesia (National Archives of Indonesia), Jakarta Nationaal Archief (National Archives of the Netherlands), The Hague 2003 Criminal Court Case No. 253/1963 (State Versus N. Mandela and Others)South AfricaNational Archives and Records Service of South Africa, Pretoria 2007 Liberation Struggle Living Archive CollectionSouth AfricaDoxa Productions, Hout Bay 2007 Archives of the CODESA (Convention For A Democratic South Africa) 1991 - 1992 and Archives of the Multi-Party Negotiating Process 1993South AfricaNational Archives and Records Service of South Africa, Pretoria 2013 German Records of the National ArchivesTanzaniaNational Archives, Dar es Salaam 1997 Collection of Arabic Manuscripts and BooksTanzaniaZanzibar National Archives, Zanzibar 2003 Privateering and the international relations of the Regency of Tunis in the 18th and 19th centuriesTunisiaNational Archives of Tunisia, Tunis 2011 The Abolition of Slavery in Tunisia 1841-1846TunisiaNational Archives of Tunisia, Tunis 2017 The Music holdings in Baron Rodolphe d'Erlanger's archives (1910-1932)TunisiaCentre of Arab and Mediterranean Music, Sidi Bou Saïd 2023 Nehanda and Kaguvi mediums’ judgement dockets (April 1897). Case between State versus Nehanda and Kaguvi spirit mediums leading to their execution.ZimbabweNational Archives of Zimbabwe, Harare 2015
See also UNESCO Memory of the World Register – Arab States (includes North Africa)
Notes
Names and spellings provided are based on the official list released by the Memory of the World Programme.
References
External links UNESCO Memory of the World Programme official website