List of African countries by population

Africa population by country ^[1]

1. Nigeria (15.4%)
2. Ethiopia (8.70%)
3. Egypt (7.70%)
4. DR Congo (7.10%)
5. Tanzania (4.50%)
6. South Africa (4.30%)
7. Kenya (3.70%)
8. Others (48.6%)

This is a list of the current 54 African countries sorted by population, also sorted by normalized demographic projections from the most recently available census or demographic data. Africa is the fastest growing continent in the world, currently increasing by 2.35% per year as of 2021. ^[2] Africa is also the continent with the youngest population, as 60% of Africans are 24 years of age or younger. ^[3] This list also includes the French department Réunion, and the partially recognized country Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, commonly known as Western Sahara, which is a member of the African Union. ^[4]

Table of African countries by population

	Country	% Africa	Population [1]	% growth	Official figure	Official date	Important notes
1	Nigeria	15.4%	227,882,945	2.12%	216,783,400	21 Mar 2022 [5]
2	Ethiopia	8.7%	128,691,692	2.64%	107,334,000	1 Jul 2023 [6]
3	Egypt	7.7%	114,535,772	1.70%	102,060,688	1 Jul 2021 [7]	[a]
4	DR Congo	7.1%	105,789,731	3.31%	95,370,000	1 Jul 2019 [8]
5	Tanzania	4.5%	66,617,606	2.95%	61,741,120	23 Aug 2022 [9]
6	South Africa	4.3%	63,212,384	1.34%	59,604,992	1 Jul 2022 [10]
7	Kenya	3.7%	55,339,003	2.00%	51,526,000	1 Jan 2023 [11]
8	Sudan	3.4%	50,042,791	1.34%	41,984,500	1 Jul 2018 [12]
9	Uganda	3.3%	48,656,601	2.84%	41,583,600	1 Jul 2020 [13]
10	Algeria	3.1%	46,164,219	1.51%	44,700,000	1 Jan 2021 [14]
11	Morocco	2.5%	37,712,505	1.03%	37,438,314	9 Sep 2024 [15]
12	Angola	2.5%	36,749,906	3.13%	36,604,681	19 Sep 2024 [16]
13	Ghana	2.3%	33,787,914	1.93%	30,832,019	27 Jun 2021 [17]
14	Mozambique	2.3%	33,635,160	3.00%	33,244,414	1 Mar 2024 [18]
15	Madagascar	2.1%	31,195,932	2.49%	27,190,927	1 Jun 2020 [19]
16	Ivory Coast	2.1%	31,165,654	2.54%	29,389,150	14 Dec 2021 [20]
17	Cameroon	1.9%	28,372,687	2.68%	24,348,251	Jul 1 2019 [21]
18	Niger	1.9%	26,159,867	3.35%	23,196,000	1 Jul 2020 [22]
19	Mali	1.8%	23,769,127	3.02%	14,528,662	4 May 2024 [23]
20	Burkina Faso	1.6%	23,025,776	2.30%	20,505,155	16 Nov 2019 [24]
21	Malawi	1.4%	21,104,482	2.60%	19,809,511	3 Sep 2023 [25]
22	Zambia	1.4%	20,723,965	2.83%	19,610,769	14 Sep 2022 [26]
23	Chad	1.3%	19,319,064	4.68%	15,775,400	1 Jul 2019 [27]
24	Somalia	1.2%	18,358,615	3.13%	12,316,895	4 May 2024 [28]	[b]
25	Senegal	1.2%	18,077,573	2.42%	18,275,743	1 Jul 2023 [31]
26	Zimbabwe	1.1%	16,340,822	1.69%	15,178,979	20 Apr 2022 [32]
27	Guinea	1.0%	14,405,465	2.49%	13,261,638	Jul 1 2022 [33]
28	Benin	1.0%	14,111,034	2.55%	12,606,998	1 Jul 2023 [34]
29	Rwanda	1.0%	13,954,471	2.22%	13,246,394	15 Aug 2022 [35]
30	Burundi	0.9%	13,689,450	2.77%	13,097,400	1 Jul 2023 [36]
31	Tunisia	0.9%	12,200,431	0.68%	11,803,588	1 Jan 2022 [37]
32	South Sudan	0.8%	11,483,374	4.19%	13,249,924	1 Jul 2020 [38]
33	Togo	0.6%	9,304,337	2.36%	8,095,498	8 Nov 2022 [39]
34	Sierra Leone	0.6%	8,460,512	2.22%	7,541,641	9 Dec 2021 [40]
35	Libya	0.5%	7,305,659	1.13%	6,931,061	1 Jan 2020 [41]
36	Republic of the Congo	0.4%	6,182,885	2.45%	3,697,490	4 May 2024 [42]
37	Liberia	0.4%	5,493,031	2.23%	4,844,381	1 Jul 2023 [43]
38	Central African Republic	0.4%	5,152,421	1.07%	6,091,097	1 Mar 2021 [44]
39	Mauritania	0.3%	5,022,441	3.01%	4,352,037	1 Jul 2022 [45]
40	Eritrea	0.3%	3,470,390	1.79%	3,815,900	1 Jul 2012 [46]
41	Namibia	0.2%	2,963,095	2.54%	2,641,857	1 Jul 2023 [47]
42	Gambia	0.2%	2,697,845	2.33%	2,417,471	1 Jul 2022 [48]
43	Gabon	0.2%	2,484,789	2.22%	2,349,099	1 Jul 2023 [49]
44	Botswana	0.2%	2,480,244	1.65%	2,346,179	18 Mar 2022 [50]
45	Lesotho	0.2%	2,311,472	1.11%	2,103,600	1 Jul 2023 [51]
46	Guinea-Bissau	0.1%	2,153,339	2.27%	1,781,308	1 Jul 2023 [52]
47	Equatorial Guinea	0.1%	1,847,549	2.44%	1,558,160	1 Jul 2022 [53]
48	Mauritius	0.1%	1,273,588	-0.20%	1,261,196	31 Dec 2022 [54]
49	Eswatini	0.1%	1,230,506	0.95%	1,223,362	1 Jul 2023 [55]
50	Djibouti	0.1%	1,152,944	1.39%	1,001,454	1 Jul 2021 [56]
-	Réunion	0.1%	896,175		896,175	10 Jan 2024
51	Comoros	0.1%	850,387	1.94%	758,316	15 Dec 2017 [57]
-	Western Sahara (disputed)	0.04%	579,729	1.93%	579,000	1 Jul 2020 [58]
52	Cape Verde	0.04%	522,331	0.50%	483,628	16 Jun 2021 [59]
53	São Tomé and Príncipe	0.02%	230,871	2.02%	210,200	13 May 2020 [60]
54	Seychelles	0.01%	127,951	1.94%	100,447	22 Apr 2022 [61]
	Total	100%	1,480,770,525	2.34%	1,332,291,870

See also

• Demographics of Africa
• List of African countries by area
• List of African countries by life expectancy

Notes

1. Figures include the Sinai Peninsula, which is part of Western Asia.
2. Includes Somaliland which has a population of about 6.2 million. ^{[29] [30]}

References

1. "World Population Prospects". UNdata. 11 Jul 2024.
2. "World Population Prospects". population.un.org. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
3. "World Population Prospects". population.un.org. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
4. "Member States". Archived from the original on 2022-09-01. Retrieved 2022-09-12.
5. Official projection "Nigeria: Administrative Division". City Population. 23 Aug 2022. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
6. Official projection "Population of Zones and Weredas July 2023" (PDF). Stats Ethiopia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
7. Official projection "Egypt: Administrative Division". City Population. 13 Apr 2022. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
8. Official figure "Annuaire Statistique RDC 2020" (PDF). ins.cd. 1 Mar 2021. p29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2023. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
9. 2022 census result "Administrative Units Population Distribution Report" (PDF). nbs.go.tz. 1 Dec 2022. p8. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
10. Official estimate "Administrative Units Population Distribution Report" (PDF). statssa.gov.za. 28 Jul 2022. p8. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
11. Official projection "2019 KPHC – Analytical Report on Population Projections Vol XVI". knbs.or.ke. 15 Nov 2022. p23. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
12. Official projection "Sudan". City Population. 5 Sep 2019. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
13. Official projection "Uganda: Administrative Division". City Population. 12 Jun 2020. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
14. Official projection "Démographie" [Demography](PDF). Office National des Statistiques (in French). 18 May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 July 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
15. Official projection "Horloge de la population". City Population. 9 Sep 2024. Archived from the original on 20 May 2023. Retrieved 9 Sep 2024.
16. Official projection "Resultados Definitivos do Recenseamento Geral da População e Habitação - 2024" (PDF) (in Portuguese). 2025-11-20.
17. 2021 census result "Ghana: Administrative Division". City Population. 15 Apr 2022. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
18. "Instituto Nacional de Estatística - Moçambique". www.worldometers.info (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-09-23.
19. Official projection "Madagascar: Administrative Division". City Population. 16 Feb 2021. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
20. 2021 census result "Resultats Globaux Definitifs" (PDF). ins.ci. 1 Oct 2022. p14. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
21. Official projection "BUCREP - Home". bucrep.cm. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
22. Official projection "Niger". City Population. 17 Sep 2020. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
23. "Mali Population (2024) - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
24. 2019 census result "Burkina Faso". City Population. 23 Jul 2022. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
25. Official projection "Population Projections 2018 - 2050 Report" (PDF). nsomalawi.mw. 1 Jul 2020. p15. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2020. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
26. 2022 census result "2022 Census of Population and Housing Preliminary Report" (PDF). zamstats.gov.zm. 1 Dec 2022. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
27. Official projection "Chad". City Population. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
28. "Somalia Population (2024) - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
29. "Somaliland's population reaches 6.2 million". Horn Diplomat. 2024-04-19. Archived from the original on 2024-04-19. Retrieved 2024-04-20.
30. "Somaliland population reaches 6.2 million, government reports". www.hiiraan.com. Retrieved 2024-04-19.
31. Official projection "Projections de la population par région et sexe". Open Data for Africa. 19 Jan 2023. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
32. 2022 census result "2022 Population and Housing Census Preliminary Report on Population Figures" (PDF). zimstat.co.zw. 1 Jul 2022. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
33. Official projection "National Institute of Statistics". stat-guinee.org. 23 Jun 2023. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
34. Official projection "Projections Demographiques de 2014 a 2063 et Perspectives de la Demande Sociale de 2014 a 2030 au Benin" (PDF). instad.bj. 1 Nov 2022. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
35. 2022 census result "Main Indicators: 5th Rwanda Population and Housing Census". statistics.gov.rw. 1 Mar 2023. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 25 Jun 2023.
36. Official projection "Projections Demographiques au Niveau Communal" (PDF). isteebu.bi. 1 Feb 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2023. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
37. Official estimate "Tunisia". City Population. 16 Jun 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
38. Official projection "Population Projections for South Sudan 2015 - 2020" (PDF). ssnbss.org. 1 Mar 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
39. 2022 census result "Présentation des principaux résultats définitifs du RGPH-5" (PDF). inseed.tg. 4 Apr 2023. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
40. 2021 census result "Provisional Results 2021 Mid-term Population and Housing Census" (PDF). statistics.sl. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
41. Official estimate "Libya". City Population. 2 Oct 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
42. "Congo Population (2024) - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
43. Official projection "Analytical Report on Population Projections" (PDF). lisgis.net. 1 Sep 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
44. Official estimate "Central African Republic". City Population. 4 Aug 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
45. Official figure "Analytical Report on Population Projections". ansade.mr. 1 Jan 2023. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
46. Official projection "Eritrea". City Population. 13 Oct 2019. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
47. Official projection "Namibia Population Projections" (PDF). cms.my.na. 1 Sep 2014. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
48. Official projection "Eritrea". gbosdata.org. 1 Jan 2023. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
49. Official projection "Projection de la Population 2019-2025" (PDF). statgabon.ga. 1 Dec 2019. p12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2021. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
50. 2022 census result "2022 Population and Housing Census Preliminary Results" (PDF). statsbots.org.bw. 1 May 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
51. Official projection "Lesotho". City Population. 8 Apr 2023. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
52. Official projection "Lesotho". stat-guinebissau. 1 Jan 2023. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
53. Official projection "National Institute of Statistics of Equatorial Guinea". inege.gq. 1 Jan 2023. Archived from the original on 6 August 2010. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
54. Official projection "Population and Vital Statistics". statsmauritius.govmu.org. 10 Mar 2023. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
55. Official projection "Swaziland Population Projections 2007-2030" (PDF). ccm.org.sz. 1 Jul 2015. p20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2015. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
56. Official estimate "Annuaire Statistique" (PDF). instad.dj. 1 Jan 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
57. 2017 census result "Comoros". City Population. 6 Aug 2020. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
58. Official projection "Western Sahara". City Population. 14 Sep 2020. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
59. 2021 census result "Cape Verde". City Population. 27 Aug 2021. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
60. Official projection "São Tomé and Príncipe". City Population. 7 Dec 2020. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.
61. 2022 census result "Seychelles". City Population. 26 Oct 2022. Retrieved 26 Jun 2023.