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, currently increasing by 2.35% per year as of 2021. [1] Africa is also the youngest continent, as 60% of Africa is 24 years of age or younger. [2] This list also includes the partially recognized country Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, commonly known as Western Sahara, which is a member of the African Union. [3]
Country | % Africa | Population [4] | % growth | Official figure | Official date | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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% | 35,121,734 | 1 Jul 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 | 0.67% | 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] | |
51 | Comoros | 0.1% | 850,387 | 1.94% | 758,316 | 15 Dec 2017 [57] | |
- | Western Sahara | 0.04% | 579,729 | 1.93% | 579,000 | 1 Jul 2020 [58] | [c] |
52 | Cape Verde | 0.04% | 522,331 | 0.50% | 483,628 | 16 Jun 2021 [61] | |
53 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 0.02% | 230,871 | 2.02% | 210,200 | 13 May 2020 [62] | |
54 | Seychelles | 0.01% | 127,951 | 1.94% | 100,447 | 22 Apr 2022 [63] | |
Total | 100% | 1,480,770,525 | 2.34% | 1,332,291,870 |
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Demographic features of the population of Morocco include population density, ethnicity, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. All figures are from the Haut-Commissariat au Plan of Morocco or the United Nations Demographic Yearbooks, unless otherwise indicated.
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North-western Africa. It has a surface area of 272,000 square kilometres (105,000 sq mi). Approximately 30% of the territory is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is occupied and administered by neighboring Morocco. It is the most sparsely populated territory in Africa and the second most sparsely populated territory in the world, mainly consisting of desert flatlands. The population is estimated at 618,600. Nearly 40% of that population lives in Morocco-controlled Laayoune, the largest city of Western Sahara.
Western Sahara, formerly the colony of Spanish Sahara, is a disputed territory claimed by both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro, which is an independence movement based in Tifariti and Bir Lehlou. The Annexation of Western Sahara by Morocco took place in two stages, in 1976 and 1979, and is considered illegal under international law.
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The Sahrawi refugee camps, also known as the Tindouf camps, are a collection of refugee camps set up in the Tindouf Province, Algeria, in 1975–76 for Sahrawi refugees fleeing from Moroccan forces, who advanced through Western Sahara during the Western Sahara War. With most of the original refugees still living in the camps, the situation is among the most protracted in the world.
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The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, also known as the Sahrawi Republic and Western Sahara, is a partially recognized state, located in the western Maghreb, which claims the non-self-governing territory of Western Sahara, but controls only the easternmost one-fifth of that territory. It is recognized by 44 UN member states and South Ossetia. Between 1884 and 1975, Western Sahara was known as Spanish Sahara, a Spanish colony. The SADR is one of the two African states in which Spanish is a significant language, the other being Equatorial Guinea.