List of African countries by population
Source | UN (World Population Prospects 2019) |
Date | 11 Oct 2021 |
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, followed by Ethiopia and Egypt. These three countries have a total number of humans above 100 mn. The top ten countries together hold a 61% share of the Africa population. As of 2021, 32 countries have a population above 10 million. The least populous country in Africa is Seychelles. Saint Helena is the least populous region in Africa. Eight countries/dependent territories in Africa have a population below one million.
Only one African country is in the list of the top ten most populous countries globally as it hosts Nigeria, the world's 7th most populous country. Fourteen countries are within the top 50 world population ranking.
Out of 58 countries/territories, None of the countries would see a population decrease in 2021 compared to 2020. Nigeria would be the top contributor to the total population increment in 2021. Nigeria accounts for 16 percent of the total population increase in Africa. Nigeria's population would increase by 5.26 million, followed by Ethiopia (2.9 mn) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (2.8 mn). Nine countries will add at least one mn humans in 2021.
Niger would have the highest population growth rate of 3.82% in 2021. Six countries in Africa have a growth rate above 3%. Eight countries have a growth rate above 2%. Nine countries are on the list of the world's top 10 fastest-growing nations. Only six countries have a growth rate below 1%.
DR Congo, which is currently at 3rd position, will surpass Egypt by 2050 and Ethiopia by 2100 to become the 2nd most populous country in Africa.
In 1950, Western Sahara was the least populous country in Africa. Now Seychelles will remain the least populous country until 2100.
- Population
- Growth rate (%)
- Choropleth Map
- Bubble Map
Country/Region | Population | Share (%) | Rank | Growth (2021) | Growth Rank | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | 2021 | Africa | World | Africa | World | Net | % | Africa | World | |
Burundi | 11,890,781 | 12,255,429 | 0.892 | 0.156 | 30 | 78 | 364,648 | 3.07 | 5 | 6 |
Comoros | 869,595 | 888,456 | 0.0647 | 0.0113 | 52 | 163 | 18,861 | 2.17 | 35 | 46 |
Djibouti | 988,002 | 1,002,197 | 0.0730 | 0.0127 | 50 | 160 | 14,195 | 1.44 | 47 | 74 |
Eritrea | 3,546,427 | 3,601,462 | 0.262 | 0.0457 | 40 | 133 | 55,035 | 1.55 | 45 | 67 |
Ethiopia | 114,963,583 | 117,876,226 | 8.58 | 1.50 | 2 | 12 | 2,912,643 | 2.53 | 24 | 27 |
Kenya | 53,771,300 | 54,985,702 | 4.00 | 0.698 | 7 | 26 | 1,214,402 | 2.26 | 34 | 43 |
Madagascar | 27,691,019 | 28,427,333 | 2.07 | 0.361 | 15 | 51 | 736,314 | 2.66 | 20 | 22 |
Malawi | 19,129,955 | 19,647,681 | 1.43 | 0.249 | 21 | 61 | 517,726 | 2.71 | 16 | 18 |
Mauritius | 1,271,767 | 1,273,428 | 0.0927 | 0.0162 | 48 | 157 | 1,661 | 0.13 | 58 | 193 |
Mayotte | 272,813 | 279,507 | 0.0204 | 0.00355 | 55 | 186 | 6,694 | 2.45 | 27 | 31 |
Mozambique | 31,255,435 | 32,163,045 | 2.34 | 0.408 | 13 | 46 | 907,610 | 2.90 | 13 | 14 |
Réunion | 895,308 | 901,696 | 0.0657 | 0.0115 | 51 | 162 | 6,388 | 0.71 | 55 | 140 |
Rwanda | 12,952,209 | 13,276,517 | 0.967 | 0.169 | 28 | 76 | 324,308 | 2.50 | 26 | 29 |
Seychelles | 98,340 | 98,910 | 0.00720 | 0.00126 | 57 | 200 | 570 | 0.58 | 56 | 152 |
Somalia | 15,893,219 | 16,359,500 | 1.19 | 0.208 | 25 | 73 | 466,281 | 2.93 | 10 | 11 |
South Sudan | 11,193,729 | 11,381,377 | 0.829 | 0.145 | 32 | 83 | 187,648 | 1.68 | 44 | 62 |
Uganda | 45,741,000 | 47,123,533 | 3.43 | 0.598 | 8 | 30 | 1,382,533 | 3.02 | 6 | 7 |
United Republic of Tanzania | 59,734,213 | 61,498,438 | 4.48 | 0.781 | 5 | 23 | 1,764,225 | 2.95 | 9 | 10 |
Zambia | 18,383,956 | 18,920,657 | 1.38 | 0.240 | 22 | 65 | 536,701 | 2.92 | 11 | 12 |
Zimbabwe | 14,862,927 | 15,092,171 | 1.10 | 0.192 | 26 | 74 | 229,244 | 1.54 | 46 | 70 |
Angola | 32,866,268 | 33,933,611 | 2.47 | 0.431 | 12 | 43 | 1,067,343 | 3.25 | 3 | 4 |
Cameroon | 26,545,864 | 27,224,262 | 1.98 | 0.346 | 16 | 52 | 678,398 | 2.56 | 22 | 25 |
Central African Republic | 4,829,764 | 4,919,987 | 0.358 | 0.0625 | 38 | 125 | 90,223 | 1.87 | 41 | 55 |
Chad | 16,425,859 | 16,914,985 | 1.23 | 0.215 | 24 | 72 | 489,126 | 2.98 | 8 | 9 |
Congo | 5,518,092 | 5,657,017 | 0.412 | 0.0718 | 36 | 116 | 138,925 | 2.52 | 25 | 28 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 89,561,404 | 92,377,986 | 6.73 | 1.17 | 4 | 16 | 2,816,582 | 3.14 | 4 | 5 |
Equatorial Guinea | 1,402,985 | 1,449,891 | 0.106 | 0.0184 | 47 | 153 | 46,906 | 3.34 | 2 | 3 |
Gabon | 2,225,728 | 2,278,829 | 0.166 | 0.0289 | 44 | 146 | 53,101 | 2.39 | 33 | 37 |
Sao Tome and Principe | 219,161 | 223,364 | 0.0163 | 0.00284 | 56 | 187 | 4,203 | 1.92 | 39 | 53 |
Botswana | 2,351,625 | 2,397,240 | 0.175 | 0.0304 | 43 | 145 | 45,615 | 1.94 | 38 | 50 |
Eswatini | 1,160,164 | 1,172,369 | 0.0854 | 0.0149 | 49 | 159 | 12,205 | 1.05 | 52 | 104 |
Lesotho | 2,142,252 | 2,159,067 | 0.157 | 0.0274 | 45 | 147 | 16,815 | 0.78 | 54 | 134 |
Namibia | 2,540,916 | 2,587,344 | 0.188 | 0.0329 | 41 | 143 | 46,428 | 1.83 | 42 | 59 |
South Africa | 59,308,690 | 60,041,996 | 4.37 | 0.762 | 6 | 25 | 733,306 | 1.24 | 49 | 90 |
Benin | 12,123,198 | 12,451,031 | 0.907 | 0.158 | 29 | 77 | 327,833 | 2.70 | 17 | 19 |
Burkina Faso | 20,903,278 | 21,497,097 | 1.57 | 0.273 | 19 | 59 | 593,819 | 2.84 | 14 | 15 |
Cabo Verde | 555,988 | 561,901 | 0.0409 | 0.00714 | 54 | 172 | 5,913 | 1.06 | 51 | 103 |
Côte d'Ivoire | 26,378,275 | 27,053,629 | 1.97 | 0.344 | 17 | 53 | 675,354 | 2.56 | 21 | 24 |
Gambia | 2,416,664 | 2,486,937 | 0.181 | 0.0316 | 42 | 144 | 70,273 | 2.91 | 12 | 13 |
Ghana | 31,072,945 | 31,732,128 | 2.31 | 0.403 | 14 | 47 | 659,183 | 2.12 | 36 | 47 |
Guinea | 13,132,792 | 13,497,237 | 0.983 | 0.171 | 27 | 75 | 364,445 | 2.78 | 15 | 16 |
Guinea-Bissau | 1,967,998 | 2,015,490 | 0.147 | 0.0256 | 46 | 150 | 47,492 | 2.41 | 31 | 35 |
Liberia | 5,057,677 | 5,180,208 | 0.377 | 0.0658 | 37 | 122 | 122,531 | 2.42 | 29 | 33 |
Mali | 20,250,834 | 20,855,724 | 1.52 | 0.265 | 20 | 60 | 604,890 | 2.99 | 7 | 8 |
Mauritania | 4,649,660 | 4,775,110 | 0.348 | 0.0606 | 39 | 127 | 125,450 | 2.70 | 19 | 21 |
Niger | 24,206,636 | 25,130,810 | 1.83 | 0.319 | 18 | 56 | 924,174 | 3.82 | 1 | 2 |
Nigeria | 206,139,587 | 211,400,704 | 15.4 | 2.68 | 1 | 7 | 5,261,117 | 2.55 | 23 | 26 |
Saint Helena | 6,071 | 6,095 | 0.00044 | 0.00008 | 58 | 229 | 24 | 0.40 | 57 | 168 |
Senegal | 16,743,930 | 17,196,308 | 1.25 | 0.218 | 23 | 69 | 452,378 | 2.70 | 18 | 20 |
Sierra Leone | 7,976,985 | 8,141,343 | 0.593 | 0.103 | 34 | 103 | 164,358 | 2.06 | 37 | 48 |
Togo | 8,278,737 | 8,478,242 | 0.617 | 0.108 | 33 | 102 | 199,505 | 2.41 | 32 | 36 |
Algeria | 43,851,043 | 44,616,626 | 3.25 | 0.567 | 10 | 34 | 765,583 | 1.75 | 43 | 60 |
Egypt | 102,334,403 | 104,258,327 | 7.59 | 1.32 | 3 | 14 | 1,923,924 | 1.88 | 40 | 54 |
Libya | 6,871,287 | 6,958,538 | 0.507 | 0.0884 | 35 | 107 | 87,251 | 1.27 | 48 | 87 |
Morocco | 36,910,558 | 37,344,787 | 2.72 | 0.474 | 11 | 40 | 434,229 | 1.18 | 50 | 95 |
Sudan | 43,849,269 | 44,909,351 | 3.27 | 0.570 | 9 | 33 | 1,060,082 | 2.42 | 30 | 34 |
Tunisia | 11,818,618 | 11,935,764 | 0.869 | 0.152 | 31 | 79 | 117,146 | 0.99 | 53 | 109 |
Western Sahara | 597,330 | 611,872 | 0.0445 | 0.00777 | 53 | 170 | 14,542 | 2.43 | 28 | 32 |
Africa | 1,340,598,113 | 1,373,486,472 | 17.44 | 32,888,359 | 2.45 |
Country/Region | 1950 | 2000 | 2050 | 2100 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Population | Rank | Population | Rank | Population | Rank | Population | Rank | |
Burundi | 2,308,927 | 29 | 6,378,871 | 31 | 25,324,770 | 27 | 50,904,072 | 25 |
Comoros | 159,459 | 52 | 542,358 | 52 | 1,471,738 | 49 | 2,186,509 | 48 |
Djibouti | 62,000 | 53 | 717,577 | 50 | 1,295,368 | 50 | 1,331,656 | 51 |
Eritrea | 822,347 | 39 | 2,292,413 | 40 | 6,005,492 | 40 | 9,061,777 | 39 |
Ethiopia | 18,128,030 | 3 | 66,224,809 | 3 | 205,410,671 | 2 | 294,392,903 | 3 |
Kenya | 6,076,757 | 9 | 31,964,557 | 7 | 91,575,092 | 6 | 125,423,855 | 10 |
Madagascar | 4,083,548 | 18 | 15,766,806 | 16 | 54,048,131 | 14 | 99,957,340 | 12 |
Malawi | 2,953,871 | 21 | 11,148,751 | 21 | 38,142,971 | 22 | 66,559,386 | 22 |
Mauritius | 493,258 | 44 | 1,185,147 | 47 | 1,185,525 | 51 | 827,303 | 53 |
Mayotte | 15,138 | 56 | 150,331 | 55 | 494,851 | 55 | 745,691 | 54 |
Mozambique | 5,958,982 | 10 | 17,711,925 | 13 | 65,312,931 | 12 | 123,646,947 | 11 |
Réunion | 248,114 | 49 | 736,714 | 49 | 1,009,875 | 52 | 901,249 | 52 |
Rwanda | 2,186,183 | 32 | 7,933,688 | 29 | 23,048,001 | 30 | 33,412,643 | 29 |
Seychelles | 36,325 | 55 | 80,998 | 57 | 104,561 | 57 | 88,327 | 57 |
Somalia | 2,264,076 | 30 | 8,872,250 | 26 | 34,922,449 | 23 | 75,716,429 | 20 |
South Sudan | 2,482,306 | 27 | 6,199,396 | 32 | 19,962,715 | 31 | 31,738,064 | 30 |
Uganda | 5,158,191 | 12 | 23,650,159 | 11 | 89,446,901 | 7 | 136,784,876 | 9 |
United Republic of Tanzania | 7,649,765 | 8 | 33,499,177 | 6 | 129,386,845 | 5 | 285,651,846 | 4 |
Zambia | 2,310,436 | 28 | 10,415,942 | 23 | 39,120,906 | 21 | 81,546,198 | 16 |
Zimbabwe | 2,746,852 | 22 | 11,881,482 | 18 | 23,947,921 | 29 | 30,965,421 | 31 |
Angola | 4,548,021 | 15 | 16,395,477 | 15 | 77,420,355 | 9 | 188,283,132 | 6 |
Cameroon | 4,307,021 | 16 | 15,513,944 | 17 | 50,573,036 | 17 | 90,225,178 | 14 |
Central African Republic | 1,326,660 | 35 | 3,640,421 | 36 | 8,400,954 | 39 | 11,631,410 | 38 |
Chad | 2,502,321 | 25 | 8,355,654 | 27 | 34,031,310 | 24 | 61,849,820 | 24 |
Congo | 827,246 | 38 | 3,127,420 | 37 | 10,701,991 | 35 | 20,961,987 | 33 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 12,183,662 | 5 | 47,105,830 | 4 | 194,488,663 | 3 | 362,031,082 | 2 |
Equatorial Guinea | 225,530 | 50 | 606,180 | 51 | 2,820,923 | 46 | 4,510,631 | 45 |
Gabon | 473,296 | 45 | 1,228,359 | 45 | 3,809,049 | 43 | 5,859,225 | 42 |
Sao Tome and Principe | 59,998 | 54 | 142,264 | 56 | 394,163 | 56 | 708,097 | 55 |
Botswana | 412,541 | 46 | 1,643,333 | 43 | 3,509,813 | 45 | 4,165,861 | 46 |
Eswatini | 272,997 | 48 | 1,005,432 | 48 | 1,704,428 | 48 | 2,145,198 | 49 |
Lesotho | 704,686 | 40 | 2,032,805 | 41 | 2,665,265 | 47 | 2,695,438 | 47 |
Namibia | 514,378 | 43 | 1,794,583 | 42 | 3,981,125 | 42 | 5,373,589 | 44 |
South Africa | 13,628,434 | 4 | 44,967,713 | 5 | 75,517,909 | 10 | 79,190,832 | 18 |
Benin | 2,255,222 | 31 | 6,865,946 | 30 | 24,280,484 | 28 | 47,208,998 | 26 |
Burkina Faso | 4,284,455 | 17 | 11,607,951 | 19 | 43,432,174 | 20 | 83,194,233 | 15 |
Cabo Verde | 178,064 | 51 | 428,178 | 53 | 679,399 | 54 | 603,949 | 56 |
Côte d'Ivoire | 2,630,131 | 23 | 16,454,660 | 14 | 51,263,670 | 16 | 96,632,721 | 13 |
Gambia | 304,895 | 47 | 1,317,708 | 44 | 4,882,099 | 41 | 8,175,553 | 40 |
Ghana | 5,036,151 | 13 | 19,278,850 | 12 | 52,016,123 | 15 | 79,011,409 | 19 |
Guinea | 3,012,938 | 20 | 8,240,735 | 28 | 25,971,807 | 26 | 45,256,876 | 27 |
Guinea-Bissau | 535,438 | 42 | 1,201,305 | 46 | 3,557,202 | 44 | 5,706,289 | 43 |
Liberia | 930,022 | 37 | 2,848,447 | 38 | 9,339,755 | 36 | 15,525,036 | 36 |
Mali | 4,708,425 | 14 | 10,946,448 | 22 | 43,585,533 | 19 | 80,382,697 | 17 |
Mauritania | 651,434 | 41 | 2,630,217 | 39 | 9,024,891 | 37 | 17,064,607 | 34 |
Niger | 2,559,706 | 24 | 11,331,561 | 20 | 65,593,043 | 11 | 164,947,337 | 7 |
Nigeria | 37,859,750 | 1 | 122,283,853 | 1 | 401,314,997 | 1 | 732,941,596 | 1 |
Saint Helena | 5,249 | 58 | 6,054 | 58 | 5,781 | 58 | 4,496 | 58 |
Senegal | 2,486,642 | 26 | 9,797,731 | 24 | 33,186,850 | 25 | 63,515,357 | 23 |
Sierra Leone | 2,041,201 | 33 | 4,584,570 | 35 | 12,944,875 | 34 | 16,675,197 | 35 |
Togo | 1,395,451 | 34 | 4,924,406 | 34 | 15,415,505 | 32 | 26,949,191 | 32 |
Algeria | 8,872,250 | 7 | 31,042,238 | 8 | 60,923,390 | 13 | 70,704,619 | 21 |
Egypt | 20,451,988 | 2 | 68,831,561 | 2 | 159,956,809 | 4 | 224,735,180 | 5 |
Libya | 1,124,519 | 36 | 5,357,893 | 33 | 8,525,412 | 38 | 8,011,540 | 41 |
Morocco | 8,985,986 | 6 | 28,793,672 | 9 | 46,165,497 | 18 | 44,707,864 | 28 |
Sudan | 5,733,789 | 11 | 27,275,019 | 10 | 81,192,821 | 8 | 142,342,356 | 8 |
Tunisia | 3,605,312 | 19 | 9,708,347 | 25 | 13,796,600 | 33 | 12,972,285 | 37 |
Western Sahara | 13,763 | 57 | 314,116 | 54 | 984,024 | 53 | 1,383,773 | 50 |