List of African countries by population

Africa is a large and diverse continent home to many people. This list shows the 54 countries in Africa sorted by how many people live in them. The numbers come from the most recent official counts or estimates, giving us a clear picture of where people live across the continent.

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa, followed by Ethiopia, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Tanzania. These countries each have millions of people, showing just how many live in different parts of Africa. The continent is growing quickly, with the number of people increasing by about 2.35% each year as of 2021.

Africa is also special because it has the youngest population in the world. About 60% of people in Africa are 24 years old or younger, meaning many families are growing and more children are being born. This list includes some areas that are not fully recognized countries, like Réunion and Western Sahara, but are still part of the African family through the African Union. Understanding these numbers helps us see how people live and grow across Africa.

Table of African countries by population

Africa is a continent with many countries, and it is growing very quickly. Right now, the population of Africa is increasing by about 2.35% every year. This means that more people are being born and moving to Africa than ever before. One interesting fact is that most people in Africa are quite young — about 60% of Africans are 24 years old or younger, making Africa the continent with the youngest population in the world.

	Country	% Africa	Population	% growth	Official figure	Official date
1	Nigeria	15.4%	227,882,945	2.12%	216,783,400	21 Mar 2022
2	Ethiopia	8.7%	128,691,692	2.64%	107,334,000	1 Jul 2023
3	Egypt	7.7%	114,535,772	1.70%	102,060,688	1 Jul 2021
4	DR Congo	7.1%	105,789,731	3.31%	95,370,000	1 Jul 2019
5	Tanzania	4.5%	66,617,606	2.95%	61,741,120	23 Aug 2022
6	South Africa	4.3%	63,212,384	1.34%	59,604,992	1 Jul 2022
7	Kenya	3.7%	55,339,003	2.00%	51,526,000	1 Jan 2023
8	Sudan	3.4%	50,042,791	1.34%	41,984,500	1 Jul 2018
9	Uganda	3.3%	48,656,601	2.84%	45,905,417	1 May 2024
10	Algeria	3.1%	46,164,219	1.51%	46,300,000	1 Jan 2023
11	Morocco	2.5%	37,712,505	1.03%	36,828,330	1 Sep 2024
12	Angola	2.5%	36,749,906	3.13%	38,778,554	1 Jan 2026
13	Ghana	2.3%	33,787,914	1.93%	30,832,019	27 Jun 2021
14	Mozambique	2.3%	33,635,160	3.00%	33,244,414	1 Mar 2024
15	Madagascar	2.1%	31,195,932	2.49%	27,190,927	1 Jun 2020
16	Ivory Coast	2.1%	31,165,654	2.54%	29,389,150	14 Dec 2021
17	Cameroon	1.9%	28,372,687	2.68%	24,348,251	Jul 1 2019
18	Niger	1.9%	26,159,867	3.35%	23,196,000	1 Jul 2020
19	Mali	1.8%	23,769,127	3.02%	14,528,662	4 May 2024
20	Burkina Faso	1.6%	23,025,776	2.30%	20,505,155	16 Nov 2019
21	Malawi	1.4%	21,104,482	2.60%	19,809,511	3 Sep 2023
22	Zambia	1.4%	20,723,965	2.83%	19,610,769	14 Sep 2022
23	Chad	1.3%	19,319,064	4.68%	15,775,400	1 Jul 2019
24	Somalia	1.2%	18,358,615	3.13%	12,316,895	4 May 2024
25	Senegal	1.2%	18,077,573	2.42%	18,275,743	1 Jul 2023
26	Zimbabwe	1.1%	16,340,822	1.69%	15,178,979	20 Apr 2022
27	Guinea	1.0%	14,405,465	2.49%	13,261,638	Jul 1 2022
28	Benin	1.0%	14,111,034	2.55%	12,606,998	1 Jul 2023
29	Rwanda	1.0%	13,954,471	2.22%	13,246,394	15 Aug 2022
30	Burundi	0.9%	13,689,450	2.77%	13,097,400	1 Jul 2023
31	Tunisia	0.9%	12,200,431	0.68%	11,803,588	1 Jan 2022
32	South Sudan	0.8%	11,483,374	4.19%	13,249,924	1 Jul 2020
33	Togo	0.6%	9,304,337	2.36%	8,095,498	8 Nov 2022
34	Sierra Leone	0.6%	8,460,512	2.22%	7,541,641	9 Dec 2021
35	Libya	0.5%	7,305,659	1.13%	6,931,061	1 Jan 2020
36	Republic of the Congo	0.4%	6,182,885	2.45%	3,697,490	4 May 2024
37	Liberia	0.4%	5,493,031	2.23%	4,844,381	1 Jul 2023
38	Central African Republic	0.4%	5,152,421	1.07%	6,091,097	1 Mar 2021
39	Mauritania	0.3%	5,022,441	3.01%	4,352,037	1 Jul 2022
40	Eritrea	0.3%	3,470,390	1.79%	3,815,900	1 Jul 2012
41	Namibia	0.2%	2,963,095	2.54%	2,641,857	1 Jul 2023
42	Gambia	0.2%	2,697,845	2.33%	2,417,471	1 Jul 2022
43	Gabon	0.2%	2,484,789	2.22%	2,349,099	1 Jul 2023
44	Botswana	0.2%	2,480,244	1.65%	2,346,179	18 Mar 2022
45	Lesotho	0.2%	2,311,472	1.11%	2,103,600	1 Jul 2023
46	Guinea-Bissau	0.1%	2,153,339	2.27%	1,781,308	1 Jul 2023
47	Equatorial Guinea	0.1%	1,847,549	2.44%	1,558,160	1 Jul 2022
48	Mauritius	0.1%	1,273,588	-0.20%	1,261,196	31 Dec 2022
49	Eswatini	0.1%	1,230,506	0.95%	1,223,362	1 Jul 2023
50	Djibouti	0.1%	1,152,944	1.39%	1,001,454	1 Jul 2021
-	Réunion	0.1%	896,175		896,175	10 Jan 2024
51	Comoros	0.1%	850,387	1.94%	758,316	15 Dec 2017
-	Western Sahara (disputed)	0.04%	579,729	1.93%	579,000	1 Jul 2020
52	Cape Verde	0.04%	522,331	0.50%	483,628	16 Jun 2021
53	São Tomé and Príncipe	0.02%	230,871	2.02%	210,200	13 May 2020
54	Seychelles	0.01%	127,951	1.94%	100,447	22 Apr 2022
	Total	100%	1,480,770,525	2.34%	1,332,291,870