List of African countries by population

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.^[1] Africa is also the youngest continent, as 60% of Africa is 24 years of age or younger.^[2] 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.^[3]

Africa population by country^[4]

1. Nigeria (15.4%)
2. Ethiopia (8.7%)
3. Egypt (7.7%)
4. DR Congo (7.1%)
5. Tanzania (4.5%)
6. South Africa (4.3%)
7. Kenya (3.7%)

Table

	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]
-	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	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

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]
3. A disputed territory with undetermined political status.^[59] Formerly Spanish Sahara up to 1976, administration is currently split between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, both of which claim the entire territory. The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic's administrative control is limited to approximately 30% of the territory, with the remaining 70% of the territory occupied by Morocco.^[60] The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara is the United Nations peacekeeping mission to the territory (see Western Sahara conflict).