Population of Africa

Source	UN (World Population Prospects 2024)
Date	22 Sep 2024

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The current population of Africa is 1,541,833,144 as of October 09, 2024, based on interpolation of the latest United Nations data. The population of Africa is projected at 1,515,140,849, or 1.52 billion, or 1,515 million, as of July 1, 2024. The total population in Africa is projected at 1,480,770,525, or 1.48 billion, or 1,481 million, for the year 2023. Africa crossed one billion milestones in 2007 and will have close to 4 billion people by the end of the century, as per projection.

Africa has been the second-most populous continent behind Asia since 1995, after overtaking Europe. Africa's share of the world population increased from 9.1 percent in 1950 to the current estimate of 18.56 percent in 2024 and is projected to reach nearly 37.46 percent in 2100.

The Eastern Africa region forms the single largest population block in Africa, followed by the Western Africa region. Eastern Africa accounts for about a third of Africa's population, while the Western Africa region accounts for 30% of Africa. These two regions together account for 63% of the continent's population. Eighteen percent of the African population lives in Northern Africa, 14 percent in Middle Africa, and 4.8 percent in Southern Africa.

Africa has been the fastest-growing continent by population since the year 1972. The continent's annual population growth rate is very high, at 2.30 percent in 2024, and is projected to remain above 2 percent until 2032. The population growth peaked in 1981, with an annual growth rate of 3.04%. Middle Africa is the fastest-growing subregion in Africa, with a growth rate of above 3 percent, followed by Eastern Africa and Western Africa. Southern Africa and Northern Africa are the two regions that have a growth rate below 2%. The population of Africa has increased by 580% since 1950, which is 288% more than the 2nd highest figure in South America at 292%.

Africa will add 34.45 million people in 2024, which is near the population of the 46th-ranked Ghana. The net increase in the per year is projected to peak in 2041, with almost 37.36 million.

Population
Growth rate
Annual Change

Population
Growth rate
Share (%)

African subregions by population
Rank	Subregion	Population				Share (%)		Growth (2024)
		2023		2024		Africa	World	Net change	rate (%)
		1 Jan	1 July	1 Jan	1 July	Africa	World	Net change	rate (%)
1	Eastern Africa	481,376,957	487,857,331	494,337,705	500,703,846	33.05	6.135	12,732,282	2.58
2	Western Africa	440,952,989	446,044,485	451,135,981	456,251,329	30.11	5.590	10,230,695	2.27
3	Northern Africa	266,888,866	268,541,105	270,193,344	272,131,339	17.96	3.334	3,875,989	1.43
4	Middle Africa	202,700,272	206,129,903	209,559,534	212,915,636	14.05	2.609	6,712,203	3.20
5	Southern Africa	71,708,059	72,197,701	72,687,343	73,138,701	4.83	0.896	902,715	1.24
	Africa	1,463,627,143	1,480,770,525	1,497,913,907	1,515,140,849		18.563	34,453,884	2.30

African subregions by population (historical and projection)
Continent	Population				Growth rate (%) against 2024
Continent	1950	2000	2050	2100	1950	2000	2050	2100
Eastern Africa	65,735,637	259,491,404	855,453,353	1,382,604,934	679.73	98.14	67.35	173.25
Western Africa	70,442,149	242,586,127	734,831,108	1,069,781,674	561.26	92.84	58.16	132.12
Northern Africa	50,045,357	175,569,257	373,025,622	462,424,933	454.15	57.58	35.49	68.77
Middle Africa	26,735,290	99,234,666	411,712,069	790,422,667	715.84	121.50	88.39	266.65
Southern Africa	14,817,986	53,701,075	91,625,466	108,649,394	401.60	37.65	24.11	47.78
Africa	227,776,419	830,582,528	2,466,647,618	3,813,883,603	579.72	86.83	59.78	149.33

Africa population estimates
Year	Population		Growth		Share (%)
Year	1 Jan	1 July	Net Change	rate (%)	to World
1950	225,440,040	227,776,419	4,672,758	2.052	9.14
1951	230,112,798	232,556,968	4,888,341	2.102	9.17
1952	235,001,139	237,539,541	5,076,803	2.137	9.19
1953	240,077,942	242,685,076	5,214,268	2.149	9.21
1954	245,292,210	248,005,823	5,427,226	2.188	9.23
1955	250,719,436	253,537,855	5,636,838	2.223	9.25
1956	256,356,274	259,271,440	5,830,332	2.249	9.27
1957	262,186,606	265,128,661	5,884,110	2.219	9.29
1958	268,070,716	271,041,740	5,942,048	2.192	9.31
1959	274,012,764	277,271,604	6,517,679	2.351	9.35
1960	280,530,443	283,921,952	6,783,017	2.389	9.42
1961	287,313,460	290,813,744	7,000,568	2.407	9.49
1962	294,314,028	297,959,639	7,291,221	2.447	9.54
1963	301,605,249	305,371,051	7,531,604	2.467	9.56
1964	309,136,853	313,060,399	7,847,091	2.507	9.59
1965	316,983,944	321,013,247	8,058,607	2.510	9.63
1966	325,042,551	329,251,994	8,418,887	2.557	9.67
1967	333,461,438	337,850,716	8,778,557	2.599	9.73
1968	342,239,995	346,800,639	9,121,288	2.630	9.78
1969	351,361,283	356,032,264	9,341,962	2.624	9.84
1970	360,703,245	365,551,873	9,697,257	2.653	9.89
1971	370,400,502	375,326,100	9,851,196	2.625	9.96
1972	380,251,698	385,311,882	10,120,368	2.627	10.02
1973	390,372,066	395,821,652	10,899,172	2.754	10.10
1974	401,271,238	406,869,985	11,197,494	2.752	10.18
1975	412,468,732	418,433,159	11,928,854	2.851	10.28
1976	424,397,586	430,496,635	12,198,099	2.834	10.39
1977	436,595,685	442,660,131	12,128,892	2.740	10.49
1978	448,724,577	455,538,930	13,628,706	2.992	10.61
1979	462,353,283	469,198,168	13,689,770	2.918	10.74
1980	476,043,053	483,051,384	14,016,662	2.902	10.86
1981	490,059,715	497,620,643	15,121,856	3.039	10.99
1982	505,181,571	512,958,548	15,553,955	3.032	11.12
1983	520,735,526	528,232,416	14,993,779	2.839	11.25
1984	535,729,305	543,637,770	15,816,931	2.910	11.37
1985	551,546,236	559,663,770	16,235,068	2.901	11.49
1986	567,781,304	575,966,999	16,371,390	2.843	11.62
1987	584,152,694	592,601,037	16,896,685	2.851	11.74
1988	601,049,379	609,387,389	16,676,019	2.737	11.85
1989	617,725,398	626,358,877	17,266,958	2.757	11.97
1990	634,992,356	643,775,030	17,565,348	2.729	12.08
1991	652,557,704	661,103,505	17,091,601	2.585	12.20
1992	669,649,305	678,557,814	17,817,017	2.626	12.32
1993	687,466,322	696,621,488	18,310,332	2.629	12.46
1994	705,776,654	714,502,387	17,451,467	2.443	12.59
1995	723,228,121	732,695,155	18,934,068	2.584	12.72
1996	742,162,189	751,473,481	18,622,585	2.478	12.86
1997	760,784,774	770,384,405	19,199,263	2.492	13.00
1998	779,984,037	789,981,450	19,994,826	2.531	13.15
1999	799,978,863	810,079,556	20,201,385	2.494	13.30
2000	820,180,248	830,582,528	20,804,560	2.505	13.46
2001	840,984,808	851,690,088	21,410,559	2.514	13.62
2002	862,395,367	873,411,061	22,031,389	2.523	13.78
2003	884,426,756	895,734,228	22,614,944	2.525	13.95
2004	907,041,700	918,778,218	23,473,037	2.555	14.13
2005	930,514,737	942,546,382	24,063,290	2.553	14.31
2006	954,578,027	966,932,145	24,708,237	2.555	14.49
2007	979,286,264	992,055,599	25,538,670	2.574	14.68
2008	1,004,824,934	1,018,065,282	26,480,697	2.601	14.87
2009	1,031,305,631	1,044,777,532	26,943,803	2.579	15.07
2010	1,058,249,434	1,072,216,495	27,934,123	2.605	15.27
2011	1,086,183,557	1,100,148,602	27,930,089	2.539	15.47
2012	1,114,113,646	1,128,843,454	29,459,615	2.610	15.68
2013	1,143,573,261	1,158,780,294	30,414,066	2.625	15.89
2014	1,173,987,327	1,189,220,339	30,466,024	2.562	16.11
2015	1,204,453,351	1,220,075,495	31,244,288	2.561	16.33
2016	1,235,697,639	1,251,208,463	31,021,648	2.479	16.55
2017	1,266,719,287	1,282,902,114	32,365,655	2.523	16.78
2018	1,299,084,942	1,315,409,766	32,649,649	2.482	17.02
2019	1,331,734,591	1,348,005,492	32,541,803	2.414	17.26
2020	1,364,276,394	1,380,821,170	33,089,551	2.396	17.51
2021	1,397,365,945	1,413,753,052	32,774,214	2.318	17.77
2022	1,430,140,159	1,446,883,651	33,486,984	2.315	18.04
2023	1,463,627,143	1,480,770,525	34,286,764	2.316	18.30

Africa population projections
Year	Population		Growth		Share (%)
Year	1 Jan	1 July	Net Change	rate (%)	to World
2024	1,497,913,907	1,515,140,849	34,453,884	2.274	18.56
2025	1,532,367,791	1,549,867,579	34,999,576	2.258	18.83
2026	1,567,367,367	1,584,985,259	35,235,784	2.223	19.09
2027	1,602,603,151	1,620,262,069	35,317,836	2.180	19.36
2028	1,637,920,987	1,655,677,485	35,512,995	2.145	19.62
2029	1,673,433,982	1,691,327,029	35,786,095	2.116	19.89
2030	1,709,220,077	1,727,213,466	35,986,778	2.084	20.16
2031	1,745,206,855	1,763,341,330	36,268,951	2.057	20.42
2032	1,781,475,806	1,799,677,857	36,404,103	2.023	20.69
2033	1,817,879,909	1,836,165,164	36,570,510	1.992	20.96
2034	1,854,450,419	1,872,848,566	36,796,294	1.965	21.23
2035	1,891,246,713	1,909,745,188	36,996,951	1.937	21.49
2036	1,928,243,664	1,946,779,565	37,071,801	1.904	21.76
2037	1,965,315,465	1,983,888,830	37,146,730	1.872	22.03
2038	2,002,462,195	2,021,068,887	37,213,384	1.841	22.30
2039	2,039,675,579	2,058,325,999	37,300,840	1.812	22.57
2040	2,076,976,419	2,095,653,385	37,353,932	1.782	22.84
2041	2,114,330,351	2,133,011,264	37,361,826	1.752	23.10
2042	2,151,692,177	2,170,362,489	37,340,624	1.721	23.37
2043	2,189,032,801	2,207,713,442	37,361,281	1.692	23.64
2044	2,226,394,082	2,245,033,359	37,278,554	1.661	23.91
2045	2,263,672,636	2,282,241,718	37,138,164	1.627	24.18
2046	2,300,810,800	2,319,336,205	37,050,810	1.598	24.45
2047	2,337,861,610	2,356,367,847	37,012,474	1.571	24.71
2048	2,374,874,084	2,393,301,289	36,854,411	1.540	24.98
2049	2,411,728,495	2,430,064,258	36,671,526	1.509	25.25
2050	2,448,400,021	2,466,647,618	36,495,194	1.480	25.52
2051	2,484,895,215	2,503,122,519	36,454,609	1.456	25.79
2052	2,521,349,824	2,539,451,377	36,203,106	1.426	26.07
2053	2,557,552,930	2,575,522,782	35,939,703	1.395	26.34
2054	2,593,492,633	2,611,380,458	35,775,650	1.370	26.61
2055	2,629,268,283	2,647,051,974	35,567,382	1.344	26.88
2056	2,664,835,665	2,682,482,476	35,293,622	1.316	27.16
2057	2,700,129,287	2,717,607,367	34,956,159	1.286	27.43
2058	2,735,085,446	2,752,440,400	34,709,908	1.261	27.70
2059	2,769,795,354	2,787,096,127	34,601,547	1.242	27.97
2060	2,804,396,901	2,821,497,089	34,200,376	1.212	28.25
2061	2,838,597,277	2,855,583,532	33,972,509	1.190	28.52
2062	2,872,569,786	2,889,314,504	33,489,437	1.159	28.79
2063	2,906,059,223	2,922,620,947	33,123,448	1.133	29.05
2064	2,939,182,671	2,955,590,716	32,816,090	1.110	29.32
2065	2,971,998,761	2,988,210,863	32,424,205	1.085	29.58
2066	3,004,422,966	3,020,431,499	32,017,067	1.060	29.84
2067	3,036,440,033	3,052,276,105	31,672,144	1.038	30.10
2068	3,068,112,177	3,083,691,197	31,158,040	1.010	30.36
2069	3,099,270,217	3,114,659,621	30,778,807	0.988	30.61
2070	3,130,049,024	3,145,215,299	30,332,549	0.964	30.87
2071	3,160,381,573	3,175,353,103	29,943,060	0.943	31.12
2072	3,190,324,633	3,205,068,473	29,487,681	0.920	31.37
2073	3,219,812,314	3,234,288,652	28,952,677	0.895	31.62
2074	3,248,764,991	3,263,034,380	28,538,779	0.875	31.86
2075	3,277,303,770	3,291,312,265	28,016,989	0.851	32.11
2076	3,305,320,759	3,319,032,005	27,422,492	0.826	32.35
2077	3,332,743,251	3,346,261,902	27,037,302	0.808	32.59
2078	3,359,780,553	3,373,019,604	26,478,101	0.785	32.83
2079	3,386,258,654	3,399,165,518	25,813,728	0.759	33.07
2080	3,412,072,382	3,424,700,645	25,256,526	0.737	33.30
2081	3,437,328,908	3,449,654,771	24,651,725	0.715	33.54
2082	3,461,980,633	3,474,067,601	24,173,937	0.696	33.77
2083	3,486,154,570	3,497,973,774	23,638,407	0.676	34.00
2084	3,509,792,977	3,521,288,019	22,990,085	0.653	34.22
2085	3,532,783,062	3,544,047,838	22,529,552	0.636	34.45
2086	3,555,312,614	3,566,322,712	22,020,195	0.617	34.67
2087	3,577,332,809	3,587,962,922	21,260,227	0.593	34.89
2088	3,598,593,036	3,608,879,968	20,573,864	0.570	35.10
2089	3,619,166,900	3,629,227,530	20,121,259	0.554	35.32
2090	3,639,288,159	3,649,045,629	19,514,941	0.535	35.53
2091	3,658,803,100	3,668,203,742	18,801,283	0.513	35.73
2092	3,677,604,383	3,686,701,893	18,195,019	0.494	35.93
2093	3,695,799,402	3,704,607,591	17,616,378	0.476	36.13
2094	3,713,415,780	3,721,931,319	17,031,077	0.458	36.33
2095	3,730,446,857	3,738,661,364	16,429,014	0.439	36.53
2096	3,746,875,871	3,754,852,618	15,953,495	0.425	36.72
2097	3,762,829,366	3,770,482,449	15,306,166	0.406	36.91
2098	3,778,135,532	3,785,518,323	14,765,583	0.390	37.10
2099	3,792,901,115	3,799,971,486	14,140,742	0.372	37.28
2100	3,807,041,857	3,813,883,603	13,683,492	0.359	37.46