List of African countries by population

Source	UN (World Population Prospects 2024)
Date	14 Oct 2026

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, followed by Ethiopia, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo). Each of these four countries has over 100 million people, together accounting for 39% of the region's total. The top ten countries collectively account for 61% of the African population. As of 2026, 32 countries have more than 10 million inhabitants. Seychelles is the least populous country, while Saint Helena is the smallest territory by population. Eight African countries and dependent territories have fewer than one million inhabitants.

Africa is home to two of the world's ten most populous countries: Nigeria, ranked 6th, and Ethiopia, ranked 10th. In total, 16 African countries rank among the world's 50 most populous countries.

Of the 58 countries and territories in Africa, only two are projected to experience a population decline in 2026. Nigeria is expected to contribute the most to the region's population increase, adding 4.93 million people, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) with 3.65 million and Ethiopia with 3.45 million. Ten countries are projected to add at least one million people each in 2026.

The Central African Republic is projected to record Africa's highest population growth rate in 2026, at 3.28%. Six countries are expected to grow by more than 3%, while 35 are projected to exceed 2%. Eight African countries rank among the world's ten fastest-growing nations in 2026. Saint Helena is projected to have the lowest growth rate, at −1.15%, followed by Mauritius at −0.27%.

In 2000, Nigeria was the only African country with more than 100 million people. By 2026, this number had risen to four countries and is projected to reach 11 by 2100.

DR Congo, currently ranked fourth in Africa, is projected to become the continent's second-most populous country by 2100. Tanzania, currently in fifth place, is projected to rise to fourth. South Africa, which ranked fourth in 1950, is projected to fall to 12th place by 2100.

Since 1950, the populations of five African countries have each increased by more than 1,000%. Except for Saint Helena, whose population has declined, all African countries and territories have more than doubled in population.

In 1950, Western Sahara was the least populous country or territory in Africa. Seychelles is projected to remain the continent's least populous country through 2100.

Population (UN)

Code	Country/Region	Population		Share (%)		Rank		Growth (2026)		Growth Rank
Code	Country/Region	2025	2026	Africa	World	Africa	World	Net	%	Africa	World
BDI	Burundi	14,390,003	14,729,157	0.929	0.177	30	78	339,646	2.31	23	28
COM	Comoros	882,847	899,010	0.0567	0.0108	51	163	16,128	1.79	41	52
DJI	Djibouti	1,184,076	1,199,459	0.0757	0.0145	50	161	15,757	1.31	47	79
ERI	Eritrea	3,607,003	3,682,669	0.232	0.0444	40	132	76,178	2.07	32	40
ETH	Ethiopia	135,472,051	138,902,185	8.76	1.67	2	10	3,445,190	2.48	17	22
KEN	Kenya	57,532,493	58,636,412	3.70	0.706	7	26	1,105,643	1.89	38	48
MDG	Madagascar	32,740,678	33,522,052	2.11	0.404	15	49	784,435	2.34	20	25
MWI	Malawi	22,216,120	22,785,535	1.44	0.275	21	62	575,472	2.53	15	20
MUS	Mauritius	1,268,280	1,265,059	0.0798	0.0152	49	160	-3,359	-0.27	57	194
MYT	Mayotte	337,011	347,536	0.0219	0.00419	55	181	10,546	3.04	5	6
MOZ	Mozambique	35,631,653	36,639,851	2.31	0.441	13	44	1,020,765	2.79	10	12
REU	Réunion	882,405	886,298	0.0559	0.0107	52	164	3,986	0.45	55	138
RWA	Rwanda	14,569,341	14,889,693	0.939	0.179	29	77	315,596	2.12	30	38
SYC	Seychelles	132,779	134,959	0.00851	0.00163	57	194	2,064	1.53	45	68
SOM	Somalia	19,654,739	20,305,907	1.28	0.245	24	66	657,810	3.24	2	2
SSD	South Sudan	12,188,788	12,436,037	0.785	0.150	31	80	250,850	2.02	35	44
UGA	Uganda	51,384,894	52,761,469	3.33	0.636	9	30	1,379,547	2.62	13	17
TZA	United Republic of Tanzania	70,545,865	72,563,780	4.58	0.874	5	20	2,028,311	2.79	9	11
ZMB	Zambia	21,913,874	22,521,915	1.42	0.271	22	63	613,061	2.72	11	14
ZWE	Zimbabwe	16,950,795	17,273,580	1.09	0.208	26	74	324,702	1.88	40	50
AGO	Angola	39,040,039	40,215,179	2.54	0.484	11	39	1,187,891	2.95	7	8
CMR	Cameroon	29,879,337	30,640,817	1.93	0.369	17	51	764,177	2.49	16	21
CAF	Central African Republic	5,513,282	5,698,984	0.360	0.0687	38	118	187,100	3.28	1	1
TCD	Chad	21,003,705	21,560,380	1.36	0.260	23	64	561,544	2.60	14	18
COG	Congo	6,484,437	6,637,785	0.419	0.0800	36	112	154,411	2.33	21	26
COD	Democratic Republic of the Congo	112,832,473	116,452,162	7.35	1.40	4	15	3,647,187	3.13	4	4
GNQ	Equatorial Guinea	1,938,431	1,984,468	0.125	0.0239	47	150	46,042	2.32	22	27
GAB	Gabon	2,593,130	2,647,399	0.167	0.0319	43	145	54,363	2.05	33	41
STP	Sao Tome and Principe	240,254	244,994	0.0155	0.00295	56	188	4,747	1.94	37	46
DZA	Algeria	47,435,312	48,028,334	3.03	0.579	10	32	578,461	1.20	48	83
EGY	Egypt	118,365,995	120,101,175	7.58	1.45	3	13	1,734,585	1.44	46	71
LBY	Libya	7,458,555	7,539,851	0.476	0.0908	35	105	84,497	1.12	49	87
MAR	Morocco	38,430,770	38,762,441	2.45	0.467	12	41	323,926	0.84	53	109
SDN	Sudan	51,662,147	53,282,719	3.36	0.642	8	29	1,615,551	3.03	6	7
TUN	Tunisia	12,348,573	12,415,138	0.783	0.150	32	81	63,901	0.52	54	133
ESH	Western Sahara	600,904	610,813	0.0385	0.00736	53	172	9,670	1.58	44	67
BWA	Botswana	2,562,122	2,603,388	0.164	0.0314	44	146	41,740	1.60	43	64
SWZ	Eswatini	1,256,174	1,269,859	0.0801	0.0153	48	159	13,695	1.08	51	95
LSO	Lesotho	2,363,325	2,389,336	0.151	0.0288	45	147	26,168	1.09	50	92
NAM	Namibia	3,092,816	3,153,246	0.199	0.0380	41	137	59,444	1.89	39	49
ZAF	South Africa	64,747,319	65,453,084	4.13	0.789	6	24	689,869	1.05	52	96
BEN	Benin	14,814,460	15,170,419	0.957	0.183	28	76	358,091	2.36	18	23
BFA	Burkina Faso	24,074,580	24,601,700	1.55	0.296	20	59	528,372	2.15	27	34
CPV	Cabo Verde	527,326	529,630	0.0334	0.00638	54	175	2,237	0.42	56	143
CIV	Côte d'Ivoire	32,711,547	33,494,346	2.11	0.404	16	50	783,850	2.34	19	24
GMB	Gambia	2,822,093	2,884,079	0.182	0.0347	42	141	61,927	2.15	28	35
GHA	Ghana	35,064,272	35,697,557	2.25	0.430	14	46	630,764	1.77	42	53
GIN	Guinea	15,099,727	15,441,993	0.974	0.186	27	75	341,137	2.21	25	31
GNB	Guinea-Bissau	2,249,515	2,297,808	0.145	0.0277	46	148	48,188	2.10	31	39
LBR	Liberia	5,731,206	5,853,949	0.369	0.0705	37	117	127,558	2.18	26	32
MLI	Mali	25,198,821	25,932,275	1.64	0.312	19	58	738,954	2.85	8	9
MRT	Mauritania	5,315,065	5,461,319	0.345	0.0658	39	123	146,920	2.69	12	16
NER	Niger	27,917,831	28,814,878	1.82	0.347	18	53	903,204	3.13	3	3
NGA	Nigeria	237,527,782	242,431,832	15.3	2.92	1	6	4,928,166	2.03	34	43
SHN	Saint Helena	5,197	5,147	0.00032	0.00006	58	232	-59	-1.15	58	231
SEN	Senegal	18,931,966	19,366,548	1.22	0.233	25	68	437,020	2.26	24	30
SLE	Sierra Leone	8,819,794	8,996,745	0.568	0.108	34	101	176,593	1.96	36	45
TGO	Togo	9,721,608	9,930,918	0.627	0.120	33	95	211,565	2.13	29	36
	Africa	1,549,867,579	1,584,985,259		19.09			35,235,784	2.22

Estimated and Projected population (UN)

Code	Country/Region	1950		2000		2050		2100
Code	Country/Region	Population	Rank	Population	Rank	Population	Rank	Population	Rank
BDI	Burundi	2,254,938	29	6,470,194	31	24,131,720	28	37,873,961	27
COM	Comoros	161,938	52	536,080	52	1,307,558	50	1,911,034	48
DJI	Djibouti	62,331	53	747,318	50	1,530,540	48	1,841,534	49
ERI	Eritrea	814,866	39	2,247,031	40	5,696,062	40	8,444,381	40
ETH	Ethiopia	17,670,412	3	67,411,494	3	225,021,875	2	367,289,596	3
KEN	Kenya	5,769,185	11	30,642,890	8	83,593,239	8	104,195,500	10
MDG	Madagascar	3,956,073	18	16,516,338	15	53,185,475	14	85,341,148	15
MWI	Malawi	2,950,300	21	11,315,942	22	37,361,683	22	59,141,258	22
MUS	Mauritius	525,558	43	1,216,629	47	1,107,197	51	581,716	54
MYT	Mayotte	20,526	56	156,492	55	645,426	54	1,375,551	50
MOZ	Mozambique	5,910,225	10	18,129,653	13	63,530,952	11	104,346,534	9
REU	Réunion	249,214	49	763,140	49	941,413	52	852,214	52
RWA	Rwanda	2,157,097	32	8,213,931	29	22,707,910	30	32,779,346	29
SYC	Seychelles	38,284	55	83,318	57	141,746	57	115,963	57
SOM	Somalia	2,213,131	31	8,838,713	26	37,206,512	24	67,364,024	19
SSD	South Sudan	2,493,283	27	6,032,267	32	18,341,974	31	23,840,772	32
UGA	Uganda	5,750,913	12	24,000,150	11	85,431,202	6	120,835,192	8
TZA	United Republic of Tanzania	7,625,155	8	34,260,139	6	129,621,102	5	262,834,721	4
ZMB	Zambia	2,321,302	28	10,017,631	23	38,083,385	21	64,473,916	21
ZWE	Zimbabwe	2,790,905	22	11,892,055	19	25,866,385	26	37,166,572	28
AGO	Angola	4,551,869	15	16,194,869	16	74,295,394	10	150,045,574	6
CMR	Cameroon	4,330,084	16	14,912,631	17	51,096,317	16	88,875,688	14
CAF	Central African Republic	1,438,057	34	3,833,416	36	10,616,753	36	18,779,149	34
TCD	Chad	2,525,454	26	8,512,093	27	38,857,686	20	69,546,607	17
COG	Congo	835,261	38	3,151,345	37	11,006,471	35	20,025,644	33
COD	Democratic Republic of the Congo	12,294,287	5	50,507,442	4	218,246,072	3	430,709,445	2
GNQ	Equatorial Guinea	226,563	50	703,279	51	3,143,728	46	5,003,223	44
GAB	Gabon	472,842	45	1,275,572	45	4,084,533	43	6,903,323	41
STP	Sao Tome and Principe	60,874	54	144,018	56	365,115	56	534,014	55
DZA	Algeria	9,018,426	6	30,903,893	7	59,565,554	12	64,487,527	20
EGY	Egypt	21,148,164	2	73,083,284	2	161,630,192	4	201,895,184	5
LBY	Libya	1,131,460	36	5,305,021	33	9,260,605	38	9,783,568	39
MAR	Morocco	8,935,450	7	28,423,435	9	43,440,431	19	37,884,370	26
SDN	Sudan	6,189,910	9	27,816,745	10	85,206,383	7	136,890,755	7
TUN	Tunisia	3,608,985	19	9,764,935	25	13,145,141	33	10,652,235	38
ESH	Western Sahara	12,960	57	271,943	54	777,316	53	831,293	53
BWA	Botswana	413,697	46	1,677,382	43	3,437,430	45	3,836,825	46
SWZ	Eswatini	271,655	48	1,041,414	48	1,505,331	49	1,340,879	51
LSO	Lesotho	579,551	41	2,003,913	41	2,993,077	47	3,259,299	47
NAM	Namibia	514,591	44	1,818,647	42	4,512,301	41	5,897,944	42
ZAF	South Africa	13,038,491	4	47,159,719	5	79,177,328	9	94,314,448	12
BEN	Benin	2,250,476	30	7,221,619	30	24,433,809	27	39,587,568	25
BFA	Burkina Faso	4,213,152	17	11,925,546	18	37,304,383	23	49,854,228	23
CPV	Cabo Verde	184,972	51	453,317	53	566,134	55	416,940	56
CIV	Côte d'Ivoire	2,735,180	23	17,699,004	14	55,746,985	13	104,042,819	11
GMB	Gambia	306,736	47	1,455,084	44	4,301,895	42	5,703,042	43
GHA	Ghana	5,080,664	13	19,637,087	12	50,553,047	17	67,547,746	18
GIN	Guinea	3,013,177	20	8,428,832	28	23,404,584	29	32,007,047	30
GNB	Guinea-Bissau	543,627	42	1,234,741	46	3,438,608	44	4,665,484	45
LBR	Liberia	918,902	37	2,928,117	38	8,910,530	39	12,665,395	37
MLI	Mali	4,696,911	14	11,559,290	20	46,154,079	18	79,354,048	16
MRT	Mauritania	657,715	40	2,613,441	39	9,415,598	37	17,118,469	35
NER	Niger	2,597,810	24	11,509,630	21	52,513,876	15	90,819,274	13
NGA	Nigeria	37,283,010	1	126,382,494	1	359,185,556	1	476,747,781	1
SHN	Saint Helena	5,224	58	6,016	58	3,968	58	2,635	58
SEN	Senegal	2,555,369	25	9,968,260	24	30,364,954	25	47,014,186	24
SLE	Sierra Leone	1,999,623	33	4,423,611	35	12,948,325	34	15,934,256	36
TGO	Togo	1,399,600	35	5,140,037	34	15,584,778	32	26,300,754	31
	Africa	227,776,419		830,582,528		2,466,647,618		3,813,883,603