Population of Africa

Current population of Africa

1,585,633,554

Live estimate, extrapolated from the latest official figures

Births today: 27,197
Deaths today: 6,715
Change today (UTC): +20,017

Continental figures are sums of the member countries' official statistics — see methodology.

Population: 1,546,877,498; sum of 2025 estimates
World share: 18.8%
Countries & territories: 54
Annual growth: +2.27%; population-weighted
Land area: 29,664,234 km²
Density: 52 /km²

Africa population: overview

Africa is home to about 1.55 billion people (2025 estimates) — 18.8% of the world's population of 8.22 billion — spread across 54 countries and territories. The figure is the sum of each member's latest official population estimate.

Nigeria dominates the continent's demography with 237,527,782 people; the three largest — Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt — together account for about 32% of Africa's population.

Africa is the world's demographic engine right now, growing about 2.27% per year. Beneath the total, trajectories diverge: 1 of its 54 members are currently losing population.

Across 29,664,234 km² of land, average density works out to about 52 people per km² — though the continent-wide average hides enormous internal contrasts between dense population belts and near-empty interiors.

Africa population, 1960–2025

Sum of member countries reporting data in each year (World Bank series; Taiwan from UN WPP 2024).

Countries in Africa by population

Countries and territories in Africa ranked by population
#	Country	Population	Yearly change	World rank
1	Nigeria	237,527,782	+2.06%	6
2	Ethiopia	135,472,051	+2.55%	10
3	Egypt	118,365,995	+1.56%	13
4	DR Congo	112,832,473	+3.20%	15
5	Tanzania	70,545,865	+2.86%	21
6	South Africa	64,747,319	+1.15%	24
7	Kenya	57,532,493	+1.93%	26
8	Sudan	51,662,147	+2.38%	30
9	Uganda	51,384,894	+2.70%	31
10	Algeria	47,435,312	+1.32%	33
11	Angola	39,040,039	+3.00%	39
12	Morocco	38,430,770	+0.91%	41
13	Mozambique	35,631,653	+2.85%	46
14	Ghana	35,064,272	+1.83%	47
15	Madagascar	32,740,678	+2.40%	49
16	Ivory Coast	32,711,547	+2.41%	50
17	Cameroon	29,879,337	+2.56%	51
18	Niger	27,917,831	+3.22%	54
19	Mali	25,198,821	+2.90%	58
20	Burkina Faso	24,074,580	+2.21%	59
21	Malawi	22,216,120	+2.56%	61
22	Zambia	21,913,874	+2.77%	62
23	Chad	21,003,705	+3.41%	64
24	Somalia	19,654,739	+3.34%	67
25	Senegal	18,931,966	+2.30%	69
26	Zimbabwe	16,950,795	+1.88%	74
27	Guinea	15,099,727	+2.31%	75
28	Benin	14,814,460	+2.40%	76
29	Rwanda	14,569,341	+2.17%	77
30	Burundi	14,390,003	+2.41%	78
31	Tunisia	12,348,573	+0.58%	80
32	South Sudan	12,188,788	+2.03%	81
33	Sierra Leone	8,819,794	+2.04%	101
34	Togo	8,591,626	+2.18%	102
35	Libya	7,458,555	+1.04%	106
36	Republic of the Congo	6,484,437	+2.36%	111
37	Liberia	5,731,206	+2.09%	117
38	Central African Republic	5,513,282	+3.37%	120
39	Mauritania	5,315,065	+2.78%	126
40	Eritrea	3,607,003	+2.00%	132
41	Namibia	3,092,816	+2.05%	137
42	Gambia	2,822,093	+2.23%	142
43	Gabon	2,593,130	+2.11%	143
44	Botswana	2,562,122	+1.61%	144
45	Lesotho	2,363,325	+1.10%	145
46	Guinea-Bissau	2,249,515	+2.16%	148
47	Equatorial Guinea	1,938,431	+2.40%	150
48	Eswatini	1,256,174	+1.07%	159
49	Mauritius	1,243,741	−0.16%	160
50	Djibouti	1,184,076	+1.31%	161
51	Comoros	882,847	+1.85%	163
52	Cape Verde	527,326	+0.47%	173
53	São Tomé and Príncipe	240,254	+1.98%	182
54	Seychelles	122,730	+1.13%	189

Africa population FAQ

What is the population of Africa in 2026?

Africa's population is estimated at about 1.59 billion in 2026, based on the sum of the latest official estimates for its 54 countries and territories (1,546,877,498 at the 2025 reference point).

What share of the world's population lives in Africa?

About 18.8% of everyone alive lives in Africa.

Which country in Africa has the largest population?

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country with 237,527,782 people (2025 estimate).

How many countries are in Africa?

This site tracks 54 countries and territories in Africa — sovereign states plus dependencies that international statistics report separately.