List of African countries by population - wikipedia List of African countries by population This is a list of African countries and dependent territories sorted by population, which is sorted by the 2015 mid-year normalized demographic projections. Table Rank Country ( or dependent territory ) July 1, 2015 projection % of pop. Average relative annual growth ( % ) Average absolute annual growth Estimated doubling time ( Years ) Official figure ( where available ) Date of last figure Source Nigeria 181,563,000 15.98 2.91 4,731,000 24 173,000,000 2013 Official estimate Ethiopia 103,764,000 7.81 2.41 2,424,000 29 99,391,000 2015 Official estimate Egypt 89,125,000 7.68 2.29 2,028,000 31 94,408,000 August 12, 2018 Official population clock Democratic Republic of the Congo 77,267,000 6.70 3.13 2,390,000 22 86,026,000 July 1, 2015 Official estimate South Africa 54,957,000 4.77 1.61 873,000 43 54,956,900 July 1, 2015 Official estimate 6 Tanzania 51,046,000 4.23 2.97 1,414,000 24 51,046,000 2015 Official estimate 7 Kenya 45,533,000 3.84 2.87 1,196,000 24 45,533,000 2015 Official estimate 8 Sudan 40,235,000 3.33 3.07 912,000 23 40,235,000 2015 Official estimate 9 Algeria 39,670,000 3.46 2.07 768,000 34 40,100,000 January 1, 2016 Official estimate 10 Uganda 37,102,000 3.10 3.09 1,201,000 23 34,856,813 August 28, 2014 Preliminary 2014 census result 11 Morocco 34,380,000 3.33 1.24 412,000 56 33,337,529 September 1, 2014 Preliminary 2014 census result 12 Mozambique 28,013,000 2.23 2.74 702,000 26 28,013,000 2015 Official estimate 13 Ghana 27,414,000 2.40 2.48 621,000 28 27,043,093 2014 Official estimate 14 Angola 25,326,000 2.20 3.43 839,000 21 24,383,301 May 16, 2014 Preliminary 2014 census result 15 Ivory Coast 23,126,000 2.02 2.55 451,000 27 22,671,331 May 15, 2014 Preliminary 2014 census result 16 Madagascar 23,043,000 2.00 2.71 609,000 26 22,434,363 2014 Official estimate 17 Cameroon 21,918,000 1.90 2.65 565,000 27 21,917,602 2015 Official estimate 18 Niger 18,880,000 1.64 3.86 701,000 18 17,138,707 December 10, 2012 Final 2012 census result 19 Burkina Faso 18,450,000 1.60 3.26 582,000 22 18,450,494 2015 Official estimate 20 Mali 17,796,000 1.54 3.30 568,000 21 14,528,662 April 1, 2009 Final 2009 census result 21 Malawi 16,307,000 1.41 3.18 502,000 22 16,832,900 July 1, 2016 Official estimate 22 Zambia 15,474,000 1.34 3.00 451,000 23 15,473,905 2015 Official estimate 23 Somalia 14,317,996 0.95 1.54 166,000 45 12,316,895 January 1, 2016 Official estimate 24 Senegal 14,150,000 1.23 2.92 401,000 24 14,354,690 2015 Official estimate 25 Chad 13,675,000 1.19 3.57 471,000 20 11,039,873 May 20, 2009 Final 2009 census result 26 Zimbabwe 13,503,000 1.17 1.17 156,000 60 13,061,239 August 17, 2012 Final 2012 census result 27 South Sudan 12,519,000 1.09 5.95 703,000 12 8,260,490 April 22, 2008 2008 census result 28 Rwanda 11,324,000 0.98 2.61 288,000 27 10,515,973 August 15, 2012 Final 2012 census result 29 Tunisia 11,118,000 0.96 1.04 114,000 67 10,982,754 April 23, 2014 Preliminary 2014 census result 30 Guinea 10,935,000 0.95 2.30 246,000 30 10,628,972 April 2, 2014 Preliminary 2014 census result 31 Benin 10,782,000 0.93 3.54 369,000 20 10,008,749 May 11, 2013 Final 2013 census result 32 Burundi 9,824,000 0.85 2.93 280,000 24 9,823,828 2015 Official estimate 33 Togo 7,065,000 0.61 2.87 197,000 25 6,191,155 November 6, 2010 Final 2010 census result 34 Eritrea 6,895,000 0.60 5.49 359,000 13 6,536,000 July 1, 2014 Official estimate 35 Sierra Leone 6,513,000 0.56 2.57 163,000 27 6,348,350 2014 Official estimate 36 Libya 6,278,000 0.54 1.13 70,000 62 5,298,152 April 15, 2006 2006 census result 37 Republic of the Congo 4,706,000 0.41 2.98 136,000 24 3,697,490 April 28, 2007 2007 census result 38 Central African Republic 4,659,080 0.42 2.00 96,000 35 3,859,139 2017 ( 1 ) 39 Liberia 4,046,000 0.35 2.09 83,000 33 3,476,608 March 21, 2008 Final 2008 census result 40 Mauritania 3,632,000 0.31 2.43 86,000 29 3,718,678 2016 Official estimate 41 Namibia 2,281,000 0.20 2.01 45,000 35 2,280,700 July 1, 2015 Official estimate 42 Botswana 2,176,000 0.19 1.92 41,000 36 2,024,904 August 22, 2011 Final 2011 census result 43 Gambia 2,022,000 0.18 3.27 64,000 22 1,882,450 April 15, 2013 Preliminary 2013 census result 44 Equatorial Guinea 1,996,000 0.17 4.23 81,000 17 1,222,442 July 4, 2015 Preliminary 2015 census result 45 Lesotho 1,908,000 0.17 0.21 4,000 330 1,894,194 2011 Official estimate 46 Gabon 1,873,000 0.16 1.85 34,000 38 1,802,278 October 5, 2013 Preliminary 2013 census result 47 Guinea - Bissau 1,788,000 0.16 2.58 45,000 27 1,530,673 2015 Official estimate 48 Mauritius 1,263,000 0.11 0.16 2,000 437 1,261,208 July 1, 2014 Official estimate 49 Swaziland 1,119,000 0.10 1.18 13,000 59 1,119,375 2015 Official estimate 50 Djibouti 961,000 0.08 2.67 25,000 26 864,618 July 1, 2011 Official estimate 51 Réunion ( France ) 853,000 0.07 0.71 6,000 98 840,974 January 1, 2013 Official estimate 52 Comoros 783,000 0.07 2.62 20,000 27 806,200 July 1, 2016 Official estimate 53 Cape Verde 525,000 0.05 1.35 7,000 52 491,875 June 16, 2010 Final 2010 census result 54 Western Sahara 509,000 0.04 1.80 9,000 39 510,713 September 2, 2014 Preliminary 2014 census result 55 Mayotte ( France ) 229,000 0.02 2.69 6,000 26 212,600 August 21, 2012 2012 census result 56 São Tomé and Príncipe 194,000 0.02 2.65 5,000 27 179,200 May 13, 2012 Final 2012 census result 57 Seychelles 97,000 0.01 1.04 1,000 67 90,945 August 26, 2010 Final 2010 census result 58 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ( UK ) 4,000 < 0.01 0.0 0 - 5,633 June 2016 2016 census result Total 1,153,308,000 100.00 2.68 30,155,000 26 African population by country ( top 8 ). Nigeria ( 15.38 % ) Ethiopia ( 8.37 % ) Egypt ( 7.65 % ) Democratic Republic of the Congo ( 6.57 % ) Tanzania ( 4.55 % ) South Africa ( 4.47 % ) Kenya ( 3.88 % ) Sudan ( 3.38 % ) Other ( 45.75 % ) See also Demographics of Africa List of countries by population List of countries by population in 2010 List of Middle East countries by population List of countries by past and future population Lists of countries by population statistics Global Current population Current population ( United Nations ) ( Sub - ) continents Africa Asia Europe North America Caribbean Oceania South America Intercontinental Americas Arab world Commonwealth of Nations Eurasia European Union Islands Latin America Middle East Cities / urban regions National capitals Cities proper Metropolitan areas Urban areas Megacities Megalopolises Past and future Past population ( United Nations estimates ) Past and future population 1000 1500 1600 1700 1800 1900 1907 1939 2000 2005 Future population Population density Current density Current real density based on food growing capacity Growth indicators Population growth rate Natural increase Birth rate Mortality rate Fertility rate Other demographics Age at first marriage Divorce rate Ethnic and cultural diversity level Immigrant population Linguistic diversity Median age Net migration rate Number of households Sex ratio Urban population Urbanization Health Antiviral medications for pandemic influenza HIV / AIDS adult prevalence rate Infant and under - five mortality rates Life expectancy Percentage suffering from undernourishment Health expenditure covered by government Suicide rate Total health expenditure per capita Body Mass Index ( BMI ) Education and innovation Bloomberg Innovation Index Education Index International Innovation Index Innovation Union Scoreboard Literacy rate Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies Progress in International Reading Literacy Study Student skills Tertiary education attainment Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study Women 's average years in school World Intellectual Property Indicators Economic Development aid given Official Development Assistance received Employment rate Irrigated land area Human Development Index by country inequality - adjusted Human Poverty Index Imports Income equality Job security ( OECD ) Labour force Number of millionaires ( US dollars ) Number of billionaires ( US dollars ) Percentage living in poverty Public sector Sen social welfare function Unemployment rate List of international rankings List of top international rankings by country Lists by country Notes Jump up ^ Calculated, when available, from the latest national censuses or most recent official estimates ( many of which are cited in their respective column ), using the exponential formula shown on the List of countries by past and future population article. This is done to normalize the different populations to a unique date, so that they are really comparable. Jump up ^ It corresponds to the following formula : projection / projection x100 - 100. Jump up ^ It corresponds to the calculation : projection * annual_growth / 100. Jump up ^ It corresponds to the formula : LN ( 2 ) / LN ( growth / 100 + 1 ), which produces exactly the same result as LOG ( 2 ) / LOG ( growth / 100 + 1 ). Jump up ^ It excludes the population of the disputed territory of the Western Sahara ( the so - called Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. If it was included, the Moroccan September 2014 census would result in 33,848,242 inhabitants and its mid-2015 demographic projection would give some 34,198,000 inhab. Jump up ^ Administration is split between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, both of which claim the entire territory. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_African_countries_by_population&oldid=854325470 '' Categories : Demographics of Africa Lists of countries in Africa Lists of countries by continent Lists of countries by population Lists of countries by continent, by population Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from December 2017 Articles with permanently dead external links Articles with dead external links from August 2018 Talk About Wikipedia فارسی Galego हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Қазақша Kiswahili Latviešu پنجابی Português Русский ไทย Türkçe اردو 中文 5 more Edit links This page was last edited on 10 August 2018, at 14 : 10 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: which is the most populous country in africa
Answer: Nigeria