# 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. Africa is also the youngest continent, as 60% of Africa is 24 years of age or younger. 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.
* Nigeria (15.4%)
* Ethiopia (8.7%)
* Egypt (7.7%)
* DR Congo (7.1%)
* Tanzania (4.5%)
* South Africa (4.3%)
* Kenya (3.7%)

## Table

| | Country | % Africa | Population | % growth | Official figure | Official date |
| 1 | Nigeria | 15.4% | 227,882,945 | 2.12% | 216,783,400 | 21 Mar 2022 |
| 2 | Ethiopia | 8.7% | 128,691,692 | 2.64% | 107,334,000 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 3 | Egypt | 7.7% | 114,535,772 | 1.70% | 102,060,688 | 1 Jul 2021 |
| 4 | DR Congo | 7.1% | 105,789,731 | 3.31% | 95,370,000 | 1 Jul 2019 |
| 5 | Tanzania | 4.5% | 66,617,606 | 2.95% | 61,741,120 | 23 Aug 2022 |
| 6 | South Africa | 4.3% | 63,212,384 | 1.34% | 59,604,992 | 1 Jul 2022 |
| 7 | Kenya | 3.7% | 55,339,003 | 2.00% | 51,526,000 | 1 Jan 2023 |
| 8 | Sudan | 3.4% | 50,042,791 | 1.34% | 41,984,500 | 1 Jul 2018 |
| 9 | Uganda | 3.3% | 48,656,601 | 2.84% | 41,583,600 | 1 Jul 2020 |
| 10 | Algeria | 3.1% | 46,164,219 | 1.51% | 44,700,000 | 1 Jan 2021 |
| 11 | Morocco | 2.5% | 37,712,505 | 1.03% | 37,438,314 | 9 Sep 2024 |
| 12 | Angola | 2.5% | 36,749,906 | 3.13% | 35,121,734 | 1 Jul 2024 |
| 13 | Ghana | 2.3% | 33,787,914 | 1.93% | 30,832,019 | 27 Jun 2021 |
| 14 | Mozambique | 2.3% | 33,635,160 | 3.00% | 33,244,414 | 1 Mar 2024 |
| 15 | Madagascar | 2.1% | 31,195,932 | 2.49% | 27,190,927 | 1 Jun 2020 |
| 16 | Ivory Coast | 2.1% | 31,165,654 | 2.54% | 29,389,150 | 14 Dec 2021 |
| 17 | Cameroon | 1.9% | 28,372,687 | 2.68% | 24,348,251 | Jul 1 2019 |
| 18 | Niger | 1.9% | 26,159,867 | 3.35% | 23,196,000 | 1 Jul 2020 |
| 19 | Mali | 1.8% | 23,769,127 | 3.02% | 14,528,662 | 4 May 2024 |
| 20 | Burkina Faso | 1.6% | 23,025,776 | 2.30% | 20,505,155 | 16 Nov 2019 |
| 21 | Malawi | 1.4% | 21,104,482 | 2.60% | 19,809,511 | 3 Sep 2023 |
| 22 | Zambia | 1.4% | 20,723,965 | 2.83% | 19,610,769 | 14 Sep 2022 |
| 23 | Chad | 1.3% | 19,319,064 | 4.68% | 15,775,400 | 1 Jul 2019 |
| 24 | Somalia | 1.2% | 18,358,615 | 3.13% | 12,316,895 | 4 May 2024 |
| 25 | Senegal | 1.2% | 18,077,573 | 2.42% | 18,275,743 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 26 | Zimbabwe | 1.1% | 16,340,822 | 1.69% | 15,178,979 | 20 Apr 2022 |
| 27 | Guinea | 1.0% | 14,405,465 | 2.49% | 13,261,638 | Jul 1 2022 |
| 28 | Benin | 1.0% | 14,111,034 | 2.55% | 12,606,998 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 29 | Rwanda | 1.0% | 13,954,471 | 2.22% | 13,246,394 | 15 Aug 2022 |
| 30 | Burundi | 0.9% | 13,689,450 | 2.77% | 13,097,400 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 31 | Tunisia | 0.9% | 12,200,431 | 0.67% | 11,803,588 | 1 Jan 2022 |
| 32 | South Sudan | 0.8% | 11,483,374 | 4.19% | 13,249,924 | 1 Jul 2020 |
| 33 | Togo | 0.6% | 9,304,337 | 2.36% | 8,095,498 | 8 Nov 2022 |
| 34 | Sierra Leone | 0.6% | 8,460,512 | 2.22% | 7,541,641 | 9 Dec 2021 |
| 35 | Libya | 0.5% | 7,305,659 | 1.13% | 6,931,061 | 1 Jan 2020 |
| 36 | Republic of the Congo | 0.4% | 6,182,885 | 2.45% | 3,697,490 | 4 May 2024 |
| 37 | Liberia | 0.4% | 5,493,031 | 2.23% | 4,844,381 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 38 | Central African Republic | 0.4% | 5,152,421 | 1.07% | 6,091,097 | 1 Mar 2021 |
| 39 | Mauritania | 0.3% | 5,022,441 | 3.01% | 4,352,037 | 1 Jul 2022 |
| 40 | Eritrea | 0.3% | 3,470,390 | 1.79% | 3,815,900 | 1 Jul 2012 |
| 41 | Namibia | 0.2% | 2,963,095 | 2.54% | 2,641,857 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 42 | Gambia | 0.2% | 2,697,845 | 2.33% | 2,417,471 | 1 Jul 2022 |
| 43 | Gabon | 0.2% | 2,484,789 | 2.22% | 2,349,099 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 44 | Botswana | 0.2% | 2,480,244 | 1.65% | 2,346,179 | 18 Mar 2022 |
| 45 | Lesotho | 0.2% | 2,311,472 | 1.11% | 2,103,600 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 46 | Guinea-Bissau | 0.1% | 2,153,339 | 2.27% | 1,781,308 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 47 | Equatorial Guinea | 0.1% | 1,847,549 | 2.44% | 1,558,160 | 1 Jul 2022 |
| 48 | Mauritius | 0.1% | 1,273,588 | -0.20% | 1,261,196 | 31 Dec 2022 |
| 49 | Eswatini | 0.1% | 1,230,506 | 0.95% | 1,223,362 | 1 Jul 2023 |
| 50 | Djibouti | 0.1% | 1,152,944 | 1.39% | 1,001,454 | 1 Jul 2021 |
| - | Réunion | 0.1% | 896,175 | | 896,175 | 10 Jan 2024 |
| 51 | Comoros | 0.1% | 850,387 | 1.94% | 758,316 | 15 Dec 2017 |
| - | Western Sahara | 0.04% | 579,729 | 1.93% | 579,000 | 1 Jul 2020 |
| 52 | Cape Verde | 0.04% | 522,331 | 0.50% | 483,628 | 16 Jun 2021 |
| 53 | São Tomé and Príncipe | 0.02% | 230,871 | 2.02% | 210,200 | 13 May 2020 |
| 54 | Seychelles | 0.01% | 127,951 | 1.94% | 100,447 | 22 Apr 2022 |
| | Total | 100% | 1,480,770,525 | 2.34% | 1,332,291,870 | |