Africa Population 2026

Africa covers 6% of Earth’s total surface area and 20% of its land area. It holds the second position among continents. The total land area is 30.3 million sq. km (11.7 million square miles), and the population density is 36.4 per sq. km. About 43.8% of the population is urban, and the median age in Africa is 19.7 years.

According to the United Nations, in 1950, the population of Africa was estimated to be around 228 million people. It reached 500 million in 1982 and 1 billion in 2009. In 2020, the African population was estimated to be 1.34 billion. Due to the high fertility rate, it is expected that the African population will reach around 2.5 billion by 2050 and 4 billion by 2100.

According to the United Nations, the population of Africa in 2026 is estimated to be 1,565,426,616 (1.56 billion or 156 crore).

Year	Estimated Population (Billions)
1950	0.228 (228 million)
1982	0.500 (500 million)
2009	1.000 (1 billion)
2020	1.340 (1.34 billion)
2024	1.530 (1.53 billion)
2050	2.500 (2.5 billion)
2100	4.000 (4 billion)

Table of Contents

African Countries by Population

An estimated 18.15% of the world’s population lives in Africa (1.46 Billion). Nigeria (234 million), Ethiopia (132 million), and Egypt (116 million) remain the top three populous countries in Africa.

Let’s have a look at the Country-wise population of Africa

#	Country	Population 2026
1	Nigeria	234,573,603
2	Ethiopia	132,938,555
3	Egypt	116,275,464
4	Democratic Republic of the Congo	109,075,560
5	United Republic of Tanzania	71,427,810
6	South Africa	61,673,081
7	Kenya	57,323,930
8	Uganda	51,284,671
9	Sudan	50,614,633
10	Algeria	46,922,030
11	Angola	38,942,792
12	Morocco	38,571,290
13	Mozambique	35,834,558
14	Ghana	35,439,785
15	Madagascar	31,797,306
16	Côte d’Ivoire	30,344,181
17	Cameroon	30,150,781
18	Niger	29,315,971
19	Mali	24,758,658
20	Burkina Faso	24,436,925
21	Malawi	22,033,992
22	Zambia	21,706,927
23	Chad	19,425,960
24	Somalia	19,281,903
25	Senegal	18,687,800
26	Zimbabwe	17,375,285
27	Guinea	14,873,052
28	Rwanda	14,737,248
29	Benin	14,454,199
30	Burundi	13,948,140
31	Tunisia	12,665,802
32	South Sudan	11,473,439
33	Togo	9,470,158
34	Sierra Leone	9,165,376
35	Libya	7,038,380
36	Congo	6,383,738
37	Central African Republic	6097449
38	Liberia	5,657,228
39	Mauritania	5,128,142
40	Eritrea	3,889,630
41	Gambia	2,911,208
42	Botswana	2,763,338
43	Namibia	2,690,284
44	Gabon	2,532,884
45	Lesotho	2,381,382
46	Guinea-Bissau	2,244,368
47	Equatorial Guinea	1,795,574
48	Mauritius	1,303,210
49	Eswatini	1,234,858
50	Djibouti	1,168,257
51	Réunion*	996,743
52	Comoros	883,075
53	Cabo Verde	610,209
54	Western Sahara*	609,388
55	Mayotte*	356,021
56	Sao Tome & Principe	240,979
57	Seychelles	108,844
58	Saint Helena*	5,196

*Overseas territories or Dependencies

African Countries by Land Area

Africa covers about 30,370,000 km2 (11,730,000 sq mi) , or 6% of the Earth’s surface (20 % of land area), making it the second-largest continent. There are 54 Countries & 4 Dependencies in Africa & of which Algeria is the largest by area. The population density in Africa is 37 per Km2 (94 people per mi2).

Largest & Smallest Country by Area

Areawise	Country	Area (sq.km)
Largest by Area	Algeria	23,81,740 Km2
Smallest by Area	Seychelles	460 Km2

Largest & Smallest Country by Density

Density wise

Country

Density (P/Km2)

Highest Population Density

Mauritius

626 (p/km2)

least population Density

Namibia/ Western Sahara**

3 (p/km2)

2 (p/km2)

*Mayotte is territory of France with area of 375 sq.km & density of 728 p/km2

** Western Sahara is disputed Territory

#	Country	Land Area (Km²)	Density (P/Km²)
1	Algeria	23,81,740	18
2	DR Congo	22,67,050	40
3	Sudan	17,65,048	25
4	Libya	17,59,540	4
5	Niger	12,66,700	19
6	Chad	12,59,200	13
7	Angola	12,46,700	26
8	Mali	12,20,190	17
9	South Africa	12,13,090	49
10	Mauritania	10,30,700	5
11	Ethiopia	10,00,000	115
12	Egypt	9,95,450	103
13	Nigeria	9,10,770	226
14	Tanzania	8,85,800	67
15	Namibia	8,23,290	3
16	Mozambique	7,86,380	40
17	Zambia	7,43,390	25
18	Somalia	6,27,340	25
19	Central African Republic	6,22,980	8
20	South Sudan	6,10,952	18
21	Madagascar	5,81,795	48
22	Kenya	5,69,140	94
23	Botswana	5,66,730	4
24	Cameroon	4,72,710	56
25	Morocco	4,46,300	83
26	Zimbabwe	3,86,850	38
27	Congo	3,41,500	16
28	Côte d’Ivoire	3,18,000	83
29	Burkina Faso	2,73,600	76
30	Western Sahara*	2,66,000	2
31	Gabon	2,57,670	9
32	Guinea	2,45,720	53
33	Ghana	2,27,540	137
34	Uganda	1,99,810	229
35	Senegal	1,92,530	87
36	Tunisia	1,55,360	76
37	Benin	1,12,760	108
38	Eritrea	1,01,000	35
39	Liberia	96,320	53
40	Malawi	94,280	203
41	Sierra Leone	72,180	111
42	Togo	54,390	152
43	Lesotho	30,360	71
44	Guinea-Bissau	28,120	70
45	Equatorial Guinea	28,050	50
46	Burundi	25,680	463
47	Rwanda	24,670	525
48	Djibouti	23,180	43
49	Eswatini	17,200	67
50	Gambia	10,120	239
51	Cabo Verde	4,030	138
52	Réunion*	2,500	358
53	Mauritius	2,030	626
54	Comoros	1,861	467
55	Sao Tome & Principe	960	228
56	Seychelles	460	214
57	Saint Helena*	390	16
58	Mayotte*	375	728

*Overseas Territory or Dependencies

African Countries by Fertility Rate & Median Age

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of Africa is 4.44

Niger is the country with the highest Fertility rate of 7
Mauritius has the lowest rate i.e 1.4

The median age in Europe is 19.7 years.

Mauritius has the highest median age of 37 Years
Niger has the lowest median of 15 years

#	Country	Fert. Rate	Med. Age
1	Niger	7	15
2	Somalia	6.1	17
3	DR Congo	6	17
4	Mali	5.9	16
5	Chad	5.8	17
6	Angola	5.6	17
7	Burundi	5.5	17
8	Nigeria	5.4	18
9	Gambia	5.3	18
10	Burkina Faso	5.2	18
11	Uganda	5	17
12	Tanzania	4.9	18
13	Mozambique	4.9	18
14	Benin	4.9	19
15	Central African Republic	4.8	18
16	Zambia	4.7	18
17	South Sudan	4.7	19
18	Côte d’Ivoire	4.7	19
19	Guinea	4.7	18
20	Senegal	4.7	19
21	Mauritania	4.6	20
22	Cameroon	4.6	19
23	Equatorial Guinea	4.6	22
24	Congo	4.5	19
25	Guinea-Bissau	4.5	19
26	Sudan	4.4	20
27	Liberia	4.4	19
28	Togo	4.4	19
29	Sao Tome & Principe	4.4	19
30	Ethiopia	4.3	19
31	Malawi	4.3	18
32	Sierra Leone	4.3	19
33	Comoros	4.2	20
34	Madagascar	4.1	20
35	Eritrea	4.1	19
36	Rwanda	4.1	20
37	Gabon	4	23
38	Ghana	3.9	22
39	Mayotte	3.7	20
40	Zimbabwe	3.6	19
41	Kenya	3.5	20
42	Namibia	3.4	22
43	Egypt	3.3	25
44	Lesotho	3.2	24
45	Algeria	3.1	29
46	Eswatini	3	21
47	Botswana	2.9	24
48	Djibouti	2.8	27
49	Seychelles	2.5	34
50	South Africa	2.4	28
51	Morocco	2.4	30
52	Western Sahara	2.4	28
53	Libya	2.3	29
54	Cabo Verde	2.3	28
55	Réunion	2.3	36
56	Tunisia	2.2	33
57	Mauritius	1.4	37

Source: World Population Prospects

Sources:

UN World Population Prospects

PEW Research center

Africa Population 2026 | African Countries by population