List of African countries by population
This is a list of African countries and dependent territories by population.
Methodology
The countries are sorted by the mid-year normalized demographic projections.
Table
| Rank | Country (or dependent territory) | July 1, 2015 projection[1] | % of pop. | Average relative annual growth (%)[2] | Average absolute annual growth [3] | Estimated doubling time (Years)[4] | Alternative figure | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Nigeria | 185,043,000 | 16.10 | 3.02 | 5,417,000 | 23 | 164,294,516 | 2011 | Official estimate |
| 2 |  Ethiopia | 90,076,000 | 7.84 | 2.41 | 2,123,000 | 29 | 90,076,012 | 2015 | Official estimate |
| 3 |  Egypt | 88,523,000 | 7.70 | 2.29 | 1,981,000 | 31 | 88,451,000 | May 1, 2015 | Official population clock |
| 4 |  Democratic Republic of the Congo | 71,246,000 | 6.20 | 2.86 | 1,984,000 | 25 | |||
| 5 |  South Africa | 54,844,000 | 4.77 | 1.56 | 842,000 | 45 | 54,002,000 | July 1, 2014 | Official estimate |
| 6 |  Tanzania | 48,829,000 | 4.25 | 2.97 | 1,407,000 | 24 | 47,421,786 | 2014 | Official estimate |
| 7 |  Kenya | 44,090,000 | 3.84 | 2.70 | 1,160,000 | 26 | 41,800,000 | 2013 | Official estimate |
| 8 |  Algeria | 39,903,000 | 3.47 | 2.07 | 808,000 | 34 | 39,500,000 | January 1, 2015 | Official estimate |
| 9 |  Sudan | 38,435,000 | 3.34 | 3.07 | 1,146,000 | 23 | 38,435,252 | 2015 | Official estimate |
| 10 |  Uganda | 35,760,000 | 3.11 | 3.09 | 1,071,000 | 23 | 34,856,813 | August 28, 2014 | Preliminary 2014 census result |
| 11 |  Morocco[5] | 33,680,000 | 2.93 | 1.24 | 412,000 | 56 | 33,337,529 | September 1, 2014 | Preliminary 2014 census result |
| 12 |  Ghana | 27,714,000 | 2.41 | 2.48 | 671,000 | 28 | 27,043,093 | 2014 | Official estimate |
| 13 |  Mozambique | 25,728,000 | 2.24 | 2.74 | 686,000 | 26 | 25,727,911 | 2015 | 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 | 23,326,000 | 2.03 | 2.55 | 581,000 | 27 | 22,671,331 | May 15, 2014 | Preliminary 2014 census result |
| 16 |  Madagascar | 23,053,000 | 2.01 | 2.73 | 613,000 | 26 | 21,842,167 | 2013 | Official estimate |
| 17 |  Cameroon | 21,918,000 | 1.91 | 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 | 1.61 | 3.26 | 582,000 | 22 | 18,450,494 | 2015 | Official estimate |
| 20 |  Mali | 17,796,000 | 1.55 | 3.30 | 568,000 | 21 | 14,528,662 | April 1, 2009 | Final 2009 census result |
| 21 |  Malawi | 16,307,000 | 1.42 | 3.18 | 502,000 | 22 | 15,805,200 | July 1, 2014 | Official estimate |
| 22 |  Zambia | 15,474,000 | 1.35 | 3.00 | 451,000 | 23 | 15,473,905 | 2015 | Official estimate |
| 23 |  Senegal | 14,150,000 | 1.23 | 2.92 | 401,000 | 24 | 13,508,715 | November 19, 2013 | Final 2013 census result |
| 24 |  Chad | 13,675,000 | 1.19 | 3.57 | 471,000 | 20 | 11,039,873 | May 20, 2009 | Final 2009 census result |
| 25 |  Zimbabwe | 13,503,000 | 1.18 | 1.17 | 156,000 | 60 | 13,061,239 | August 17, 2012 | Final 2012 census result |
| 26 |  South Sudan | 12,519,000 | 1.09 | 5.95 | 703,000 | 12 | 8,260,490 | April 22, 2008 | 2008 census result |
| 27 |  Rwanda | 11,324,000 | 0.99 | 2.61 | 288,000 | 27 | 10,515,973 | August 15, 2012 | Final 2012 census result |
| 28 |  Tunisia | 11,118,000 | 0.97 | 1.04 | 114,000 | 67 | 10,982,754 | April 23, 2014 | Preliminary 2014 census result |
| 29 |  Somalia | 10,972,000 | 0.95 | 1.54 | 166,000 | 45 | 10,806,000 | July 1, 2014 | Official estimate |
| 30 |  Guinea | 10,935,000 | 0.95 | 2.30 | 246,000 | 30 | 10,628,972 | April 2, 2014 | Preliminary 2014 census result |
| 31 |  Benin | 10,750,000 | 0.94 | 3.51 | 365,000 | 20 | 9,983,884 | May 11, 2013 | Preliminary 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 |  Libya | 6,521,000 | 0.57 | 1.56 | 100,000 | 45 | |||
| 36 |  Sierra Leone | 6,513,000 | 0.57 | 2.57 | 163,000 | 27 | 6,190,280 | 2013 | Official estimate |
| 37 |  Central African Republic | 5,545,000 | 0.48 | 3.11 | 167,000 | 23 | 3,859,139 | December 8, 2003 | 2003 census result |
| 38 |  Republic of the Congo | 4,706,000 | 0.41 | 2.98 | 136,000 | 24 | 3,697,490 | April 28, 2007 | 2007 census result |
| 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 | 0.32 | 2.43 | 86,000 | 29 | 3,631,775 | 2015 | Official estimate |
| 41 |  Gabon | 2,382,000 | 0.21 | 3.97 | 91,000 | 18 | |||
| 42 |  Namibia | 2,281,000 | 0.20 | 2.01 | 45,000 | 35 | 2,280,700 | July 1, 2015 | Official estimate |
| 43 |  Botswana | 2,176,000 | 0.19 | 1.92 | 41,000 | 36 | 2,024,904 | August 22, 2011 | Final 2011 census result |
| 44 |  Gambia | 2,022,000 | 0.18 | 3.27 | 64,000 | 22 | 1,882,450 | April 15, 2013 | Preliminary 2013 census result |
| 45 |  Equatorial Guinea | 1,996,000 | 0.17 | 4.23 | 81,000 | 17 | 1,622,000 | 2010 | Official estimate |
| 46 |  Lesotho | 1,908,000 | 0.17 | 0.21 | 4,000 | 330 | 1,894,194 | 2011 | Official estimate |
| 47 |  Guinea-Bissau | 1,788,000 | 0.16 | 2.58 | 45,000 | 27 | 1,520,830 | March 1, 2009 | Final 2009 census result |
| 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 | 724,300 | July 1, 2012 | 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[6] | 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 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0 | - | 4,255 | February 10, 2008 | 2008 census result |
| Total | 1,149,184,000 | 100.00 | 2.69 | 30,056,000 | 26 |
Notes
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ It corresponds to the following formula: projection2015/projection2014x100-100.
- ↑ It corresponds to the calculation: projection2015*annual_growth/100.
- ↑ It corresponds to the formula: LN(2)/LN(growth/100+1), which produces exactly the same result as LOG10(2)/LOG10(growth/100+1).
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Administration is split between Morocco and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, both of which claim the entire territory.
See also
- List of countries by population
- List of countries in the Americas by population
- List of Arab countries by population
- List of Asian countries by population
- List of Caribbean island countries by population
- List of Eurasian countries by population
- List of European countries by population
- List of European Union member states by population
- List of Latin American countries by population
- List of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations by population
- List of Middle East countries by population
- List of North American countries by population
- List of Oceanian countries by population
- List of South American countries by population
- List of countries by past and future population
- List of countries by past population (United Nations)
- List of countries by population in 2000
- List of countries by population in 2010