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Indicator

PM2.5 Air Pollution by African country

2023

Population-weighted mean annual exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), in micrograms per cubic metre.

Africa, 202354 of 54 countries
34.8population-weighted average
Highest in 2023Nigeria · 65.7Lowest in 2023Seychelles · 9.26Reported in 202354 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — 20.2Democratic Republic of the Congo — 35.8Somalia — 18.5Kenya — 20.3Sudan — 37.6Chad — 43.0South Africa — 27.7Lesotho — 26.4Zimbabwe — 15.0Botswana — 13.2Namibia — 14.2Senegal — 41.6Mali — 35.5Mauritania — 46.5Benin — 39.7Niger — 65.2Nigeria — 65.7Cameroon — 55.6Togo — 34.3Ghana — 28.1Cote d'Ivoire — 20.4Guinea — 27.3Guinea-Bissau — 32.3Liberia — 17.9Sierra Leone — 22.5Burkina Faso — 37.3Central African Republic — 33.3Republic of the Congo — 36.5Gabon — 31.3Equatorial Guinea — 42.2Zambia — 20.2Malawi — 16.7Mozambique — 13.7Eswatini — 16.7Angola — 19.9Burundi — 35.7Madagascar — 12.4Gambia — 38.3Tunisia — 18.9Algeria — 16.5Eritrea — 33.7Morocco — 18.7Egypt — 43.1Libya — 20.0Ethiopia — 23.8Djibouti — 40.3Uganda — 31.2Rwanda — 36.0South Sudan — 23.7Nigeria 65.7Nigeria 65.7Ethiopia 23.8Ethiopia 23.8Kenya 20.3Kenya 20.3South Africa 27.7South Africa 27.72023HIGHEST IN 2023Nigeria65.7Niger65.2Cameroon55.6Mauritania46.5Egypt43.1LOWEST IN 2023Seychellesnot drawn9.26Comorosnot drawn10.2Madagascar12.4Botswana13.2Mozambique13.7PINNEDEthiopia23.829 of 54Kenya20.333 of 54South Africa27.726 of 54OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNCabo Verdenot drawn20.2Mauritiusnot drawn14.1Sao Tome and Principenot drawn15.1micrograms per cubic meter · quintiles of the observed range9.2616.720.331.337.665.7no record
20142024
World Bank · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Western Africa16 of 16 countries50.9
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries36.3
Northern Africa6 of 6 countries32.4
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries26.4
Eastern Africa18 of 18 countries22.0
Africaall 54 countries · 54 with a 2023 figure34.8

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
54 countries have no usable 2024 recordNot a low value — no figure within the window. Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso and 49 more are hatched on the map and blank in the table.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2024 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

PM2.5 Air PollutionPopulation-weighted mean annual exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), in micrograms per cubic metre.
SourceWorld Bank, with processing by Africa API
Unitmicrograms per cubic meter
Last updated15 Oct 2026
Next expected updateOct 2027
Date range1990–2023
Coverage54 of 54 countries · 54 reported, 0 modelled, 0 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 54 countries did so for 2023 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2023 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "PM2.5 Air Pollution". Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/air-pollution
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=pm25_air_pollution_ug_per_m3&year=2023&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
ClimateCO2 Emissions per CapitaGreenhouse gas emissions per person, in tonnes of CO2 equivalent.ClimateRenewable Electricity OutputElectricity generated from renewable sources as a share of total output.ClimateForest AreaForest area as a share of total land area.

PM2.5 Air Pollution: most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

54 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryPM2.5 Air PollutionPeriod
1Nigeria65.7 µg/m³2023
2Niger65.2 µg/m³2023
3Cameroon55.6 µg/m³2023
4Mauritania46.5 µg/m³2023
5Egypt43.1 µg/m³2023
6Chad43 µg/m³2023
7Equatorial Guinea42.2 µg/m³2023
8Senegal41.6 µg/m³2023
9Djibouti40.3 µg/m³2023
10Benin39.7 µg/m³2023
11Gambia38.3 µg/m³2023
12Sudan37.6 µg/m³2023
13Burkina Faso37.3 µg/m³2023
14Republic of the Congo36.5 µg/m³2023
15Rwanda36 µg/m³2023
16Democratic Republic of the Congo35.8 µg/m³2023
17Burundi35.7 µg/m³2023
18Mali35.5 µg/m³2023
19Togo34.3 µg/m³2023
20Eritrea33.7 µg/m³2023
21Central African Republic33.3 µg/m³2023
22Guinea-Bissau32.3 µg/m³2023
23Gabon31.3 µg/m³2023
24Uganda31.2 µg/m³2023
25Ghana28.1 µg/m³2023
26South Africa27.7 µg/m³2023
27Guinea27.3 µg/m³2023
28Lesotho26.4 µg/m³2023
29Ethiopia23.8 µg/m³2023
30South Sudan23.7 µg/m³2023
31Sierra Leone22.5 µg/m³2023
32Cote d'Ivoire20.4 µg/m³2023
33Kenya20.3 µg/m³2023
34Zambia20.2 µg/m³2023
35Cabo Verde20.2 µg/m³2023
36Tanzania20.2 µg/m³2023
37Libya20 µg/m³2023
38Angola19.9 µg/m³2023
39Tunisia18.9 µg/m³2023
40Morocco18.7 µg/m³2023
41Somalia18.5 µg/m³2023
42Liberia17.9 µg/m³2023
43Eswatini16.7 µg/m³2023
44Malawi16.7 µg/m³2023
45Algeria16.5 µg/m³2023
46Sao Tome and Principe15.1 µg/m³2023
47Zimbabwe15 µg/m³2023
48Namibia14.2 µg/m³2023
49Mauritius14.1 µg/m³2023
50Mozambique13.7 µg/m³2023
51Botswana13.2 µg/m³2023
52Madagascar12.4 µg/m³2023
53Comoros10.2 µg/m³2023
54Seychelles9.3 µg/m³2023
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 54 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

Embed this ranking

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