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Indicator

Population by African country

2025

Total mid-year population.

Africa, 202554 of 54 countries
1.55bntotal across the countries with a figure
Highest in 2025Nigeria · 237.5mLowest in 2025Seychelles · 123kReported in 202554 of 54 countries surveyed
All 54, ranked. Pinned countries are drawn in vermilion.
062.5m125.0m187.5m250.0mNigeria237.5mEthiopia135.5mEgypt118.4mDemocratic Republic of the Congo112.8mTanzania70.5mSouth Africa64.7mKenya57.5mSudan51.7mUganda51.4mAlgeria47.4mAngola39.0mMorocco38.4mMozambique35.6mGhana35.1mMadagascar32.7mCote d'Ivoire32.7mCameroon29.9mNiger27.9mMali25.2mBurkina Faso24.1mMalawi22.2mZambia21.9mChad21.0mSomalia19.7mSenegal18.9mZimbabwe17.0mGuinea15.1mBenin14.8mRwanda14.6mBurundi14.4mTunisia12.3mSouth Sudan12.2mSierra Leone8.8mTogo8.6mLibya7.5mRepublic of the Congo6.5mLiberia5.7mCentral African Republic5.5mMauritania5.3mEritrea3.6mNamibia3.1mGambia2.8mGabon2.6mBotswana2.6mLesotho2.4mGuinea-Bissau2.2mEquatorial Guinea1.9mEswatini1.3mMauritius1.2mDjibouti1.2mComoros883kCabo Verde527kSao Tome and Principe240kSeychelles123k
20142025
World Bank · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Summed across the countries with a figure, so a region’s total is only as complete as its coverage.
Eastern Africa18 of 18 countries512.2m
Western Africa16 of 16 countries465.4m
Northern Africa6 of 6 countries275.7m
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries219.5m
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries74.0m
Africaall 54 countries · 54 with a 2025 figure1.55bn

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
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 2025 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

PopulationTotal mid-year population.
SourceWorld Bank, with processing by Africa API
Unitpeople
Last updated15 Oct 2026
Next expected updateOct 2027
Date range1960–2025
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 2025 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2025 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) — "Population". Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/population
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=population_total&year=2025&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
DemographicsPopulation GrowthAnnual population growth rate.DemographicsLife ExpectancyLife expectancy at birth, in years.DemographicsMedian AgeMedian age of the population, in years.

Population: 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.

#CountryPopulationPeriod
1Nigeria237.53M2025
2Ethiopia135.47M2025
3Egypt118.37M2025
4Democratic Republic of the Congo112.83M2025
5Tanzania70.55M2025
6South Africa64.75M2025
7Kenya57.53M2025
8Sudan51.66M2025
9Uganda51.38M2025
10Algeria47.44M2025
11Angola39.04M2025
12Morocco38.43M2025
13Mozambique35.63M2025
14Ghana35.06M2025
15Madagascar32.74M2025
16Cote d'Ivoire32.71M2025
17Cameroon29.88M2025
18Niger27.92M2025
19Mali25.2M2025
20Burkina Faso24.07M2025
21Malawi22.22M2025
22Zambia21.91M2025
23Chad21M2025
24Somalia19.65M2025
25Senegal18.93M2025
26Zimbabwe16.95M2025
27Guinea15.1M2025
28Benin14.81M2025
29Rwanda14.57M2025
30Burundi14.39M2025
31Tunisia12.35M2025
32South Sudan12.19M2025
33Sierra Leone8.82M2025
34Togo8.59M2025
35Libya7.46M2025
36Republic of the Congo6.48M2025
37Liberia5.73M2025
38Central African Republic5.51M2025
39Mauritania5.32M2025
40Eritrea3.61M2025
41Namibia3.09M2025
42Gambia2.82M2025
43Gabon2.59M2025
44Botswana2.56M2025
45Lesotho2.36M2025
46Guinea-Bissau2.25M2025
47Equatorial Guinea1.94M2025
48Eswatini1.26M2025
49Mauritius1.24M2025
50Djibouti1.18M2025
51Comoros882.85K2025
52Cabo Verde527.33K2025
53Sao Tome and Principe240.25K2025
54Seychelles122.73K2025
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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<p style="font:13px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif;margin:.5rem 0"><a href="https://africa-api.com/indicators/population">Population by African country, Africa API</a></p>

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