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Indicator

Population Density by African country

2026

People per square kilometre of land area.

Africa, 202654 of 54 countries
123.1population-weighted average
Highest in 2026Mauritius · 623.2Lowest in 2026Namibia · 3.83Reported in 20260 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 — 81.9Democratic Republic of the Congo — 51.4Somalia — 32.4Kenya — 101.0Sudan — 30.2Chad — 17.1South Africa — 53.6Lesotho — 78.7Zimbabwe — 44.7Botswana — 4.59Namibia — 3.83Senegal — 100.6Mali — 21.3Mauritania — 5.30Benin — 134.5Niger — 22.7Nigeria — 266.2Cameroon — 65.7Togo — 182.6Ghana — 156.9Cote d'Ivoire — 105.3Guinea — 62.8Guinea-Bissau — 81.7Liberia — 60.8Sierra Leone — 125.4Burkina Faso — 89.9Central African Republic — 9.15Republic of the Congo — 19.4Gabon — 10.3Equatorial Guinea — 70.7Zambia — 30.3Malawi — 241.0Mozambique — 46.6Eswatini — 73.1Angola — 32.3Burundi — 567.6Madagascar — 57.6Gambia — 285.0Tunisia — 79.9Algeria — 20.2Eritrea — 30.4Morocco — 86.9Egypt — 120.7Libya — 4.50Ethiopia — 138.9Djibouti — 51.7Uganda — 264.1Rwanda — 615.0South Sudan — 22.0Nigeria 266.2Nigeria 266.2Ethiopia 138.9Ethiopia 138.9Kenya 101.0Kenya 101.0South Africa 53.6South Africa 53.62026HIGHEST IN 2026Mauritiusnot drawn623.2Rwanda615.0Burundi567.6Comorosnot drawn483.1Seychellesnot drawn295.3LOWEST IN 2026Namibia3.83Libya4.50Botswana4.59Mauritania5.30Central African Republic9.15PINNEDEthiopia138.913 of 54Kenya101.019 of 54Nigeria266.27 of 54South Africa53.633 of 54OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNCabo Verdenot drawn131.4Sao Tome and Principenot drawn255.2persons per km2 · quintiles of the observed range3.8322.053.681.9156.9623.2no record
20142026
UN WPP · 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.
Eastern Africa18 of 18 countries207.0
Western Africa16 of 16 countries114.5
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries59.0
Northern Africa6 of 6 countries57.0
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries42.8
Africaall 54 countries · 54 with a 2026 figure123.1

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
54 countries have a modelled 2026 figureThe provider estimated or projected it rather than measuring it that year. Those points are tagged Modelled in the table and drawn like any other on the map — read the tag before you quote the number.
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 2026 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

Population DensityPeople per square kilometre of land area.
SourceUN WPP, with processing by Africa API
Unitpersons per km2
Last updated7 Mar 2026
Next expected updateMar 2027
Date range1950–2026
Coverage54 of 54 countries · 0 reported, 54 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. 0 countries did so for 2026 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2026 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 Density". Data adapted from UN WPP. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/population-density
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=population_density_per_km2&year=2026&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
DemographicsPopulationTotal mid-year population.DemographicsPopulation GrowthAnnual population growth rate.DemographicsLife ExpectancyLife expectancy at birth, in years.

Population Density: 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.

#CountryPopulation DensityPeriod
1Mauritius623.2/km²2026
2Rwanda615/km²2026
3Burundi567.6/km²2026
4Comoros483.1/km²2026
5Seychelles295.3/km²2026
6Gambia285/km²2026
7Nigeria266.2/km²2026
8Uganda264.1/km²2026
9Sao Tome and Principe255.2/km²2026
10Malawi241/km²2026
11Togo182.6/km²2026
12Ghana156.9/km²2026
13Ethiopia138.9/km²2026
14Benin134.5/km²2026
15Cabo Verde131.4/km²2026
16Sierra Leone125.4/km²2026
17Egypt120.7/km²2026
18Cote d'Ivoire105.3/km²2026
19Kenya101/km²2026
20Senegal100.6/km²2026
21Burkina Faso89.9/km²2026
22Morocco86.9/km²2026
23Tanzania81.9/km²2026
24Guinea-Bissau81.7/km²2026
25Tunisia79.9/km²2026
26Lesotho78.7/km²2026
27Eswatini73.1/km²2026
28Equatorial Guinea70.7/km²2026
29Cameroon65.7/km²2026
30Guinea62.8/km²2026
31Liberia60.8/km²2026
32Madagascar57.6/km²2026
33South Africa53.6/km²2026
34Djibouti51.7/km²2026
35Democratic Republic of the Congo51.4/km²2026
36Mozambique46.6/km²2026
37Zimbabwe44.7/km²2026
38Somalia32.4/km²2026
39Angola32.3/km²2026
40Eritrea30.4/km²2026
41Zambia30.3/km²2026
42Sudan30.2/km²2026
43Niger22.7/km²2026
44South Sudan22/km²2026
45Mali21.3/km²2026
46Algeria20.2/km²2026
47Republic of the Congo19.4/km²2026
48Chad17.1/km²2026
49Gabon10.3/km²2026
50Central African Republic9.1/km²2026
51Mauritania5.3/km²2026
52Botswana4.6/km²2026
53Libya4.5/km²2026
54Namibia3.8/km²2026
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.

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