Indicator

Urban Population Growth by African country

2025

Annual percentage growth of the urban population.

Africa, 202554 of 54 countries
3.5%population-weighted average
Highest in 2025Burundi · 5.8%Lowest in 2025Mauritius · −0.1%Reported in 202554 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 — 4.8%Democratic Republic of the Congo — 4.0%Somalia — 4.3%Kenya — 2.9%Sudan — 2.6%Chad — 5.7%South Africa — 1.3%Lesotho — 3.3%Zimbabwe — 3.4%Botswana — 2.3%Namibia — 3.0%Senegal — 3.3%Mali — 4.8%Mauritania — 4.2%Benin — 3.9%Niger — 5.0%Nigeria — 3.3%Cameroon — 3.0%Togo — 3.5%Ghana — 2.8%Cote d'Ivoire — 3.5%Guinea — 3.5%Guinea-Bissau — 3.3%Liberia — 3.1%Sierra Leone — 3.3%Burkina Faso — 4.3%Central African Republic — 4.3%Republic of the Congo — 2.7%Gabon — 2.4%Equatorial Guinea — 2.7%Zambia — 3.7%Malawi — 4.4%Mozambique — 4.9%Eswatini — 2.8%Angola — 4.1%Burundi — 5.8%Madagascar — 3.8%Gambia — 3.3%Tunisia — 1.1%Algeria — 2.0%Eritrea — 2.0%Morocco — 1.4%Egypt — 1.8%Libya — 1.1%Ethiopia — 4.6%Djibouti — 1.4%Uganda — 4.8%Rwanda — 5.6%South Sudan — 3.5%Nigeria 3.3%Nigeria 3.3%Ethiopia 4.6%Ethiopia 4.6%Kenya 2.9%Kenya 2.9%South Africa 1.3%South Africa 1.3%2025HIGHEST IN 2025Burundi5.8%Chad5.7%Rwanda5.6%Niger5.0%Mozambique4.9%LOWEST IN 2025Mauritiusnot drawn−0.1%Tunisia1.1%Libya1.1%South Africa1.3%Djibouti1.4%PINNEDEthiopia4.6%9 of 54Kenya2.9%35 of 54Nigeria3.3%26 of 54OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNCabo Verdenot drawn1.6%Comorosnot drawn3.0%Sao Tome and Principenot drawn2.4%Seychellesnot drawn1.6%% per year · quintiles of the observed range−0.1%2%3%3.5%4.3%5.8%no record
20142025
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.
Eastern Africa18 of 18 countries4.3%
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries4.0%
Western Africa16 of 16 countries3.6%
Northern Africa6 of 6 countries1.9%
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries1.5%
Africaall 54 countries · 54 with a 2025 figure3.5%

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

Urban Population GrowthAnnual percentage growth of the urban population.
SourceWorld Bank, with processing by Africa API
Unit% per year
Last updated15 Oct 2026
Next expected updateOct 2027
Date range1961–2025
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) — "Urban Population Growth". Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/urban-growth
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=urban_population_growth_pct&year=2025&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.

Urban Population Growth: 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.

#CountryUrban Population GrowthPeriod
1Burundi5.8%2025
2Chad5.7%2025
3Rwanda5.6%2025
4Niger5%2025
5Mozambique4.9%2025
6Tanzania4.8%2025
7Uganda4.8%2025
8Mali4.8%2025
9Ethiopia4.6%2025
10Malawi4.4%2025
11Central African Republic4.3%2025
12Somalia4.3%2025
13Burkina Faso4.3%2025
14Mauritania4.2%2025
15Angola4.1%2025
16Democratic Republic of the Congo4%2025
17Benin3.9%2025
18Madagascar3.8%2025
19Zambia3.7%2025
20Togo3.5%2025
21Guinea3.5%2025
22Cote d'Ivoire3.5%2025
23South Sudan3.5%2025
24Zimbabwe3.4%2025
25Lesotho3.3%2025
26Nigeria3.3%2025
27Guinea-Bissau3.3%2025
28Gambia3.3%2025
29Sierra Leone3.3%2025
30Senegal3.3%2025
31Liberia3.1%2025
32Comoros3%2025
33Cameroon3%2025
34Namibia3%2025
35Kenya2.9%2025
36Eswatini2.8%2025
37Ghana2.8%2025
38Republic of the Congo2.7%2025
39Equatorial Guinea2.7%2025
40Sudan2.6%2025
41Sao Tome and Principe2.4%2025
42Gabon2.4%2025
43Botswana2.3%2025
44Algeria2%2025
45Eritrea2%2025
46Egypt1.8%2025
47Cabo Verde1.6%2025
48Seychelles1.6%2025
49Morocco1.4%2025
50Djibouti1.4%2025
51South Africa1.3%2025
52Libya1.1%2025
53Tunisia1.1%2025
54Mauritius-0.1%2025
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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