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Africa Population 2024

Africa covers 6% of Earth’s total surface area and 20% of its land area. It holds the second position among continents. The total land area is 30.3 million sq. km  (11.7 million square miles), and the population density is 36.4 per sq. km2. About 43.8% of the population is urban, and the median age in Africa is 19.7 years.

According to the United Nations, in 1950, the population of Africa was estimated to be around 228 million people. It reached 500 million in 1982 and 1 billion in 2009. In 2020, the African population was estimated to be 1.34 billion. Due to the high fertility rate, it is expected that the African population will reach around 2.5 billion by 2050 and 4 billion by 2100.

According to the United Nations, the population of Africa in 2024 is estimated to be 1,494,993,924 (1.49 billion or 149 crores).

An estimated 18.15% percent of the world’s population lives in Africa (1.46 Billion). Nigeria (218 million), Ethiopia (123 million), and Egypt (110 million) remain the top three populous countries in Africa.  

Let’s have a look at the Country-wise population of Africa

#CountryPopulation 2024
1Nigeria 218,541,212
2Ethiopia123,379,924
3Egypt110,990,103
4Democratic Republic of the Congo 99,010,212
5United Republic of Tanzania 65,497,748
6South Africa 59,893,886
7Kenya54,027,487
8Uganda47,249,585
9Sudan46,874,204
10Algeria44,903,225
11Morocco37,457,970
12Angola35,588,987
13Ghana33,475,871
14Mozambique32,969,518
15Madagascar 29,611,714
16Côte d’Ivoire 28,160,543
17Cameroon 27,914,537
18Niger26,207,977
19Burkina Faso 22,673,762
20Mali22,593,590
21Malawi 20,405,317
22Zambia20,017,675
23Chad17,723,315
24Somalia 17,597,511
25Senegal17,316,449
26Zimbabwe 16,320,537
27Guinea 13,859,340
28Rwanda13,776,698
29Benin13,352,864
30Burundi12,889,576
31Tunisia12,356,117
32South Sudan 10,913,163
33Togo8,848,698
34Sierra Leone8,605,718
35Libya6,812,341
36Congo5,970,424
37Central African Republic5579.144
38Liberia5,302,681
39Mauritania4,736,139
40Eritrea3,684,032
41Gambia2,705,992
42Botswana2,630,296
43Namibia2,567,012
44Gabon2,388,992
45Lesotho2,305,826
46Guinea-Bissau2,105,565
47Equatorial Guinea1,674,908
48Mauritius1,299,469
49Eswatini1,201,670
50Djibouti1,120,849
51Réunion*974,052
52Comoros836,774
53Cabo Verde593,150
54Western Sahara*575,986
55Mayotte*326,100
56Sao Tome & Principe227,380
57Seychelles107,118
58Saint Helena*5,374

*Overseas territories or Dependencies 

African Countries by Land Area

Africa covers about 30,370,000 km2 (11,730,000 sq mi) , or 6% of the Earth’s surface (20 % of land area), making it the second-largest continent. There are 54 Countries & 4 Dependencies in Africa &  of which Algeria is the largest by area. The population density in Africa is 37 per Km2 (94 people per mi2). 

Largest & Smallest Country by Area
AreawiseCountryArea (sq.km)
Largest by AreaAlgeria23,81,740 Km2
Smallest  by AreaSeychelles460 Km2
Largest & Smallest Country by Density
Density wiseCountryDensity (P/Km2)
Highest Population DensityMauritius626 (p/km2)
least population DensityNamibia/ Western Sahara**

3 (p/km2)

2 (p/km2)

*Mayotte is territory of France with area of  375 sq.km & density of  728 p/km2

** Western Sahara is disputed Territory

#CountryLand Area (Km²)Density (P/Km²)
1Algeria23,81,74018
2DR Congo22,67,05040
3Sudan17,65,04825
4Libya17,59,5404
5Niger12,66,70019
6Chad12,59,20013
7Angola12,46,70026
8Mali12,20,19017
9South Africa12,13,09049
10Mauritania10,30,7005
11Ethiopia10,00,000115
12Egypt9,95,450103
13Nigeria9,10,770226
14Tanzania8,85,80067
15Namibia8,23,2903
16Mozambique7,86,38040
17Zambia7,43,39025
18Somalia6,27,34025
19Central African Republic6,22,9808
20South Sudan6,10,95218
21Madagascar5,81,79548
22Kenya5,69,14094
23Botswana5,66,7304
24Cameroon4,72,71056
25Morocco4,46,30083
26Zimbabwe3,86,85038
27Congo3,41,50016
28Côte d’Ivoire3,18,00083
29Burkina Faso2,73,60076
30Western Sahara*2,66,0002
31Gabon2,57,6709
32Guinea2,45,72053
33Ghana2,27,540137
34Uganda1,99,810229
35Senegal1,92,53087
36Tunisia1,55,36076
37Benin1,12,760108
38Eritrea1,01,00035
39Liberia96,32053
40Malawi94,280203
41Sierra Leone72,180111
42Togo54,390152
43Lesotho30,36071
44Guinea-Bissau28,12070
45Equatorial Guinea28,05050
46Burundi25,680463
47Rwanda24,670525
48Djibouti23,18043
49Eswatini17,20067
50Gambia10,120239
51Cabo Verde4,030138
52Réunion*2,500358
53Mauritius2,030626
54Comoros1,861467
55Sao Tome & Principe960228
56Seychelles460214
57Saint Helena*39016
58Mayotte*375728

*Overseas Territory or Dependencies

African Countries by Fertility Rate & Median Age

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of Africa is 4.44

  • Niger is the country with the highest Fertility rate of 7
  • Mauritius has the lowest rate i.e 1.4

The median age in Europe is 19.7 years.

  • Mauritius has the highest median age of 37 Years
  • Niger has the lowest median of 15 years
#CountryFert. RateMed. Age
1Niger715
2Somalia6.117
3DR Congo617
4Mali5.916
5Chad5.817
6Angola5.617
7Burundi5.517
8Nigeria5.418
9Gambia5.318
10Burkina Faso5.218
11Uganda517
12Tanzania4.918
13Mozambique4.918
14Benin4.919
15Central African Republic4.818
16Zambia4.718
17South Sudan4.719
18Côte d’Ivoire4.719
19Guinea4.718
20Senegal4.719
21Mauritania4.620
22Cameroon4.619
23Equatorial Guinea4.622
24Congo4.519
25Guinea-Bissau4.519
26Sudan4.420
27Liberia4.419
28Togo4.419
29Sao Tome & Principe4.419
30Ethiopia4.319
31Malawi4.318
32Sierra Leone4.319
33Comoros4.220
34Madagascar4.120
35Eritrea4.119
36Rwanda4.120
37Gabon423
38Ghana3.922
39Mayotte3.720
40Zimbabwe3.619
41Kenya3.520
42Namibia3.422
43Egypt3.325
44Lesotho3.224
45Algeria3.129
46Eswatini321
47Botswana2.924
48Djibouti2.827
49Seychelles2.534
50South Africa2.428
51Morocco2.430
52Western Sahara2.428
53Libya2.329
54Cabo Verde2.328
55Réunion2.336
56Tunisia2.233
57Mauritius1.437


Source: World Population Prospects 2019

Africa Population 2024 | African Countries by population

Rajeev Rana

Rajeev Rana loves reading about history and demography and has been writing on these topics for five years. While not a certified expert, he has a deep understanding of demography in India. Rajeev contributes to several websites and has extensive knowledge of the Delhi NCR area.