Which country in Africa has the largest population?

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa: 238 million people (2025). Next come Ethiopia (135 million people) and Egypt (118 million people).

Which country in Africa has the smallest population?

The Seychelles, with 122,730 people (2025).

What is the typical population of a country in Africa?

The median of the 54 countries in Africa is 15 million people: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.

Where do the figures come from?

Mid-year population estimate: everyone living there, whatever their citizenship. Source: World Bank, 2025. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Countries in Africa by population

Mid-year population estimate: everyone living there, whatever their citizenship. 54 countries in Africa, highest first. World Bank, 2025

See it on the map

Highest

237,527,782

Nigeria

Median country

14,957,094

half above, half below

Lowest

122,730

Seychelles

Countries in Africa by population, World Bank, 2025
#	Country	People	Region
1	Nigeria	237,527,782	Western Africa
2	Ethiopia	135,472,051	Eastern Africa
3	Egypt	118,365,995	Northern Africa
4	DR Congo	112,832,473	Middle Africa
5	Tanzania	70,545,865	Eastern Africa
6	South Africa	64,747,319	Southern Africa
7	Kenya	57,532,493	Eastern Africa
8	Sudan	51,662,147	Northern Africa
9	Uganda	51,384,894	Eastern Africa
10	Algeria	47,435,312	Northern Africa
11	Angola	39,040,039	Middle Africa
12	Morocco	38,430,770	Northern Africa
13	Mozambique	35,631,653	Eastern Africa
14	Ghana	35,064,272	Western Africa
15	Madagascar	32,740,678	Eastern Africa
16	Côte d'Ivoire	32,711,547	Western Africa
17	Cameroon	29,879,337	Middle Africa
18	Niger	27,917,831	Western Africa
19	Mali	25,198,821	Western Africa
20	Burkina Faso	24,074,580	Western Africa
21	Malawi	22,216,120	Eastern Africa
22	Zambia	21,913,874	Eastern Africa
23	Chad	21,003,705	Middle Africa
24	Somalia	19,654,739	Eastern Africa
25	Senegal	18,931,966	Western Africa
26	Zimbabwe	16,950,795	Eastern Africa
27	Guinea	15,099,727	Western Africa
28	Benin	14,814,460	Western Africa
29	Rwanda	14,569,341	Eastern Africa
30	Burundi	14,390,003	Eastern Africa
31	Tunisia	12,348,573	Northern Africa
32	South Sudan	12,188,788	Eastern Africa
33	Sierra Leone	8,819,794	Western Africa
34	Togo	8,591,626	Western Africa
35	Libya	7,458,555	Northern Africa
36	Congo	6,484,437	Middle Africa
37	Liberia	5,731,206	Western Africa
38	Central African Republic	5,513,282	Middle Africa
39	Mauritania	5,315,065	Western Africa
40	Eritrea	3,607,003	Eastern Africa
41	Namibia	3,092,816	Southern Africa
42	Gambia	2,822,093	Western Africa
43	Gabon	2,593,130	Middle Africa
44	Botswana	2,562,122	Southern Africa
45	Lesotho	2,363,325	Southern Africa
46	Guinea-Bissau	2,249,515	Western Africa
47	Equatorial Guinea	1,938,431	Middle Africa
48	Eswatini	1,256,174	Southern Africa
49	Mauritius	1,243,741	Eastern Africa
50	Djibouti	1,184,076	Eastern Africa
51	Comoros	882,847	Eastern Africa
52	Cabo Verde	527,326	Western Africa
53	São Tomé and Principe	240,254	Middle Africa
54	Seychelles	122,730	Eastern Africa

Territories and other places

Not ranked: dependencies of the states above, places whose status is disputed. Highest first.

Place	People	Status
Western Sahara	612,000	Status disputed
Saint Helena	5,633	Territory of United Kingdom

Questions

Which country in Africa has the largest population?: Nigeria has the largest population in Africa: 238 million people (2025). Next come Ethiopia (135 million people) and Egypt (118 million people).
Which country in Africa has the smallest population?: The Seychelles, with 122,730 people (2025).
What is the typical population of a country in Africa?: The median of the 54 countries in Africa is 15 million people: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
Where do the figures come from?: Mid-year population estimate: everyone living there, whatever their citizenship. Source: World Bank, 2025. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Source: World Bank. Where the World Bank has no estimate, the population is Wikidata’s. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.