Africa is the second most populous continent in the world—surpassed only by Asia—though the populations of the countries found there can vary greatly. It is home to Nigeria, which has more than 228 million people and routinely ranks among the top 10 most populous countries in the world, but it also has countries with populations of fewer than 250,000 people (Sao Tome and Principe and Seychelles). Where do the populations of Africa’s other countries fall? Find out in the table below, which lists the countries of Africa by the latest population estimates.
| African country | population estimate |
|---|---|
| 1. Nigeria | (2024 est.) 228,181,000 |
| 2. Democratic Republic of the Congo | (2024 est.) 115,403,000 |
| 3. Ethiopia | (2024 est.) 109,900,000 |
| 4. Egypt | (2024 est.) 106,647,000 |
| 5. Tanzania | (2024 est.) 65,444,000 |
| 6. South Africa | (2024 est.) 64,701,000 |
| 7. Kenya | (2024 est.) 51,563,000 |
| 8. Sudan | (2024 est.) 47,653,000 |
| 9. Uganda | (2024 est.) 47,066,000 |
| 10. Algeria | (2024 est.) 46,839,000 |
| 11. Morocco | (2024 est.) 36,769,000 |
| 11. Mozambique | (2024 est.) 33,246,000 |
| 13. Angola | (2024 est.) 35,159,000 |
| 14. Ghana | (2024 est.) 32,823,000 |
| 15. Côte d’Ivoire | (2024 est.) 32,065,000 |
| 16. Madagascar | (2024 est.) 30,854,000 |
| 17. Cameroon | (2024 est.) 27,334,000 |
| 18. Niger | (2024 est.) 26,292,000 |
| 19. Mali | (2024 est.) 23,948,000 |
| 20. Burkina Faso | (2024 est.) 23,409,000 |
| 21. Zambia | (2024 est.) 20,856,000 |
| 22. Somalia | (2024 est.) 20,300,000 |
| 23. Malawi | (2024 est.) 20,271,000 |
| 24. Chad | (2024 est.) 19,094,000 |
| 25. Senegal | (2024 est.) 18,504,000 |
| 26. Zimbabwe | (2024 est.) 15,706,000 |
| 27. South Sudan | (2024 est.) 15,254,000 |
| 28. Guinea | (2024 est.) 13,990,000 |
| 29. Benin | (2024 est.) 13,844,000 |
| 30. Rwanda | (2024 est.) 13,833,000 |
| 31. Burundi | (2024 est.) 13,439,000 |
| 32. Tunisia | (2024 est.) 11,965,000 |
| 33. Togo | (2024 est.) 8,399,000 |
| 34. Libya | (2024 est.) 7,820,000 |
| 35. Sierra Leone | (2024 est.) 7,752,000 |
| 36. Republic of the Congo | (2024 est.) 6,373,000 |
| 37. Eritrea | (2024 est.) 6,344,000 |
| 38. Central African Republic | (2024 est.) 5,651,000 |
| 39. Liberia | (2024 est.) 5,498,000 |
| 40. Mauritania | (2024 est.) 4,582,000 |
| 41. The Gambia | (2024 est.) 3,041,000 |
| 42. Namibia | (2024 est.) 2,688,000 |
| 43. Gabon | (2024 est.) 2,430,000 |
| 44. Botswana | (2024 est.) 2,413,000 |
| 45. Lesotho | (2024 est.) 2,120,000 |
| 46. Equatorial Guinea | (2024 est.) 1,669,000 |
| 47. Guinea-Bissau | (2024 est.) 1,663,000 |
| 48. Mauritius | (2024 est.) 1,235,000 |
| 49. Eswatini | (2024 est.) 1,206,000 |
| 50. Djibouti | (2024 est.) 1,052,000 |
| 51. Comoros | (2024 est.) 860,600 |
| 52. Cabo Verde | (2024 est.) 491,100 |
| 53. Sao Tome and Principe | (2024 est.) 228,300 |
| 54. Seychelles | (2024 est.) 105,000 |