Africa population
58 countries19% of world todayStill growing
Africa population right now
1,567,367,367
Births this year
0
Deaths this year
0
Net change this year
0
Today
1.57 billion
19% of world
2050
2.45 billion
2100
3.81 billion
37% of world
Peaks
2100
3.81 billion
Africa population over time
Total population 1950-2100, medium variant
The Africa outlook
Africa is home to about 1.57 billion people in 2026, roughly 19% of the world total, spread across 58 countries and territories. Its most populous are Nigeria, Ethiopia, Egypt.
Africa is still growing and is not projected to peak before 2100. The population rises toward about 3.81 billion by 2100, +142.9% versus today. Its share of world population climbs from 19% to roughly 37%, the clearest sign of how the world's demographic centre of gravity is shifting.
These are the UN's medium-variant figures, the central scenario rather than a forecast. The further out they run the wider the plausible range, but the broad shape of Africa's century is consistent across the main variants.
Largest countries in Africa
By population today