As of 2023, the total population of Africa was over 1.48 billion. The number of inhabitants on the continent increased annually from 2000 onwards. In comparison, the total population was around 831 million in 2000. According to forecasts, Africa will experience impressive population growth in the coming years and will close the gap with the Asian population by 2100. Over 200 million people in Nigeria Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. In 2025, the country’s population exceeded 237 million people. Ethiopia followed with a population of around 135 million, while Egypt ranked third, accounting for approximately 118 million individuals. Other leading African countries in terms of population were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya. Additionally, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad recorded the highest population growth rate on the continent in 2023, with the number of residents rising by over 3.08 percent compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the populations of Tunisia and Eswatini registered a growth rate below 0.85 percent, while for Mauritius and Seychelles, it was negative. Drivers for population growth Several factors have driven Africa’s population growth. For instance, the annual number of births on the continent has risen constantly over the years, jumping from nearly 32 million in 2000 to almost 46 million in 2023. Moreover, despite the constant decline in the number of births per woman, the continent’s fertility rate has remained considerably above the global average. Each woman in Africa had an average of over four children throughout her reproductive years as of 2023, compared to a world rate of around two births per woman. At the same time, improved health and living conditions contributed to decreasing mortality rate and increasing life expectancy in recent years, driving population growth.

In 2024, the population of Africa was projected to grow by 2.27 percent compared to the previous year. The population growth rate on the continent has been constantly over 2.5 percent from 2000 onwards, and it peaked at 2.63 percent in 2013. Despite a slowdown in the growth rate after that, the continent's population will continue to increase significantly in the coming years. The second-largest population worldwide In 2023, the total population of Africa amounted to almost 1.5 billion. The number of inhabitants had grown steadily in the previous decades, rising from approximately 831 million in 2000. Driven by a decreasing mortality rate and a higher life expectancy at birth, the African population was forecast to increase to about 2.5 billion individuals by 2050. Africa is currently the second most populous continent worldwide after Asia. However, forecasts showed that Africa could gradually close the gap and almost reach the size of the Asian population in 2100. By that year, Africa might count 3.8 billion people, compared to 4.6 billion in Asia. The world's youngest continent The median age in Africa corresponded to 19.2 years in 2024. Although the median age has increased in recent years, the continent remains the youngest worldwide. In 2023, roughly 40 percent of the African population was aged 15 years and younger, compared to a global average of 25 percent. Africa recorded not only the highest share of youth but also the smallest elderly population worldwide. As of the same year, only three percent of Africa's population was aged 65 years and older. Africa and Latin America were the only regions below the global average of ten percent. On the continent, Niger, Uganda, and Angola were the countries with the youngest population in 2023.

The West Africa Coastal Vulnerability Mapping: Population Projections, 2030 and 2050 data set is based on an unreleased working version of the Gridded Population of the World (GPW), Version 4, year 2010 population count raster but at a coarser 5 arc-minute resolution. Bryan Jones of Baruch College produced country-level projections based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathway 4 (SSP4). SSP4 reflects a divided world where cities that have relatively high standards of living, are attractive to internal and international migrants. In low income countries, rapidly growing rural populations live on shrinking areas of arable land due to both high population pressure and expansion of large-scale mechanized farming by international agricultural firms. This pressure induces large migration flow to the cities, contributing to fast urbanization, although urban areas do not provide many opportunities for the poor and there is a massive expansion of slums and squatter settlements. This scenario may not be the most likely for the West Africa region, but it has internal coherence and is at least plausible. To provide areas in West Africa that may be particularly exposed to climate stressors owing to future high population growth.

The total population of South Africa amounted to approximately 63.20 million people in 2024. Following a continuous upward trend, the total population has risen by around 34.12 million people since 1980. Between 2024 and 2030, the total population will rise by around 5.88 million people, continuing its consistent upward trajectory.This indicator describes the total population in the country at hand. This total population of the country consists of all persons falling within the scope of the census.

According to the forecast, Africa's total population would reach nearly 2.5 billion by 2050. In 2025, the continent had around 1.55 billion inhabitants, with Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Egypt as the most populous countries. In the coming years, Africa will experience significant population growth and will close the gap significantly with the Asian population by 2100. Rapid population growth In Africa, the annual growth rate of the population followed an overall increasing trend up to 2013, reaching nearly 2.63 percent. This was followed by a drop to 2.32 percent by 2023. Although population growth was slowing down, it was still growing faster than in all other regions. The reasons behind this rapid growth are various. One factor is the high fertility rate registered in African countries. In 2023, a woman in Somalia, Chad, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic had an average of over six children in her reproductive years, the highest rate on the continent. High fertility resulted in a large young population and partly compensated for the high mortality rate in Africa, leading to fast-paced population growth. High poverty levels Africa’s population is concerned with widespread poverty. In 2025, over 438 million people on the continent are extremely poor and live with less than 2.15 U.S. dollars per day. Globally, Africa is the continent hosting the highest poverty rate. In 2025, the countries of Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo account for over 23 percent of the world's population living in extreme poverty. Nevertheless, the share of the population living in poverty in Africa is forecast to decrease in the coming years.

In 2023, the population density in Africa was 50.1 inhabitants per square kilometer. From 2000 onwards, the density of the population on the continent has increased annually. Moreover, the average number of people living within a square kilometer was expected to increase to around 58.5 by 2030. Mauritius, Rwanda, and Burundi were the African countries with the highest population density as of 2023.

In 2024, the median age in Africa was **** years, meaning that half of the population was older and half was younger than that age. The median age on the continent increased compared to 2000 when it was around ** years. Africa is the youngest continent in the world and presents the highest share of inhabitants aged 14 years and younger, that is, ** percent of the total population. Niger, Uganda, and Angola were the countries with the youngest population in Africa as of 2023.

In 2019, the number of people living in extreme poverty in Africa was projected at *** million. Compared to the rest of the world, the amount was considerably higher. Although the levels of poverty on the African continent were expected to decrease in the following years, the gap between Africa and the rest of the world would become increasingly wider. By 2030, extremely poor people on the continent would reach *** million, compared to ** million in the other regions of the world.

The population in Africa is expected to grow by ** percent by 2050. Among the countries forecast to be the most populated in the continent, Nigeria leads, with an estimated population of over *** million people. Currently, the nation has already the largest number of inhabitants in Africa. The highest population growth is expected to be measured in Angola, by ***** percent between 2019 and 2050. The number of inhabitants in the country is forecast to jump from **** million to **** million in the mentioned period.

Africa Debit Card Market growth is driven by the increasing middle-class population and growing digital payment adoption in countries like China, India, and Southeast Asia.

FUME data on projected distributions of migrants at local level between 2030 and 2050.

The dataset contains a folder of data for each destination city as a gridded dataset at 100m resolution in GeoTIFF format. The examined destination cities are: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Krakow and Rome. The dataset is provided as 100m grid cells based on the Eurostat GISCO grid of the 2021 NUTS version, using ETRS89 Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area (EPSG: 3035) as coordinate system. The file names consist of the projected year, the corresponding scenario, and the reference migrant group. The projections have been performed for the years 2030, 2040 and 2050. The investigated scenarios are the following: • benchmark (bs), • baseline (bs), • Rising East (re), • EU Recovery (eur), • Intensifying Global Competition (igc), and • War (war).

The migration background is derived from data about the Region of Origin (RoO) for migrants in Copenhagen and Amsterdam, and from Region of Citizenship (CoC) for migrants in Krakow and Rome.

The case study of Copenhagen covers the two central NUTS3 areas (DK011, DK012) and the groups presented are the following: • total population (totalpop), • native population (DNK), • Eastern EU European migrants (EU_East), • Western EU Europeans migrants (EU_West), • Non-EU European migrants (EurNonEU), • migrants from Turkey (Turkey), • the MENAP countries (MENAP; excluding Turkey), • other non-Western (OthNonWest), and • other Western countries (OthWestern).

The case study of Amsterdam covers one NUTS3 area (NL329) and the presented groups are the following: • total population (totalpop), • native population (NLD), • Eastern EU European migrants (EU East), • Western EU European migrants (EU West), • migrants from Turkey and Morocco (Turkey + Morocco), • migrants from the Middle East and Africa (Middle East + Africa), • migrants from the former colonies (Former Colonies), and • migrants from the rest of the world (Other Europe etc).

The case study of Krakow covers the Municipality of Krakow, and the presented groups are the following: • total population (totalpop), • native population (POL), • EU/EFTA European migrants (EU), • non-EU European migrants (Europe_nonEU), and • migrants from the rest of the world (Other).

The case of Rome covers the Municipality of Rome, and the presented groups are the following: • total population (totalpop), • native population (ITA), • migrants from Romania (ROU), • Philippines (PHL), • Bangladesh (BGD), • the EU (EU; excluding Romania), • Africa (Africa), • Asia (Asia; excluding Philippines and Bangladesh) and • America (America).

This dataset was developed by KTH-dESA and describes settlement patterns relating to electrification in Madagascar. Using the Open Source Spatial Electrification Tool three attributes have been assigned to the settlements retrieved from the Madagascar High Resolution Settlement Layer developed by Facebook Connectivity Lab and CIESIN [1]. The three attributes are as follows: Urban or rural status. The urban cutoff level, i.e. the minimum population density per square kilometer, has been calculated so that the urban population matches the official statistics of 35 % in 2015 [2]. The urban cutoff level was calculated to be 683 people/km2, meaning that all settlements above this value are considered urban. The number of households in the settlements by 2030. Based on the urban or rural status the future population for the settlements have been estimated by applying a population growth rate to match future population projections according to [3] and [4]. The number of households 2030 have then been calculated using the epected urban and rural household sizes by 2030 of 3.7 and 4.4 people per household respectively [5]. Modeled household electrification status in 2015 (1 if the household in the cell are considered electrified by the national grid, 2 if electrified by mini-grids and 0 if non-electrified). The algorithm in OnSSET determines which household are likely to be electrified in 2015 to match the current electrification rate of 15% [6], based on meeting certain conditions for night-time light (NTL), population density and distance to the grid and roads. For Madagascar the settlements were calculated to be electrified by the national grid (RI Antananarico, RI Toamasina and RI Fianarantsoa) if they a) where within 5 km from the grid and had a minimum population density of 2287 people/km2 or minimum NTL of 60 or b) within 10 km from the grid and had a minimum population density of 10000 people/km2 or by mini-grids if they c) had a population density above 3882 people/km2 and minimum NTL of 5 or maximum 20 kilometers to major roads. [1] Facebook Connectivity Lab and Center for International Earth Science Information Network - CIESIN - Columbia University (2016). High Resolution Settlement Layer (HRSL). Source imagery for HRSL © 2016 DigitalGlobe https://energydata.info/dataset/madagascar-high-resolution-settlement-layer-2015 [2] United Nations - Economic Commission for Africa. The Demographic Profile of African Countries. (2016). [3] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2014 Revision. (2014). [4] Unicef - division of data, research and policy. Generation 2030 | Africa. (2014). [5] Mentis, D. et al. Lighting the World: the first application of an open source, spatial electrification tool (OnSSET) on Sub-Saharan Africa. Environmental Research Letters. Vol. 12, nr 8. (2017). [6] USAID. Power Africa in Madagascar | Power Africa | U.S. Agency for International Development. Available at: https://www.usaid.gov/powerafrica/madagascar. (2017).

Middle East & Africa’s school uniform market to reach 3.77 billion USD by 2030, supported by education sector reforms and population growth.

The Middle East & Africa fungicides market will grow more than 5.41% CAGR (2025–2030), with population growth boosting crop protection needs.

In Middle East and Africa Long Term Care Market, It is witnessing substantial growth due to demographic shifts, primarily the aging population, and the rising incidence of chronic diseases.

The Middle East & Africa Prepaid Card Market will add USD 61.64B by 2030, driven by financial inclusion initiatives for the unbanked population.

Population-level demographic and epidemiological indicators relating to HIV sero-discordancy by epidemic phase for six countries in sub-Saharan Africa representing different HIV epidemic scales: Low HIV prevalence (Niger and Mali), intermediate HIV prevalence (Tanzania and Kenya), and high HIV prevalence (Zimbabwe and Lesotho).

Goal 1End poverty in all its forms everywhereTarget 1.1: By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere, currently measured as people living on less than $1.25 a dayIndicator 1.1.1: Proportion of the population living below the international poverty line by sex, age, employment status and geographic location (urban/rural)SI_POV_DAY1: Proportion of population below international poverty line (%)SI_POV_EMP1: Employed population below international poverty line, by sex and age (%)Target 1.2: By 2030, reduce at least by half the proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitionsIndicator 1.2.1: Proportion of population living below the national poverty line, by sex and ageSI_POV_NAHC: Proportion of population living below the national poverty line (%)Indicator 1.2.2: Proportion of men, women and children of all ages living in poverty in all its dimensions according to national definitionsSD_MDP_MUHC: Proportion of population living in multidimensional poverty (%)SD_MDP_ANDI: Average proportion of deprivations for people multidimensionally poor (%)SD_MDP_MUHHC: Proportion of households living in multidimensional poverty (%)SD_MDP_CSMP: Proportion of children living in child-specific multidimensional poverty (%)Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerableIndicator 1.3.1: Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerableSI_COV_MATNL: [ILO] Proportion of mothers with newborns receiving maternity cash benefit (%)SI_COV_POOR: [ILO] Proportion of poor population receiving social assistance cash benefit, by sex (%)SI_COV_SOCAST: [World Bank] Proportion of population covered by social assistance programs (%)SI_COV_SOCINS: [World Bank] Proportion of population covered by social insurance programs (%)SI_COV_CHLD: [ILO] Proportion of children/households receiving child/family cash benefit, by sex (%)SI_COV_UEMP: [ILO] Proportion of unemployed persons receiving unemployment cash benefit, by sex (%)SI_COV_VULN: [ILO] Proportion of vulnerable population receiving social assistance cash benefit, by sex (%)SI_COV_WKINJRY: [ILO] Proportion of employed population covered in the event of work injury, by sex (%)SI_COV_BENFTS: [ILO] Proportion of population covered by at least one social protection benefit, by sex (%)SI_COV_DISAB: [ILO] Proportion of population with severe disabilities receiving disability cash benefit, by sex (%)SI_COV_LMKT: [World Bank] Proportion of population covered by labour market programs (%)SI_COV_PENSN: [ILO] Proportion of population above statutory pensionable age receiving a pension, by sex (%)Target 1.4: By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinanceIndicator 1.4.1: Proportion of population living in households with access to basic servicesSP_ACS_BSRVH2O: Proportion of population using basic drinking water services, by location (%)SP_ACS_BSRVSAN: Proportion of population using basic sanitation services, by location (%)Indicator 1.4.2: Proportion of total adult population with secure tenure rights to land, (a) with legally recognized documentation, and (b) who perceive their rights to land as secure, by sex and type of tenureSP_LGL_LNDDOC: Proportion of people with legally recognized documentation of their rights to land out of total adult population, by sex (%)SP_LGL_LNDSEC: Proportion of people who perceive their rights to land as secure out of total adult population, by sex (%)SP_LGL_LNDSTR: Proportion of people with secure tenure rights to land out of total adult population, by sex (%)Target 1.5: By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social and environmental shocks and disastersIndicator 1.5.1: Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 populationVC_DSR_MISS: Number of missing persons due to disaster (number)VC_DSR_AFFCT: Number of people affected by disaster (number)VC_DSR_MORT: Number of deaths due to disaster (number)VC_DSR_MTMP: Number of deaths and missing persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population (number)VC_DSR_MMHN: Number of deaths and missing persons attributed to disasters (number)VC_DSR_DAFF: Number of directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population (number)VC_DSR_IJILN: Number of injured or ill people attributed to disasters (number)VC_DSR_PDAN: Number of people whose damaged dwellings were attributed to disasters (number)VC_DSR_PDYN: Number of people whose destroyed dwellings were attributed to disasters (number)VC_DSR_PDLN: Number of people whose livelihoods were disrupted or destroyed, attributed to disasters (number)Indicator 1.5.2: Direct economic loss attributed to disasters in relation to global gross domestic product (GDP)VC_DSR_GDPLS: Direct economic loss attributed to disasters (current United States dollars)VC_DSR_LSGP: Direct economic loss attributed to disasters relative to GDP (%)VC_DSR_AGLH: Direct agriculture loss attributed to disasters (current United States dollars)VC_DSR_HOLH: Direct economic loss in the housing sector attributed to disasters (current United States dollars)VC_DSR_CILN: Direct economic loss resulting from damaged or destroyed critical infrastructure attributed to disasters (current United States dollars)VC_DSR_CHLN: Direct economic loss to cultural heritage damaged or destroyed attributed to disasters (millions of current United States dollars)VC_DSR_DDPA: Direct economic loss to other damaged or destroyed productive assets attributed to disasters (current United States dollars)Indicator 1.5.3: Number of countries that adopt and implement national disaster risk reduction strategies in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030SG_DSR_LGRGSR: Score of adoption and implementation of national DRR strategies in line with the Sendai FrameworkSG_DSR_SFDRR: Number of countries that reported having a National DRR Strategy which is aligned to the Sendai FrameworkIndicator 1.5.4: Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategiesSG_DSR_SILS: Proportion of local governments that adopt and implement local disaster risk reduction strategies in line with national disaster risk reduction strategies (%)SG_DSR_SILN: Number of local governments that adopt and implement local DRR strategies in line with national strategies (number)SG_GOV_LOGV: Number of local governments (number)Target 1.a: Ensure significant mobilization of resources from a variety of sources, including through enhanced development cooperation, in order to provide adequate and predictable means for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, to implement programmes and policies to end poverty in all its dimensionsIndicator 1.a.1: Total official development assistance grants from all donors that focus on poverty reduction as a share of the recipient country’s gross national incomeDC_ODA_POVLG: Official development assistance grants for poverty reduction, by recipient countries (percentage of GNI)DC_ODA_POVDLG: Official development assistance grants for poverty reduction, by donor countries (percentage of GNI)DC_ODA_POVG: Official development assistance grants for poverty reduction (percentage of GNI)Indicator 1.a.2: Proportion of total government spending on essential services (education, health and social protection)SD_XPD_ESED: Proportion of total government spending on essential services, education (%)Target 1.b: Create sound policy frameworks at the national, regional and international levels, based on pro-poor and gender-sensitive development strategies, to support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actionsIndicator 1.b.1: Pro-poor public social spending

This statistic shows a projection of global populations that had no access to electricity in 2009 and 2016, with a forecast to 2030, broken down by region. By 2030, it is estimated that some 602 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will not have access to electricity, an increase from the 588 million people without access in 2016.

South Africa’s open-source services sector is anticipated to grow at a 21.20% CAGR from 2025 to 2030, fueled by a growing tech-savvy population and demand for digital services.