Cairo, in Egypt, ranked as the most populated city in Africa as of 2025, with an estimated population of over 23 million inhabitants living in Greater Cairo. Kinshasa, in Congo, and Lagos, in Nigeria, followed with some 17.8 million and 17.2 million, respectively. Among the 15 largest cities in the continent, another one, Kano, was located in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. Population density trends in Africa As of 2023, Africa exhibited a population density of 50.1 individuals per square kilometer. Since 2000, the population density across the continent has been experiencing a consistent annual increment. Projections indicated that the average population residing within each square kilometer would rise to approximately 58.5 by the year 2030. Moreover, Mauritius stood out as the African nation with the most elevated population density, exceeding 627 individuals per square kilometre. Mauritius possesses one of the most compact territories on the continent, a factor that significantly influences its high population density. Urbanization dynamics in Africa The urbanization rate in Africa was anticipated to reach close to 45.5 percent in 2024. Urbanization across the continent has consistently risen since 2000, with urban areas accommodating only around a third of the total population then. This trajectory is projected to continue its rise in the years ahead. Nevertheless, the distribution between rural and urban populations shows remarkable diversity throughout the continent. In 2024, Gabon and Libya stood out as Africa’s most urbanized nations, each surpassing 80 percent urbanization. As of the same year, Africa's population was estimated to expand by 2.27 percent compared to the preceding year. Since 2000, the population growth rate across the continent has consistently exceeded 2.3 percent, reaching its pinnacle at 2.63 percent in 2013. Although the growth rate has experienced a deceleration, Africa's population will persistently grow significantly in the forthcoming years.

An estimated number of around 689 million people in Africa live in urban areas as of 2024. The urban population on the continent has been growing annually. Among the African countries, Gabon, Libya, and Djibouti have the highest urbanization rate.

South Africa ZA: Population in Largest City data was reported at 9,822,625.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 9,615,976.000 Person for 2016. South Africa ZA: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 3,628,124.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9,822,625.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 2,136,849.000 Person in 1960. South Africa ZA: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

South Africa ZA: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 26.327 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 26.291 % for 2016. South Africa ZA: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 23.218 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26.327 % in 2017 and a record low of 18.806 % in 1991. South Africa ZA: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted Average;

In 2024, Gabon had the highest urbanization rate in Africa, with over 90 percent of the population living in urban areas. Libya and Djibouti followed at around 82 percent and 79 percent, respectively. On the other hand, many countries on the continent had the majority of the population residing in rural areas. As of 2023, urbanization in Malawi, Rwanda, Niger, and Burundi was below 20 percent. A growing urban population On average, the African urbanization rate stood at approximately 45 percent in 2023. The number of people living in urban areas has been growing steadily since 2000 and is forecast to increase further in the coming years. The urbanization process is particularly rapid in Burundi, Uganda, and Tanzania. In these countries, the urban population grew by over five percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. However, in 39 countries on the continent, the urban population growth was over three percent. The most populous cities in Africa Africa’s largest city is Lagos in Nigeria, counting around nine million people. It is followed by Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cairo in Egypt, each with over seven million inhabitants. Moreover, other cities on the continent are growing rapidly. The population of Bujumbura in Burundi will increase by 123 percent between 2020 and 2035, registering the highest growth rate on the continent. Other fast-growing cities are Zinder in Niger, Kampala in Uganda, and Kabinda in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Accurate delineation of the urban and rural areas has a broad range of implications on the quality and reliability of agricultural production and socio-economic statistics, design of household survey, establishment of agricultural development strategies and policies, and effective resource allocation. Two most widely-used urban/rural mapping dataset across Africa, GRUMP (Global Rural and Urban Mapping Project; http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/data/collection/grump-v1) and SAGE Urban Extents (https://nelson.wisc.edu/sage/data-and-models/schneider.php), uses the underlying datasets of 2000-2002. There are various pilot studies attempting to update the dataset in major metropolitan areas or specific countries, but no African continent-wide effort has been made to date. To address this, using the GRUMP 2000 data as the baseline, we used a set of recently-published datasets to identify the newly extended urban areas across Africa. Three main data sources were the nightlights data from Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) 2010-2013, WorldPop 2010, and the MODIS Global Land Cover 2010-2013. Country-level urban population headcounts and their share of total population were acquired from the World Bank for 2010-2013 and used to control the total size of the urban population from the analysis is consistent with the statistics data at 1 km resolution.

Central African Republic CF: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 41.913 % in 2024. This records a decrease from the previous number of 42.646 % for 2023. Central African Republic CF: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 41.010 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2024, with 65 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 44.896 % in 1988 and a record low of 27.574 % in 1960. Central African Republic CF: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Central African Republic – Table CF.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.;United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.;Weighted average;

As of 2022, Cairo was the most populated city in the North African region with over *** million inhabitants. It was followed by Alexandria and Casablanca, with *** million and *** million people, respectively. Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa.

Central African Republic CF: Population in Largest City data was reported at 985,965.000 Person in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 958,335.000 Person for 2023. Central African Republic CF: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 487,345.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2024, with 65 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 985,965.000 Person in 2024 and a record low of 94,350.000 Person in 1960. Central African Republic CF: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Central African Republic – Table CF.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.;United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.;;

The average for 2024 based on 53 countries was 49.2 percent. The highest value was in Gabon: 91.31 percent and the lowest value was in Burundi: 15.16 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

As of 2018, more than 60 million people were living in urban areas in East Africa. Ethiopia was the country with the largest urban residents in the region, in terms of absolute numbers, roughly 23 million. In its turn, in Djibouti, 760 thousand people lived in urban areas by the same period. Even though, the country was the most urbanized in East Africa, with a share of 78 percent of urban population, in 2018.

Around 65 million people are expected to be living in urban areas in East Africa, by 2020. The region is one of the fastest urbanizing in the entire continent. In ten years, there were nearly 20 million more urban residents, as the total amount was 43 million in 2010. Djibouti is the most urbanized country in East Africa, with a share of approximately 78 percent of urban population, in 2018. In absolute numbers, Ethiopia has the largest number of urban residents, roughly 23 million.

The Egyptian capital, Cairo, is the largest agglomeration on the African continent. In 2023, almost ** million people resided in Greater Cairo (consisting of parts of three governorates). Johannesburg-Pretoria, South Africa, and Lagos, Nigeria, followed, with close to **** million and **** million inhabitants, respectively.

Achieving access to safe water and sanitation still pose major challenges in urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa countries, despite all the progress achieved in the last decade. This study assessed the ability of populations living in poor peri-urban settlements to access improved water and sanitation and identified factors influencing this access, in order to guide sustainable mitigating solutions to address associated health and environmental risks. We conducted a cross-sectional study in six poor peri-urban settlements of Yopougon, the largest municipality of Abidjan. A total of 556 randomly selected households were included. The factors associated with access to improved water and sanitation were identified through explanatory models using multivariate logistic regression. A proportion of 25% of all households assessed did not have access to clean water and 57% lacked improved sanitation. Socioeconomic status and settlement characteristics appear as the main indicators of poor access to reliable water and sanitation in peri-urban settlements. The presence of the household head’s wife at home was associated with greater access to clean water (OR = 3.57; 95% CI: 1.74, 7.31), thus highlighting the important role of women in ensuring access to clean water in these specific environments. Household size, education and religion were not significantly associated with the two considered outcomes. Women therefore should be involved at all levels of programming in water promotion in these settlements to improve the population’s well-being. While religion does not appear to play an important role in access to water and sanitation, successful interventions should involve religious communities because of their large representation.

Abstract

In 1990 the Central Statistical Service of South Africa sponsored a household expenditure survey in a sub-set of households in 12 major metro/urban areas in the country. The aim of the survey was to obtain data on income and expenditure patterns of South African households on which the Consumer Price Index (CPS) and various other economic indicators could be based. The survey was conducted by Markdata, the fieldwork arm of the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). All population groups were enumerated but this dataset does not contain data files for the "white" population group.

Geographic coverage

The IES 1990 only collected data on expenditure from the 12 largest urban areas in the country, leaving out buying patters in small towns and rural areas. Areas enumerated were: Cape Peninsula, Port Elizabeth- Uitenhage, East London, Kimberley, Pietermaritz burg, Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Witwatersrand (excl Jhb), Klerksdorp, Vaal Triangle, Orange Free State-Gold Fields, Bloemfontein.

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The survey covered all household members in the selected areas

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Two survey instruments were provided in the IES 1990: A detailed "long" questionnaire and a "short" questionnaire without detailed classification of expenditure items. The "short" questionnaire was completed by two out of three households enumerated. The "short" and "long" questionnaires are identified separately in the variable q_type. "Long" questionnaires are indicated as questionnaire = 1 and "short' questionnaires as questionnaire = 2.

This statistics shows the leading metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of Black population in the United States in 2023. Among the 81 largest metropolitan areas, Memphis, Tennessee was ranked first with ** percent of residents reporting as Black or African-Americans in 2023.

The fastest growing city in Africa is Bujumbura, in Burundi. In 2020, this city had an estimated population of about one million. By 2035, the population of Bujumbura could increase by 123 percent and reach roughly 2.3 million people. Zinder, in Niger, had about half million inhabitants in 2020 and, with a growth rate of 118 percent, is Africa's second fastest growing city. In 2035, Zinder could have over one million residents.

As of 2021, the largest city in whole Africa is Lagos, in Nigeria. Other highly populated cities in Africa are Kinshasa, in Congo, Cairo, and Alexandria, both located in Egypt.

Abstract

The South African Audience Research Foundation (SAARF) conducts the All Media and Products Survey (AMPS) to collect data on media usage of South Africans, as well as their ownership or usage of certain products and services.

Geographic coverage

The survey covers major rural and urban areas in South Africa. This includes major metropolitan areas in Gauteng, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Northern Cape.

Analysis unit

Households and individuals

Universe

The universe which the AMPS sample is drawn comprises virtually all South African adults aged 15 years or older throughout urban and rural areas of major metropolitans in South Africa. The survey covers residents in private households, or hotels, residential hotels and similar accommodation in the Republic of South Africa.

Kind of data

Sample survey data

Sampling procedure

A multistage, area stratified, quasi-probability design was employed on a full annual sample. Using population estimates, the sample is then grossed up to the total population so that findings can be looked at in terms of both percentage and thousands of people. The data were collected by personal, in-home interviews. In the case of each racial group, certain areas were excluded from consideration, as containing no persons or a negligible number of persons in a given group.

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

In 2018, roughly 23 percent of the population in East Africa were living in urban areas. The most urbanized country was Djibouti (78 percent), while Burundi was the least urbanized (13 percent). In absolute numbers, Ethiopia had the largest number of urban residents, approximately 23 million.

South Africa is the sixth African country with the largest population, counting approximately 60.5 million individuals as of 2021. In 2023, the largest city in South Africa was Cape Town. The capital of Western Cape counted 3.4 million inhabitants, whereas South Africa's second largest city was Durban (eThekwini Municipality), with 3.1 million inhabitants. Note that when observing the number of inhabitants by municipality, Johannesburg is counted as largest city/municipality of South Africa.

From four provinces to nine provinces

Before Nelson Mandela became president in 1994, the country had four provinces, Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange Free State, and Transvaal and 10 “homelands” (also called Bantustans). The four larger regions were for the white population while the homelands for its black population. This system was dismantled following the new constitution of South Africa in 1996 and reorganized into nine provinces. Currently, Gauteng is the most populated province with around 15.9 million people residing there, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 11.68 million inhabiting the province. As of 2022, Black African individuals were almost 81 percent of the total population in the country, while colored citizens followed amounting to around 5.34 million.

A diverse population

Although the majority of South Africans are identified as Black, the country’s population is far from homogenous, with different ethnic groups usually residing in the different “homelands”. This can be recognizable through the various languages used to communicate between the household members and externally. IsiZulu was the most common language of the nation with around a quarter of the population using it in- and outside of households. IsiXhosa and Afrikaans ranked second and third with roughly 15 percent and 12 percent, respectively.