This statistic shows the total population of Sub-Saharan Africa from 2014 to 2024. Sub-Saharan Africa includes all countries south of the Sahara desert. In 2024, the total population of Sub-Saharan Africa amounted to approximately 1.29 billion inhabitants.

Historical chart and dataset showing total population for Sub-Saharan Africa by year from 1950 to 2025.

In 2024, around ** percent of the total population of Sub-Saharan Africa was aged 15 to 64 years. Moreover, children younger than 15 years constituted nearly ** percent of the inhabitants. Overall, Africa has a young population. Only ***** percent of the individuals in the Sub-Saharan region were aged 65 years and older. As of 2023, Niger, Uganda, Angola, and Mali had a median age below 16.5 years, the lowest on the continent.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth: All Income Levels for Sub-Saharan Africa (SPPOPGROWSSF) from 1961 to 2024 about Sub-Saharan Africa, income, population, and rate.

This statistic shows the population change in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2014 to 2024. Sub-Saharan Africa includes almost all countries south of the Saharan desert. In 2024, Sub-Saharan Africa's population increased by approximately 2.44 percent compared to the previous year.

Graph and download economic data for Population Growth for Developing Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SPPOPGROWSSA) from 1961 to 2024 about Sub-Saharan Africa, population, and rate.

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total: All Income Levels for Sub-Saharan Africa (SPPOPTOTLSSF) from 1960 to 2024 about Sub-Saharan Africa, income, and population.

Christianity is the main religion in Sub-Saharan Africa. As of 2020, over *** million people in the region were Christian. Muslims followed, amounting to around *** million. Moreover, folk religions counted over ** million adherents, while the unaffiliated were approximately ** million.

The average for 2023 based on 47 countries was 0.33 percent. The highest value was in Nigeria: 2.81 percent and the lowest value was in Sao Tome and Principe: 0 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This statistic shows the degree of urbanization in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2014 to 2024. Urbanization means the share of urban population in the total population of a country. Sub-Saharan Africa includes almost all countries south of the Sahara desert. In 2024, 43.53 percent of Sub-Saharan Africa's total population lived in urban areas and cities.

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for Developing Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SPPOPTOTLSSA) from 1960 to 2024 about Sub-Saharan Africa and population.

In 2023, there were around 211 million children aged 0-4 years in Africa. In total, the population aged 17 years and younger amounted to approximately 680 million. In contrast, only approximately 52 million individuals were aged 65 years and older as of the same year. The youngest continent in the world Africa is the continent with the youngest population worldwide. As of 2024, around 40 percent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa was aged 15 years and younger, compared to a global average of 25 percent. Although the median age on the continent has been increasing annually, it remains low at around 20 years. There are several reasons behind the low median age. One factor is the low life expectancy at birth: On average, the male and female populations in Africa live between 61 and 65 years, respectively. In addition, poor healthcare on the continent leads to high mortality, also among children and newborns, while the high fertility rate contributes to lowering the median age. Cross-country demographic differences Africa’s demographic characteristics are not uniform across the continent. The age structure of the population differs significantly from one country to another. For instance, Niger and Uganda have the lowest median age in Africa, at 15.1 and 16.1 years, respectively. Not surprisingly, these countries also register a high crude birth rate. On the other hand, North Africa is the region recording the highest life expectancy at birth, with Tunisia and Algeria leading the ranking in 2025.

SP.POP.5559.MA. Male population between the ages 55 to 59. This database presents population and other demographic estimates and projections from 1960 to 2050, covering more than 200 economies. It includes population data by various age groups, sex, urban/rural; fertility data; mortality data; and migration data.

The average for 2023 based on 47 countries was 53.88 percent. The highest value was in Burundi: 85.22 percent and the lowest value was in Gabon: 8.97 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

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.

United States - Population Growth for Developing Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa was 2.49729 % Chg. at Annual Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Population Growth for Developing Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa reached a record high of 2.90713 in January of 1986 and a record low of 2.29933 in January of 1960. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Population Growth for Developing Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

A flexible model to reconstruct education-specific fertility rates: Sub-saharan Africa case study

The fertility rates are consistent with the United Nation World Population Prospects (UN WPP) 2022 fertility rates.

The Bayesian model developed to reconstruct the fertility rates using Demographic and Health Surveys and the UN WPP is published in a working paper.

Abstract

The future world population growth and size will be largely determined by the pace of fertility decline in sub-Saharan Africa. Correct estimates of education-specific fertility rates are crucial for projecting the future population. Yet, consistent cross-country comparable estimates of education-specific fertility for sub-Saharan African countries are still lacking. We propose a flexible Bayesian hierarchical model to reconstruct education-specific fertility rates by using the patchy Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data and the United Nations’ (UN) reliable estimates of total fertility rates (TFR). Our model produces estimates that match the UN TFR to different extents (in other words, estimates of varying levels of consistency with the UN). We present three model specifications: consistent but not identical with the UN, fully-consistent (nearly identical) with the UN, and consistent with the DHS. Further, we provide a full time series of education-specific TFR estimates covering five-year periods between 1980 and 2014 for 36 sub-Saharan African countries. The results show that the DHS-consistent estimates are usually higher than the UN-fully-consistent ones. The differences between the three model estimates vary substantially in size across countries, yielding 1980-2014 fertility trends that differ from each other mostly in level only but in some cases also in direction.

Funding

The data set are part of the BayesEdu Project at Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (IIASA, OeAW, University of Vienna) funded from the “Innovation Fund Research, Science and Society” by the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW).

We provide education-specific total fertility rates (ESTFR) from three model specifications: (1) estimated TFR consistent but not identical with the TFR estimated by the UN (“Main model (UN-consistent)”; (2) estimated TFR fully consistent (nearly identical) with the TFR estimated by the UN ( “UN-fully -consistent”, and (3) estimated TFR consistent only with the TFR estimated by the DHS ( “DHS-consistent”).

For education- and age-specific fertility rates that are UN-fully consistent, please see https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8182960

Variables

Country: Country names

Education: Four education levels, No Education, Primary Education, Secondary Education and Higher Education.

Year: Five-year periods between 1980 and 2015.

ESTFR: Median education-specific total fertility rate estimate

sd: Standard deviation

Upp50: 50% Upper Credible Interval

Lwr50: 50% Lower Credible Interval

Upp80: 80% Upper Credible Interval

Lwr80: 80% Lower Credible Interval

Model: Three model specifications as explained above and in the working paper. DHS-consistent, Main model (UN-consistent) and UN-fully consistent.

List of countries:

Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cote D'Ivoire, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe

United States - Population, Total for Developing Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa was 1259782580.00000 Persons in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Population, Total for Developing Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa reached a record high of 1259782580.00000 in January of 2023 and a record low of 227191484.00000 in January of 1960. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Population, Total for Developing Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

The average for 2021 based on 47 countries was 119 people per square km. The highest value was in Mauritius: 634 people per square km and the lowest value was in Namibia: 3 people per square km. The indicator is available from 1961 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

United States - Population Growth: All Income Levels for Sub-Saharan Africa was 2.49704 % Chg. at Annual Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Population Growth: All Income Levels for Sub-Saharan Africa reached a record high of 2.90679 in January of 1986 and a record low of 2.31985 in January of 1960. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Population Growth: All Income Levels for Sub-Saharan Africa - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.