As a booming economy with the youngest demographic of any continent, it’s no surprise that Africa’s population is growing, with the UN predicting that Nigeria’s population would nearly double to 377 million by 2050.
Having stated that, we can conclude that Africa is at a crossroads in terms of demographic development. The continent’s population expansion has received a great deal of attention and debate, with both concerns and opportunities emerging as important themes.
Understanding the complexities of this demographic change is critical for policymakers, economists, and global citizens alike, and researching estimates based on present patterns will assist the aforementioned stakeholders in better preparing to harness this expansion rather than crumble under its weight.
African countries experienced various amounts of population increase in 2023.
According to WorldPopulationReview, a tool that records live population changes in every country, Niger has the greatest population growth rate of 3.8% and ranked third in the world.
African countries account for seven of the top 10 in terms of population increase between 2022 and 2023. In addition, fourteen of the top twenty are African, demonstrating how quickly the African population is rising in comparison to other regions.
With that said, the top ten African countries with the biggest population growth from 2022 to 2023 are shown below.
| Rank | Country | 2023 Population | 2022 population | Growth rate | World Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Niger | 27,604,215 | 26,207,977 | 3.8% | 3rd |
| 2. | Democratic Republic of Congo | 103,575,710 | 99,010,212 | 3.29% | 4th |
| 3. | Chad | 18,501,137 | 17,723,315 | 3.13% | 5th |
| 4. | Mali | 23,575,037 | 22,593,590 | 3.1% | 6th |
| 5. | Somalia | 18,363,448 | 17,597,511 | 3.1% | 7th |
| 6. | Angola | 37,124,342 | 35,588,987 | 3.08% | 8th |
| 7. | Tanzania | 68,215,855 | 65,497,748 | 2.96% | 10th |
| 8. | Central Republic Africa | 5,808,586 | 5,579,144 | 2.92% | 12th |
| 9. | Uganda | 49,111,255 | 47,249,585 | 2.82% | 13th |
| 10. | Mozambique | 34,274,977 | 32,969,518 | 2.81% | 14th |