Africa is on the cusp of a historic population boom, one that is already reshaping its urban centers and redefining its global significance.
With a total population of 1.5 billion as of 2024, growing by 100 million every three years, the continent has become the focal point for the next wave of global innovation, business, and finance.
This article highlights the most likely hotspots for population bursts across Africa, its largest and fastest-growing cities.
Initial projections showed that by 2025, each of the top 10 cities will be home to millions, with the top cities already exceeding 4 million residents.
These urban centers are absorbing the lion’s share of the continent’s growth, signaling where infrastructure, investment, and innovation will be most urgently needed.
By 2050, Africa’s population is expected to reach 2.5 billion, with 80% of that growth concentrated in cities. Countries like Nigeria, projected to have an urban population of 250 million, and Egypt, with 147 million, will rank among the most urbanized nations globally.
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city and commercial capital, has a population of 8,561,520 by 2025, up from just 83,844 in 1950, according to the latest UN World Urbanization Prospects.
The city added more than 400,000 residents in the past year alone, marking a 4.9% annual growth rate. Beyond its rapid demographic expansion, Dar es Salaam serves as the country’s economic engine, contributing approximately 20% of Tanzania’s Gross Domestic Product.
Anchored by a busy port and robust sectors in manufacturing, trade, and services, the city remains central to national development, despite mounting urban infrastructure challenges.
This is not true, Kano Nigeria also has more than 10 million people and it is not in the list
This is not true, Kano Nigeria also has more than 10 million people and it is not on the list