The population ofAfrica hasgrown rapidly over the past century^[1] and consequently shows a largeyouth bulge, further reinforced by increasinglife expectancy in mostAfrican countries.^[2][3] Total population as of 2024 is about 1.5 billion,^[4] with a growth rate of about 100 million every three years. Thetotal fertility rate (births per woman) forAfrica is 4.1 as of 2024, the highest in the world.^[5] The most populous African country isNigeria with over 206 million inhabitants as of 2020 and agrowth rate of 2.6% p.a.^[6] The least populous African country isSeychelles with about 130,000 inhabitants.^[7]

Demographics of Africa
Population pyramid of Africa in 2023 based on theUnited Nations geoscheme for Africa collective grouping
Density	44 per sq km (2019 est.)
Growth rate	2.5% per annum (2017 est.)

Source: Maddison and others. (University of Groningen).^[8]

Source: Maddison and others (University of Groningen) and others.^[8]

Registration of vital events in most of Africa is incomplete. The websiteOur World in Data prepared the following estimates based on statistics from the Population Department of theUnited Nations.^[13]

TheSahara Desert, covering most ofNorth Africa, and the smallerKalahari Desert inSouthern Africa, are very sparsely populated. Heavily populated areas include theMediterranean Sea coast, theNile River valley and delta,Nigeria and vicinity and the southern coast ofWest Africa,Ethiopia, the greaterEast African Rift area,Madagascar, coastal and urbanSouth Africa, and theMiddle Africa megacities ofKinshasa andLuanda.

The increase in population is explosive, with a population under the age of 14 in the exponential growth phase, a difference from almost the rest of the world, which is already in balance (United States 1966,Europe 1969,Mexico 1990,Latin America 2000,India 2009,Asia 1977).^{[citation needed]}

As of 2019, the total population of Africa is estimated at 1.3 billion, representing 16 percent of the world's population.^[14] According toUN estimates, the population of Africa may reach 2.49 billion by 2050 (about 26% of the world's total) and 4.28 billion by 2100 (about 39% of the world's total).^[14] The number of babies born in Africa compared to the rest of the world is expected to reach approximately 37% in the year 2050.^[15]

The population of Africa first surpassed one billion in 2009, with adoubling time of 27 years (growth rate 2.6% p.a.).^[16]

Population growth has continued at almost the same pace, and total population is expected to surpass 2 billion by 2038 (doubling time 29 years, 2.4% p.a.).^[6]

Sub-Saharan Africa are expected to make more than half of the global population increase projected through 2050.^[17]

The reason for the uncontrolled population growth since the mid 20th century is the decrease ofinfant mortality and general increase oflife expectancy without a corresponding reduction infertility rate, due to a very limited use ofcontraceptives. Further factors generally associated with decreased fertility include wealth, education, andfemale labor participation.^[18] Uncontrolled population growth threatens to overwhelm infrastructure development and to cripple economic development.^[19]Kenya andZambia are pursuing programs to promotefamily planning in an attempt to curb growth rates.^[20]

The extreme population growth in Africa is driven byEast Africa,Middle Africa andWest Africa, which regions are projected to more than quintuple their populations over the 21st century. The most extreme of these is Middle Africa, with an estimated population increase by 681%, from less than 100 million in 2000 to more than 750 million in 2100 (almost half of this figure is driven by theDemocratic Republic of the Congo, projected to increase from 47 million in 2000 to 362 million in 2100). Projected population growth is less extreme inSouthern Africa andNorth Africa, which are expected, respectively, to not quite double and triple their populations over the same period.^[14]

Population estimates by region (in billions):

All but two countries in Africa hadTFRs above replacement level in 2023 and accounted for 27.1% ofglobal livebirths.^[22]

In September 1987,UNICEF and theWorld Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee announced the launching of theBamako Initiative— chartered in response to financial issues occurring in the region during the 1980s, and with the aim of increasing access to vital medications through community involvement in revolving drug funds.^[24][25] The 1987Bamako Initiative conference, organized by theWHO was held inBamako, the capital ofMali, and helped reshape the health policy of sub-Saharan Africa.^[26] The meeting was attended by AfricanMinisters of Health who advocated for improvement of healthcare access through the revitalization of primary healthcare.^[24][25] The new strategy substantially increased accessibility through community-basedhealthcare reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services. The public health community within the region raised issues in response to the initiative, of which included: equity, access, affordability, integration issues, relative importance given to medications, management, dependency, logistics, and sustainability.^[24] As a result of these critiques, the Initiative later transformed to address the increase of accessibility of health services, the enhancement of quality of health services, and the overall improvement of health system management.^[24] A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.^[27][28]

TheEastern African,Central African,Western African andSouthern African regions experience disproportionate rates of infectious and chronic diseases in comparison to other global regions.^[29]

Type 2 diabetes persists as an epidemic in the region posing a public health and socioeconomic crisis for Sub-Saharan Africa. Scarcity of data for pathogenesis and subtypes for diabetes in Sub-Saharan African communities has led to gaps in documenting epidemiology for the disease. High rates of undiagnosed diabetes in many countries leaves individuals at a high risk of chronic health complications, thus, posing a high risk of diabetes-related morbidity and mortality in the region.^[30]

In 2011, Africa was home to 69% of all people living withHIV/AIDS worldwide.^[31] In response, a number of initiatives have been launched to educate the public on HIV/AIDS. Among these are combination prevention programmes, considered to be the most effective initiative, theabstinence, be faithful, use a condom campaign, and theDesmond Tutu HIV Foundation's outreach programs.^[32] According to a 2013 special report issued by theJoint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the number of HIV positive people in Africa receiving anti-retroviral treatment in 2012 was over seven times the number receiving treatment in 2005, with an almost 1 million added in the last year alone.^[33][34] The number of AIDS-related deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 was 33 percent less than the number in 2005.^[35] The number of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 was 25 percent less than the number in 2001.^[35]

Malaria is an endemic illness in Sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of malaria cases and deaths worldwide occur.^[36]

Studies show that more than half of the world'smaternal deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[37][38] However progress has been made in this area, as maternal mortality rates have decreased for multiple countries in the region by about half since 1990.^[38] Additionally, theAfrican Union ratified theMaputo Protocol in July 2003, which pledges to prohibitfemale genital mutilation.^[39]

The Sub-Saharan African region alone accounts for about 45% of globalinfant and child mortalities. Studies have shown a relationship between infant survival and the education of mothers, as years of education positively correlate with infant survival rates. Geographic location is also a factor, as child mortality rates are higher in rural areas in comparison to urban regions.^[40]

Routine immunization has been introduced to countries within Sub-Saharan Africa in order to preventmeasles outbreaks within the region.^[41]

Neglected tropical diseases such ashookworm infection encompass some of the most common health conditions which affect an estimated 500 million individuals in the sub-Saharan African region.^[42]

Results ofGlobal Burden of Disease studies reveal that the age-standardized death rates ofnon-communicable diseases in at least four Sub-Saharan countries includingSouth Africa,Democratic Republic of Congo,Nigeria, andEthiopia supersede that of identified high-income countries.^[29] Improvement in statistics systems and increase in epidemiological studies with in-depth analysis of disease risk factors could improve the understanding ofnon-communicable diseases (i.e.:diabetes,hypertension,cancer,cardiovascular disease,obesity, etc.) in sub-Saharan Africa as well as better inform decisions surrounding healthcare policy in the region.^[29]

Onchocerciasis ("river blindness"), a common cause ofblindness, is also endemic to parts of the region. More than 99% of people affected by the illness worldwide live in 31 countries therein.^[43] In response, the African Programme for Onchocerciasis Control (APOC) was launched in 1995 with the aim of controlling the disease.^[43]

Tuberculosis is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality on a global scale, especially in high HIV-prevalent populations in the sub-Saharan African region, with a highcase fatality rate.^[44]

National health systems vary between countries. InGhana, most health care is provided by the government and largely administered by theMinistry of Health andGhana Health Services. The healthcare system has five levels of providers: health posts which are first level primary care for rural areas, health centers and clinics, district hospitals, regional hospitals and tertiary hospitals. These programs are funded by the government of Ghana, financial credits, Internally Generated Fund (IGF), and Donors-pooled Health Fund.^[45]

A shortage of health professionals compounded by migration of health workers from sub-Saharan Africa to other parts of the world (namely English-speaking nations such as the United States and theUnited Kingdom) has negatively impacted productivity and efficacy of the region's health systems.^[46]

More than 85% of individuals in Africa use traditional medicine as an alternative to often expensive allopathic medical health care and costly pharmaceutical products. TheOrganization of African Unity (OAU) Heads of State and Government declared the 2000s decade as the African Decade onAfrican Traditional Medicine in an effort to promote TheWHO African Region’s adopted resolution for institutionalizing traditional medicine in health care systems across the continent.^[47] Public policy makers in the region are challenged with consideration of the importance of traditional/indigenous health systems and whether their coexistence with the modern medical and health sub-sector would improve the equitability and accessibility of health care distribution, the health status of populations, and the social-economic development of nations within sub-Saharan Africa.^[48]

•  
  Map of Africa colored according to the percentage of the adult (ages 15–49) population with HIV/AIDS (Map of 2002).^[49]
•  
  Life expectancy has fallen drastically inSouthern Africa a result of HIV/AIDS.^[50]

Speakers ofBantu languages (part of theNiger–Congo family) predominate in southern, central and southeast Africa. TheBantu farmers from West Africa's inland savanna progressively expanded over most of Africa.^[51] But there are also severalNilotic groups inSouth Sudan and East Africa, the mixedSwahili people on theSwahili Coast, and a few remainingindigenous Khoisan (San andKhoikhoi) andPygmy peoples in southern and central Africa, respectively. NativeBantu-speaking Africans also predominate inGabon andEquatorial Guinea, and are found in parts of southern Cameroon. In theKalahari Desert ofSouthern Africa, the distinct people known as the "San" have long been present. Together with theKhoikhoi, they form theKhoisan. The San are the pre-Bantu indigenous people of southern Africa, while Pygmies are the pre-Bantu indigenous African peoples of Central Africa.^[52]

The peoples ofWest Africa primarily speakNiger–Congo languages belonging mostly, though not exclusively, to its non-Bantu branches, though someNilo-Saharan andAfroasiatic-speaking groups are also found. The Niger–Congo-speakingYoruba,Igbo,Fulani,Akan andWolof ethnic groups are the largest and most influential. In the central Sahara,Mandinka orMande groups are most significant.Chadic-speaking groups, including theHausa, are found in the more northerly parts of the region nearest to the Sahara andNilo-Saharan communities such as theKanuri,^[53][54]Zarma^[54] andSonghai^[54][55] are present in eastern parts of West Africa borderingCentral Africa.

The peoples of North Africa comprise three main groups:Berbers in the northwest,Egyptians andLibyans in northeast, andNilo-Saharan-speaking peoples in the east. The non-nativeMuslim settlers who arrived in the 7th century introduced theArabic language andIslam to the region, initiating a process of linguisticArabization of the region's inhabitants. The SemiticPhoenicians (who foundedCarthage) andHyksos, the Indo-IranianAlans, the Indo-EuropeanGreeks,Romans andVandals settled in North Africa as well.Berber-speaking populations still make significant communities withinMorocco andAlgeria and are still also present in smaller numbers inTunisia andLibya.^[56] The Berber-speakingTuareg and other often-nomadic peoples are the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. In Mauritania, there is a small Berber community and Niger–Congo-speaking peoples in the South, though in both regions Arabic and Arab culture predominates. In Sudan, although Arabic and Arab culture predominates, it is also inhabited by originallyNilo-Saharan-speaking groups such as theNubians,Fur,Masalit andZaghawa^[57] who over the centuries have variously intermixed with migrants from the Arabian peninsula. Small communities of Afro-Asiatic-speakingBeja nomads can also be found in Egypt and Sudan.

In theHorn of Africa,Afro-Asiatic-speaking groups predominate.Ethiopian andEritrean groups like theAmhara andTigrayans (collectively known asHabesha) speak languages from theSemitic branch ofAfro-Asiatic language family, while theOromo andSomali speak languages from theCushitic branch of Afro-Asiatic. In southern Ethiopia and Eritrea, Nilotic peoples related to those in South Sudan are also found, while Bantu and Khoisan ethnic minorities inhabit parts of southern Somalia near the Kenyan border.

Prior to thedecolonization movements of the post-World War II era,Europeans were represented in every part of Africa.^[58] Decolonisation during the 1960s and 1970s often resulted in the mass emigration of European-descended settlers out of Africa – especially from Algeria and Morocco (1.6 millionpieds-noirs in North Africa),^[59] Kenya, Congo,^[60] Rhodesia, Mozambique and Angola.^[61] By the end of 1977, more than one million Portuguese were thought to have returned from Africa.^[62] Nevertheless,people in Africa of European descent remain a minority in many African states, particularlySouth Africa,Zimbabwe,Namibia andRéunion.^[63]South Africa has the largest population of white people in Africa.^[64] TheBoers orAfrikaners, theBritish diaspora and theColoureds (multiracial) are the largest European-descended groups in Africa today.

European colonization also brought sizable groups ofAsians, particularly people from theIndian subcontinent, to British colonies. LargeIndian communities are found in South Africa, and smaller ones are present in Kenya, Tanzania, and some other southern and East African countries. The largeIndian community in Uganda wasexpelled by the dictatorIdi Amin in 1972, though many have since returned. The islands in the Indian Ocean are also populated primarily by people of Asian origin, often mixed with Africans and Europeans. TheMalagasy people ofMadagascar areAustronesian people and nativeAfrican people, but those along the coast are generally mixed with Bantu, Arab, Indian and European origins. Malay and Indian ancestries are also important components in the group of people known in South Africa asCape Coloureds (people with origins in two or more races and continents). Beginning with the 21st century manyHispanics, primarilyMexicans,Central Americans,Chileans,Peruvians, andColombians, have immigrated to Africa. Around 500,000 Hispanics have immigrated to Africa, most of whom live in South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and Ghana. During the 20th century, small but economically important communities ofLebanese andChinese^[65] have also developed in the larger coastal cities ofWest and East Africa, respectively.^[66]

There are three major linguistic phyla native to Africa:Niger–Congo languages (includingBantu) inWest,Central,Southeast andSouthern Africa;Nilo-Saharan languages (unity debated) spoken fromTanzania toSudan and fromChad toMali;Khoisan languages (probably no phylogenetic unit, seeKhoe languages), concentrated in theKalahari Desert ofNamibia andBotswana; There are several other small families andlanguage isolates, as well as languages that haveyet to be classified.

In addition, theAfroasiatic languages are spread throughoutWestern Asia,North Africa, theHorn of Africa and parts of theSahel. TheAfroasiatic homeland may be either in Western Asia or in Africa.

More recently introduced to Africa areAustronesian languages spoken inMadagascar, as well asIndo-European languages spoken inSouth Africa andNamibia (Afrikaans,English,German), which were used aslingua francas in formerEuropean colonies.

The total number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on the delineation oflanguage vs.dialect) at between 1,250 and 2,100,^[67] and by some counts at "over 3,000",^[68]Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to the count ofSIL Ethnologue),^[69]

Around a hundred languages are widely used for inter-ethnic communication.Arabic,Somali,Berber,Amharic,Oromo,Igbo,Swahili,Hausa,Manding,Fulani andYoruba are spoken by tens of millions of people. Twelvedialect clusters (which may group up to a hundred linguistic varieties) are spoken by 75 percent, and fifteen by 85 percent, of Africans as a first or additional language.^[70]

Niger–Congo is the largest phylum of African languages, with more than 500 million speakers (2017); it is dominated by theBantu branch, spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa in theBantu expansion, Bantu speakers accounting for about half of Niger–Congo speakers.Arabic is the most widely spoken single language in Africa by far, with a population ofArab Africa of the order of 330 million (2017). Other Afroasiatic languages are spoken by of the order of 100 million speakers in Africa (2017).Nilo-Saharan are spoken by of the order of 100 million speakers (2017).Khoisan groups a number of mostly endangeredclick languages, the largest beingKhoekhoe with of the order of 300,000 speakers (2016).

Former colonial languages, such as English, French and Portuguese, are used as official languages in many African nations, and are spoken by a fifth of Africans.^{[71][72][73][a]}

• Capoid
• Congoid
• Child marriage in Africa
• Poverty in Africa
• Demographics of the Middle East and North Africa
• History of Africa
• Genetic history of North Africa
• Youth in Africa
• Genetic history of Africa