The largest cities in Africa, 1975 to 2050
Cairo, Lagos, Kinshasa and Luanda: Africa's fastest-growing megacities, from 1975 to the UN's 2050 projections.
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What the data shows
- In 2025, Cairo ranks #1 with 25.6M, ahead of Lagos (12.8M) and Luanda (11.4M).
- By 2050, on the UN's projections, Cairo is projected to rank #1 with 32.4M, ahead of Luanda (20.3M) and Lagos (16.2M).
- Cairo holds #1 for the whole period, 1975 to 2025.
- Biggest climber: Luanda, from #10 in 1995 to #2 in 2050.
- Cairo grew 3.5× between 1975 and 2025.
- Luanda wasn't on the board in 1975 but is in the top 5 by 2050.
About this chart
Africa is the world's fastest-urbanizing continent, and its biggest cities show it. Several of them were a few million people in 1975 and are projected to pass 15 or 20 million by mid-century.
Figures to 2025 are UN estimates; later years are the UN's medium projections. Cities use the Degree of Urbanization definition, so they may differ from figures quoted by national statistics offices.
The data
Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 19), largest African cities, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 3, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts.
| Date | 🇪🇬 Cairo | 🇦🇴 Luanda | 🇳🇬 Lagos | 🇨🇩 Kinshasa | 🇹🇿 Dar es Salaam | 🇪🇹 Addis Ababa | 🇨🇮 Abidjan | 🇸🇩 Khartoum | 🇪🇬 Alexandria | 🇿🇦 Johannesburg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 7.4M | 2.6M | 1.0M | 0.3M | 0.9M | 1.0M | 0.9M | 2.6M | 1.2M | |
| 1980 | 8.5M | 3.4M | 1.6M | 0.5M | 1.1M | 1.5M | 1.4M | 3.1M | 1.2M | |
| 1985 | 9.8M | 4.5M | 2.2M | 0.8M | 1.6M | 1.9M | 2.0M | 3.5M | 1.3M | |
| 1990 | 11.7M | 5.8M | 3.1M | 1.2M | 2.0M | 2.4M | 2.7M | 3.8M | 1.4M | |
| 1995 | 13.9M | 0.3M | 6.9M | 4.3M | 1.6M | 2.4M | 2.9M | 3.6M | 4.1M | 2.0M |
| 2000 | 15.7M | 0.7M | 7.9M | 5.3M | 2.1M | 2.8M | 3.4M | 4.1M | 4.5M | 2.8M |
| 2005 | 17.5M | 1.2M | 9.0M | 5.6M | 2.7M | 3.1M | 4.0M | 4.7M | 4.9M | 3.9M |
| 2010 | 19.5M | 3.5M | 10.1M | 6.3M | 3.8M | 3.7M | 4.5M | 5.3M | 5.4M | 4.7M |
| 2015 | 21.6M | 7.1M | 11.1M | 8.0M | 5.2M | 4.6M | 5.1M | 5.9M | 5.9M | 5.4M |
| 2020 | 24.0M | 9.8M | 12.0M | 10.5M | 6.9M | 5.9M | 6.1M | 6.4M | 6.9M | 6.5M |
| 2025 | 25.6M | 11.4M | 12.8M | 10.9M | 7.8M | 6.7M | 6.6M | 6.8M | 7.3M | 7.1M |
| 2030 | 27.2M | 13.1M | 13.6M | 11.6M | 8.9M | 7.6M | 7.2M | 7.5M | 7.7M | 7.6M |
| 2035 | 28.7M | 14.9M | 14.3M | 12.0M | 9.9M | 8.5M | 7.8M | 8.0M | 8.1M | 7.9M |
| 2040 | 30.2M | 16.8M | 15.0M | 12.5M | 11.0M | 9.3M | 8.5M | 8.5M | 8.4M | 8.3M |
| 2045 | 31.4M | 18.5M | 15.6M | 12.8M | 12.0M | 10.0M | 9.1M | 9.0M | 8.7M | 8.6M |
| 2050 | 32.4M | 20.3M | 16.2M | 13.2M | 13.2M | 10.8M | 9.8M | 9.4M | 9.0M | 8.9M |
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Frequently asked questions
What is the largest city in Africa?
In 2025, Cairo ranks #1 with 25.6M, followed by Lagos (12.8M) and Luanda (11.4M). Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 19), largest African cities, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025).
Where does this data come from?
UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 19), largest African cities, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 3, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.
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