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Atlas reference
Least Populous Countries in Africa
The least populous countries in Africa, ranked by population.
Seychelles currently leads this Africa ranking across 54 reported places.
Answer at a glance
Seychelles ranks as the least populous country in Africa, at 121,354, using the latest available World Bank value.
The gap to Sao Tome and Principe is 114,182 using the displayed latest-available values.
Methodology: countries are ordered by total population. Reporting years can vary by country, so this is a latest-available comparison rather than a single-year estimate. View World Bank population data.
Coverage: 54 countries and territories with a reported value are included; records without this metric are omitted.
54 of 54
Victoria
Sao Tome
Praia
Moroni
Djibouti
Mbabane
Port Louis
Malabo
Bissau
Maseru
Gaborone
Libreville
Banjul
Windhoek
Asmara
Nouakchott
Bangui
Monrovia
Brazzaville
Tripolis
Freetown
Lome
Juba
Tunis
Bujumbura
Kigali
Porto-Novo
Conakry
Harare
Dakar
Mogadishu
N'Djamena
Lusaka
Lilongwe
Ouagadougou
Bamako
Niamey
Yaounde
Yamoussoukro
Antananarivo
Accra
Maputo
Luanda
Rabat
Algiers
Kampala
Khartoum
Nairobi
Pretoria
Dodoma
Kinshasa
Cairo
Addis Ababa
Abuja
| # | Country | Population | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Seychelles | 121,354 | Victoria |
| 2 |  Sao Tome and Principe | 235,536 | Sao Tome |
| 3 |  Cape Verde | 524,877 | Praia |
| 4 |  Comoros | 866,628 | Moroni |
| 5 |  Djibouti | 1,168,722 | Djibouti |
| 6 |  Eswatini | 1,242,822 | Mbabane |
| 7 |  Mauritius | 1,245,779 | Port Louis |
| 8 |  Equatorial Guinea | 1,892,516 | Malabo |
| 9 |  Guinea-Bissau | 2,201,352 | Bissau |
| 10 |  Lesotho | 2,337,423 | Maseru |
| 11 |  Botswana | 2,521,139 | Gaborone |
| 12 |  Gabon | 2,538,952 | Libreville |
| 13 |  The Gambia | 2,759,988 | Banjul |
| 14 |  Namibia | 3,030,131 | Windhoek |
| 15 |  Eritrea | 3,535,603 | Asmara |
| 16 |  Mauritania | 5,169,395 | Nouakchott |
| 17 |  Central African Republic | 5,330,690 | Bangui |
| 18 |  Liberia | 5,612,817 | Monrovia |
| 19 |  Congo | 6,332,961 | Brazzaville |
| 20 |  Libya | 7,381,023 | Tripolis |
| 21 |  Sierra Leone | 8,642,022 | Freetown |
| 22 |  Togo | 9,515,236 | Lome |
| 23 |  South Sudan | 11,943,408 | Juba |
| 24 |  Tunisia | 12,277,109 | Tunis |
| 25 |  Burundi | 14,047,786 | Bujumbura |
| 26 |  Rwanda | 14,256,567 | Kigali |
| 27 |  Benin | 14,462,724 | Porto-Novo |
| 28 |  Guinea | 14,754,785 | Conakry |
| 29 |  Zimbabwe | 16,634,373 | Harare |
| 30 |  Senegal | 18,501,984 | Dakar |
| 31 |  Somalia | 19,009,151 | Mogadishu |
| 32 |  Chad | 20,299,123 | N'Djamena |
| 33 |  Zambia | 21,314,956 | Lusaka |
| 34 |  Malawi | 21,655,286 | Lilongwe |
| 35 |  Burkina Faso | 23,548,781 | Ouagadougou |
| 36 |  Mali | 24,478,595 | Bamako |
| 37 |  Niger | 27,032,412 | Niamey |
| 38 |  Cameroon | 29,123,744 | Yaounde |
| 39 |  Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | 31,934,230 | Yamoussoukro |
| 40 |  Madagascar | 31,964,956 | Antananarivo |
| 41 |  Ghana | 34,427,414 | Accra |
| 42 |  Mozambique | 34,631,766 | Maputo |
| 43 |  Angola | 37,885,849 | Luanda |
| 44 |  Morocco | 38,081,173 | Rabat |
| 45 |  Algeria | 46,814,308 | Algiers |
| 46 |  Uganda | 50,015,092 | Kampala |
| 47 |  Sudan | 50,448,963 | Khartoum |
| 48 |  Kenya | 56,432,944 | Nairobi |
| 49 |  South Africa | 64,007,187 | Pretoria |
| 50 |  Tanzania | 68,560,157 | Dodoma |
| 51 |  Democratic Republic of the Congo | 109,276,265 | Kinshasa |
| 52 |  Egypt | 116,538,258 | Cairo |
| 53 |  Ethiopia | 132,059,767 | Addis Ababa |
| 54 |  Nigeria | 232,679,478 | Abuja |
Least Populous Countries in Africa: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the least populous country in Africa?
Seychelles is the least populous country in Africa, with a population of approximately 121,354.
What are the top three least populous countries in Africa?
Seychelles, Sao Tome and Principe and Cape Verde.