People - Intelpoint

Africa’s population grew by 580.4%, from 228M in 1950 to 1.6B in 2025, making it the fastest-growing continent.
Asia remains the most populated continent, reaching 4.8B people in 2025, up from 1.4B in 1950.
Europe’s growth has been the slowest, at just 35.6%, rising from 549M to 744M.
Latin America & the Caribbean grew by 298%, from 168M to 668M.
North America more than doubled its population, growing by 130.7% from 168M to 388M.
Oceania saw a 270% increase, though it remains the least populated continent at 47M people.
Africa’s population is now more than double Europe’s, a major demographic shift compared to 1950.

Nigeria leads Africa with 238 million people in July 2025.
Namibia, though the second largest in the South, has only 3 million people.
In Eastern Africa, Ethiopia (135M) and Tanzania (71M) dominate.
Egypt (118M) and Sudan (52M) are Northern Africa’s population leaders.
South Africa (65M) is Southern Africa’s most populous country, far ahead of Namibia.
In West Africa, Nigeria (238M) and Ghana (35M) are the most populous, showing a wide gap within the region.

Gabon (84%) is Africa’s most urbanised country, while Burundi (15%) is the least.
Five of the top 10 urbanised African countries have an urban share above 75%.
Small island nations like Cabo Verde (79%) and Sao Tome & Principe (78%) rank highly, reflecting their concentrated settlements.
Resource-rich countries like Libya (78%), Botswana (76%), and Algeria (74%) show strong urbanisation patterns.
Ethiopia (23%) and Uganda (30%) highlight the urbanisation gap among high-population countries.
Nigeria sits at 55%, ranked 19th, reflecting moderate urbanisation compared to other African giants.
Most of the bottom 10 countries, such as Malawi (20%), Niger (18%), and Rwanda (18%), are still heavily rural, signalling slower urban development.

Africa’s urban population has grown more than twelvefold, from 53 million in 1960 to nearly 700 million by 2025.
The share of Africans living in urban areas has risen from 18.7% in 1960 to 45% in 2025, and is projected to hit 57% by 2045.
Africa will reach a 50% urban population by 2035, where half of its population will reside in cities.
From 2000 to 2025, Africa’s urban population nearly tripled, highlighting the intensity of recent growth.
By 2045, 1.3 billion Africans will live in urban centres, making city development central to the continent’s progress.

Africa has the youngest population globally, with a median age of 19.3 years.
Europe has the oldest population, with a median age of 42.8 years.
North America follows closely behind Europe, with a median age of 38.7 years.
Oceania’s median age stands at 33.4 years, slightly higher than Asia’s.
Asia’s population is relatively younger than Europe and North America, with a 32.5-year median age.
The age gap between Africa and Europe is over 23 years, showing the stark global demographic divide.

Africa’s population in H1 2025 stood at 1.51 billion.
Eastern Africa is the most populous region with 500.7M people (33.0%).
Western Africa follows with 456.3M (30.1%).
Together, Eastern and Western Africa account for over 63% of Africa’s total population.
Southern Africa is the least populous with 73.1M (4.8%).

Africa’s share of the global population has more than doubled, from 9.3% in 1955 to an estimated 18.8% in 2025.
The most rapid growth has occurred since 2000, increasing from 13.5% to 18.8% over 26 years.
Between 1980 and 2000, Africa’s share rose modestly from 10.9% to 13.5%.
The most significant 20-year gain occurred between 2000 and 2020, with an increase of 4 percentage points.
Population growth in Africa contrasts with stagnation or decline in many other parts of the world.

Lebanon and Nigeria top the global list, recording millionaire population declines of -60% and -53% respectively over the past decade.
Three African countries, Nigeria (-53%), Angola (-36%), and South Africa (-12%), appear in the top 10, signalling a regional pattern of wealth erosion.
Pakistan (-40%), Egypt (-26%), and Argentina (-22%) rank among the top 10, showing that sharp millionaire losses extend beyond Africa into Asia and Latin America.
The average millionaire decline across the top 10 countries is over 33%, highlighting a widespread erosion of wealth in politically and economically vulnerable regions.

Lagos has grown from 325,200 in 1950 to a an estimated 17.2 million in 2025
The State’s fastest 5-year growth came between 1955–1960 at 62.7%.
Since 2000, growth has steadied around 18–20% every 5 years.
More than 10 million people added between 2000 and 2025 alone.
Growth continues to outstrip investments in housing, transport, and basic services.

Key Takeaways:

India is projected to remain the world’s most populous country in 2054, reaching 1.69 billion, an increase of 246 million from 2024.
China’s population is expected to decline to 1.22 billion by 2054, marking a 14.1% decrease.
Nigeria is projected to rise to 5th place globally, with a population of 374 million, a 62% increase from 2024.
The United States remains the only high-income country in the top five, with a projected population of 384 million.
Pakistan is expected to climb from 5th to 3rd place, adding 138 million people by 2054.
Three African countries (Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo) are expected to rank among the top 10 most populous nations.
Russia is projected to see a population decline of 6.9%.

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