Largest Cities in Africa
Africa is the second largest and warmest continent on earth. Both the equator and the tropics are the only continent that runs through it. The great natural landscapes of Africa include tropical rainforests, grass-covered savannahs, deserts and steppes.
- Mayotte
- Reunion
- Western Sahara
Area | 30,131,536 km2 |
Population | 698,647,000 |
Population density | 21 people per km2 |
Countries | 54 |
Largest country | Sudan with 2,505,813 km2 |
Smallest Country | Seychelles with 452 km2 |
Languages | Arabic, Swahili, Haussa, Somali, Amharish |
Highest mountain | Kilimanjaro, 5,895 meters |
Longest river | Lake Assal (Djibouti), 156 meters below sea level |
Highest temperature | 58 0 C in Al’Azuzuyah (Libya) |
Lowest temperature | -24 0 C in Ilfrane (Morocco) |
Biggest Cities in Africa by Population
The largest city in Africa is Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Located on the banks of the River Nile, Cairo is home to over 20 million people and is one of the most densely populated cities in the world. It has been an important trading center for centuries, connecting people from different parts of Africa and beyond. Today, Cairo is a major cultural hub and economic center, with many museums, mosques, churches, and other attractions drawing millions of tourists each year.
The second largest city in Africa is Lagos, located in Nigeria. With a population of over 13 million people, Lagos serves as a major commercial hub for West Africa and has become one of the continent’s most important economic centers. The city has also developed a vibrant cultural scene with many popular music venues and art galleries attracting visitors from all corners of the globe.
The third largest city in Africa is Kinshasa, located in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). With a population of around 12 million people, Kinshasa serves as an important political center for DRC and Central Africa as well as an influential cultural hub for music and literature throughout the continent. The city also has some impressive monuments such as Grand Mosque which dates back to 1881 AD and remains one of the oldest standing mosques in all of Central Africa.
Ranking | City | Country | Continent | Population |
1 | Cairo | Egypt | Africa | 20,900,715 |
2 | Lagos | Nigeria | Africa | 14,368,443 |
3 | Kinshasa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 14,342,550 |
4 | Luanda | Angola | Africa | 8,329,909 |
5 | Dar Es Salaam | Tanzania | Africa | 6,701,761 |
6 | Khartoum | Sudan | Africa | 5,828,969 |
7 | Johannesburg | South Africa | Africa | 5,782,858 |
8 | Alexandria | Egypt | Africa | 5,280,775 |
9 | Abidjan | Ivory Coast | Africa | 5,202,873 |
10 | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia | Africa | 4,793,810 |
11 | Nairobi | Kenya | Africa | 4,734,992 |
12 | Cape Town | South Africa | Africa | 4,617,671 |
13 | Kano | Nigeria | Africa | 3,999,161 |
14 | Yaounde | Cameroon | Africa | 3,992,522 |
15 | Ekurhuleni | South Africa | Africa | 3,894,373 |
16 | Casablanca | Morocco | Africa | 3,752,468 |
17 | Douala | Cameroon | Africa | 3,663,338 |
18 | Ibadan | Nigeria | Africa | 3,552,072 |
19 | Antananarivo | Madagascar | Africa | 3,368,696 |
20 | Kumasi | Ghana | Africa | 3,348,173 |
21 | Kampala | Uganda | Africa | 3,298,475 |
22 | Abuja | Nigeria | Africa | 3,277,851 |
23 | Durban | South Africa | Africa | 3,158,424 |
24 | Dakar | Senegal | Africa | 3,140,553 |
25 | Port Harcourt | Nigeria | Africa | 3,020,343 |
26 | Ouagadougou | Burkina Faso | Africa | 2,780,442 |
27 | Lusaka | Zambia | Africa | 2,774,244 |
28 | Algiers | Algeria | Africa | 2,767,772 |
29 | Bamako | Mali | Africa | 2,617,797 |
30 | Pretoria | South Africa | Africa | 2,565,771 |
31 | Mbuji Mayi | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 2,525,374 |
32 | Accra | Ghana | Africa | 2,514,116 |
33 | Lubumbashi | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 2,478,373 |
34 | Brazzaville | Republic of the Congo | Africa | 2,388,201 |
35 | Tunis | Tunisia | Africa | 2,365,312 |
36 | Mogadishu | Somalia | Africa | 2,282,120 |
37 | Conakry | Guinea | Africa | 1,938,383 |
38 | Rabat | Morocco | Africa | 1,884,913 |
39 | Lome | Togo | Africa | 1,827,989 |
40 | Benin City | Nigeria | Africa | 1,727,280 |
41 | Matola | Mozambique | Africa | 1,705,997 |
42 | Harare | Zimbabwe | Africa | 1,530,031 |
43 | Monrovia | Liberia | Africa | 1,517,346 |
44 | Kananga | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 1,458,511 |
45 | N Djamena | Chad | Africa | 1,422,658 |
46 | Onitsha | Nigeria | Africa | 1,414,901 |
47 | Nouakchott | Mauritania | Africa | 1,314,747 |
48 | Mombasa | Kenya | Africa | 1,296,086 |
49 | Niamey | Niger | Africa | 1,291,959 |
50 | Kisangani | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 1,261,421 |
51 | Port Elizabeth | South Africa | Africa | 1,253,853 |
52 | Fes | Morocco | Africa | 1,224,191 |
53 | Pointe Noire | Republic of the Congo | Africa | 1,214,392 |
54 | Freetown | Sierra Leone | Africa | 1,202,011 |
55 | Tanger | Morocco | Africa | 1,198,034 |
56 | Tripoli | Libya | Africa | 1,165,196 |
57 | Uyo | Nigeria | Africa | 1,135,886 |
58 | Kigali | Rwanda | Africa | 1,132,212 |
59 | Lilongwe | Malawi | Africa | 1,121,831 |
60 | Mwanza | Tanzania | Africa | 1,120,541 |
61 | Kaduna | Nigeria | Africa | 1,113,321 |
62 | Maputo | Mozambique | Africa | 1,110,588 |
63 | Aba | Nigeria | Africa | 1,081,577 |
64 | Bukavu | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 1,078,113 |
65 | Abomey Calavi | Benin | Africa | 1,056,551 |
66 | Nnewi | Nigeria | Africa | 1,050,971 |
67 | Bujumbura | Burundi | Africa | 1,013,107 |
68 | Marrakech | Morocco | Africa | 1,002,820 |
69 | Hargeysa | Somalia | Africa | 988,827 |
70 | Bobo Dioulasso | Burkina Faso | Africa | 972,235 |
71 | Asmara | Eritrea | Africa | 963,096 |
72 | Ilorin | Nigeria | Africa | 949,977 |
73 | Sekondi Takoradi | Ghana | Africa | 945,630 |
74 | Ikorodu | Nigeria | Africa | 937,726 |
75 | Blantyre Limbe | Malawi | Africa | 932,374 |
76 | Agadir | Morocco | Africa | 923,663 |
77 | Nyala | Sudan | Africa | 922,643 |
78 | Tshikapa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 919,303 |
79 | Oran | Algeria | Africa | 899,293 |
80 | West Rand | South Africa | Africa | 897,720 |
81 | Jos | Nigeria | Africa | 895,399 |
82 | Bangui | Central African Republic | Africa | 889,342 |
83 | Misratah | Libya | Africa | 881,430 |
84 | Owerri | Nigeria | Africa | 872,715 |
85 | Warri | Nigeria | Africa | 856,052 |
86 | Soshanguve | South Africa | Africa | 853,458 |
87 | Nampula | Mozambique | Africa | 848,207 |
88 | Libreville | Gabon | Africa | 834,315 |
89 | Lubango | Angola | Africa | 828,359 |
90 | Banghazi | Libya | Africa | 824,085 |
91 | Maiduguri | Nigeria | Africa | 786,596 |
92 | Cabinda | Angola | Africa | 777,808 |
93 | Vereeniging | South Africa | Africa | 774,142 |
94 | Umuahia | Nigeria | Africa | 773,933 |
95 | Enugu | Nigeria | Africa | 772,983 |
96 | Bur Sa’id | Egypt | Africa | 737,111 |
97 | Zaria | Nigeria | Africa | 726,283 |
98 | Benguela | Angola | Africa | 715,241 |
99 | Oshogbo | Nigeria | Africa | 713,788 |
100 | Buffalo City | South Africa | Africa | 708,670 |
101 | Zanzibar | Tanzania | Africa | 705,189 |
102 | Lokoja | Nigeria | Africa | 692,161 |
103 | Cotonou | Benin | Africa | 692,060 |
104 | Kitwe | Zambia | Africa | 686,019 |
105 | Bunia | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 679,529 |
106 | Huambo | Angola | Africa | 671,524 |
107 | Merca | Somalia | Africa | 666,481 |
108 | Akure | Nigeria | Africa | 665,635 |
109 | Malanje | Angola | Africa | 665,261 |
110 | Tamale | Ghana | Africa | 642,022 |
111 | Sokoto | Nigeria | Africa | 641,360 |
112 | As Suways | Egypt | Africa | 638,340 |
113 | Bulawayo | Zimbabwe | Africa | 638,299 |
114 | Goma | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 634,308 |
115 | Safaqis | Tunisia | Africa | 630,286 |
116 | Bissau | Guinea Bissau | Africa | 599,825 |
117 | Bauchi | Nigeria | Africa | 597,790 |
118 | Uvira | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 589,842 |
119 | Calabar | Nigeria | Africa | 579,384 |
120 | Djibouti | Djibouti | Africa | 576,268 |
121 | Abakaliki | Nigeria | Africa | 572,139 |
122 | Bouake | Ivory Coast | Africa | 571,987 |
123 | Beira | Mozambique | Africa | 570,022 |
124 | Likasi | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 567,950 |
125 | Bloemfontein | South Africa | Africa | 567,140 |
126 | Mbeya | Tanzania | Africa | 566,176 |
127 | Oujda | Morocco | Africa | 558,635 |
128 | Al Mansurah | Egypt | Africa | 555,732 |
129 | Meknes | Morocco | Africa | 553,866 |
130 | Ogbomosho | Nigeria | Africa | 551,585 |
131 | Ndola | Zambia | Africa | 542,606 |
132 | Cuito | Angola | Africa | 535,518 |
133 | Bamenda | Cameroon | Africa | 533,368 |
134 | Abeokuta | Nigeria | Africa | 532,967 |
135 | Pietermaritzburg | South Africa | Africa | 527,023 |
136 | Mekele | Ethiopia | Africa | 524,025 |
137 | Al Mahallah Al Kubra | Egypt | Africa | 517,660 |
138 | Uige | Angola | Africa | 510,742 |
139 | Rustenburg | South Africa | Africa | 509,479 |
140 | Gombe | Nigeria | Africa | 508,686 |
141 | Kikwit | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 507,573 |
142 | El Djelfa | Algeria | Africa | 503,508 |
143 | Tanta | Egypt | Africa | 501,534 |
Africa Climate
Due to its wide extent, the continent’s climate is strongly influenced by the tropics and the equator. On the mainland it is very hot, dry or desert climates combine with dry and humid tropical and equatorial climates. In the far north and south of Africa there is a Mediterranean climate.
Africa Languages
Over 2,000 languages are spoken in Africa. Besides Arabic, the most widely used languages are Swahili and Haussa, each spoken by more than 10 million people. The other languages are spoken by a few thousand people and only about a dozen languages reach the million mark.
Half of all Africans are younger than 15 years. This means that Africa has the highest proportion of young people in the world. However, only three in 100 people will live to be 65 or older.
The African Sahara is the largest desert in the world. With an area of over 9 million square kilometers, it is larger than the entire Australian continent.
Africa is the continent with the most states: 54 in total.
In Western Sahara, the country in the west of the continent, only one person lives per km2. This makes it the country with the lowest population density in the world.
The oldest evidence of human life – footprints left in volcanic ash – were found near Laetoli near the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania.
Africa has a total of 54 countries – that is more countries than the other continents have! So that you always know which country is where in Africa, they have been divided into the following 5 different areas:
- North Africa
- East Africa
- West Africa
- Central Africa
- Southern Africa