By 2050, Africa’s population will have doubled, and Africans will represent 1/3 of the world’s population reaching 2.5 billion people! This demographic growth will be mostly concentrated in the continent’s cities and half of Africa’s population will be less than 25 years old! Some African cities are already among the largest in the world. Lagos, the economic capital of Nigeria, Cairo in Egypt, or Kinshasa in the D.R. Congo will soon be among the ten most populous cities in the world.

Below, the Top-10 cities in Africa by population in 2020:

1) Lagos (Nigeria)#7 city in the world today with 21’500’000 inhabitants#6 city in the world in 2050 with est. 32’000’000 inhabitantsNigeria will have a population of est. 400’000’000 in 2050.

2) Cairo (Egypt)14’200’000 inhabitants today, 24’000’000 est. in 2050Egypt will have 150’000’000 inhabitants in 2050.

3) Kinshasa (D.R.Congo)14’500’000 inhabitants today, 35’000’000 est. in 2050 #4 city in the worldD.R. Congo will have a population of est. 194’000’000 in 2050

4) Luanda (Angola)8’000’000 inhabitants today, 14’500’000 est. in 2050Angola will have a population of est. 77’000’000 in 2050

5) Dar es Salaam (Tanzania)6’700’000 inhabitants today, 14’000’000 est. in 2050Tanzania will have a population of est. 135’000’000 in 2050

6) Johannesburg (South Africa)5’700’000 inhabitants today, 7’000’000 est. in 2050South Africa will have a population of est. 66’000’000 in 2050

7) Alexandria (Egypt)5’200’000 inhabitants today, 9’000’000 est. in 2050

8) Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) 5’100’000 inhabitants today, 11’000’000 est. in 2050Côte d’Ivoire will have a population of est. 51’000’000 in 2050

9) Nairobi (Kenya)4’900’000 inhabitants today, 14’000’000 est. in 2050Kenya will have a population of est. 91’000’000 in 2050

10) Addis Ababa (Ethiopia)4’500’000 inhabitants today, 13’000’000 est. in 2050 Ethiopia will have a population of est. 205’000’000 in 2050

Important to mention that by 2050 Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Bamako (Mali), Dakar (Senegal), Ibadan (Nigeria) and Kano (Nigeria) will join the list bringing the total number of megacities in Africa to 15 in the next 30 years!

Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Bamako (Mali), Dakar (Senegal), Ibadan (Nigeria) and Kano (Nigeria)

At Africa Container Shipping we believe in the potential of this fantastic continent and are investing locally to better serve our clients offering A to Z solutions in all these cities and countries.