Sub-region · UN WPP 2024

Middle Africa population

Middle Africa population now

227,702,353

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 206,129,903

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 226.082 million
Median age: 17.5
Aged 65+: 2.9%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 100,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

AGG · 1950–2100 · in brief

Middle Africa in numbers

The UN counts 206,129,903 people in Middle Africa in mid-2023, and 2.5% of the world's people. That is 7.7 times its 1950 population of 26.7 million. It covers 9 countries and areas; the largest are the Democratic Republic of the Congo (51.3%), Angola (17.8%), Cameroon (13.8%), Chad (9.4%) and the Republic of the Congo (3.0%).

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 790 million.

Births outnumber deaths in every year from 1950 to 2100, estimates and projection alike.

The median age was 19.5 in 1950 and 17.3 in 2023; the projection has 33.2 in 2100. 2.9% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 11.4% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

Population, mid-2023: 206,129,903
Share of the world, 2023: 2.5%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +3.21% · +6,416,079 people
Births, 2023: 8,085,670
Deaths, 2023: 1,691,169
Net migration, 2023: +464,760
Children per woman, 2023: 5.51
Median age, 2023: 17.3 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 62.0 years
Population, mid-1950: 26,735,290
Projected, mid-2050: 411,712,069
Projected, mid-2100: 790,422,667

AGG · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections0200 m400 m600 m800 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection (medium). Each column is the population on 1 January of one year; the paper rules cut it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Middle Africa, 1950–2100

Middle Africa: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	26,509,159	1,204,650	731,569	5.86	36.6
1951	estimate	26,961,422	1,229,839	733,043	5.87	37.0
1952	estimate	27,426,308	1,257,404	734,875	5.89	37.4
1953	estimate	27,913,144	1,286,939	737,498	5.92	37.8
1954	estimate	28,413,484	1,314,444	740,635	5.95	38.2
1955	estimate	28,943,566	1,342,700	743,093	5.97	38.7
1956	estimate	29,500,541	1,371,849	746,821	5.99	39.1
1957	estimate	30,084,302	1,403,483	754,787	6.02	39.3
1958	estimate	30,690,233	1,436,596	760,587	6.06	39.7
1959	estimate	31,302,739	1,468,552	767,958	6.09	40.0
1960	estimate	31,970,571	1,504,776	802,588	6.13	39.2
1961	estimate	32,658,643	1,541,303	826,618	6.16	39.0
1962	estimate	33,333,386	1,576,165	804,478	6.18	40.5
1963	estimate	34,066,371	1,612,404	812,816	6.21	40.8
1964	estimate	34,828,230	1,650,625	830,971	6.24	40.8
1965	estimate	35,614,001	1,691,153	834,242	6.28	41.3
1966	estimate	36,447,300	1,734,975	827,508	6.32	42.2
1967	estimate	37,320,756	1,779,210	836,642	6.37	42.5
1968	estimate	38,235,371	1,824,286	843,560	6.40	43.0
1969	estimate	39,177,573	1,869,004	854,820	6.44	43.2
1970	estimate	40,138,986	1,912,772	860,988	6.47	43.7
1971	estimate	41,175,539	1,955,592	869,669	6.49	44.0
1972	estimate	42,233,465	2,004,590	874,377	6.54	44.5
1973	estimate	43,381,040	2,051,355	885,631	6.55	44.9
1974	estimate	44,574,010	2,100,288	899,451	6.57	45.1
1975	estimate	45,792,271	2,149,406	918,518	6.58	45.2
1976	estimate	47,020,041	2,202,764	938,015	6.60	45.3
1977	estimate	48,202,608	2,253,741	948,637	6.62	45.6
1978	estimate	49,432,633	2,306,628	970,224	6.63	45.6
1979	estimate	51,008,023	2,391,538	983,100	6.64	46.0
1980	estimate	52,585,590	2,472,911	1,001,555	6.66	46.3
1981	estimate	53,989,884	2,535,035	1,018,243	6.67	46.6
1982	estimate	55,597,858	2,614,867	1,035,460	6.68	46.9
1983	estimate	57,379,772	2,713,476	1,064,031	6.69	47.0
1984	estimate	59,170,225	2,806,796	1,085,187	6.70	47.2
1985	estimate	60,958,082	2,895,367	1,107,262	6.71	47.5
1986	estimate	62,868,136	2,994,417	1,129,781	6.72	47.8
1987	estimate	64,866,863	3,093,147	1,177,676	6.72	47.4
1988	estimate	66,933,873	3,187,666	1,187,430	6.72	48.0
1989	estimate	69,073,810	3,275,211	1,211,679	6.70	48.3
1990	estimate	71,284,615	3,367,762	1,242,326	6.68	48.4
1991	estimate	73,632,454	3,471,133	1,249,769	6.66	49.0
1992	estimate	76,094,258	3,573,925	1,295,075	6.63	48.9
1993	estimate	78,684,119	3,690,459	1,328,386	6.60	49.0
1994	estimate	81,207,092	3,785,113	1,350,046	6.57	49.3
1995	estimate	84,940,272	3,993,758	1,375,647	6.55	50.0
1996	estimate	87,475,619	4,082,847	1,441,649	6.52	49.5
1997	estimate	89,398,742	4,114,622	1,444,717	6.50	49.9
1998	estimate	91,586,678	4,174,380	1,494,577	6.48	49.4
1999	estimate	94,644,358	4,316,976	1,515,916	6.46	49.7
2000	estimate	97,641,735	4,447,665	1,503,704	6.43	50.8
2001	estimate	100,827,597	4,567,282	1,523,831	6.39	51.1
2002	estimate	103,954,986	4,678,822	1,544,686	6.35	51.5
2003	estimate	107,184,625	4,801,322	1,534,496	6.31	52.3
2004	estimate	110,552,608	4,940,079	1,541,888	6.29	52.8
2005	estimate	114,179,987	5,100,963	1,553,216	6.28	53.3
2006	estimate	117,874,564	5,270,763	1,565,940	6.27	53.8
2007	estimate	121,660,082	5,427,024	1,569,969	6.26	54.4
2008	estimate	125,526,021	5,590,856	1,576,244	6.25	55.0
2009	estimate	129,589,318	5,759,646	1,848,781	6.23	51.8
2010	estimate	133,650,467	5,922,646	1,593,743	6.20	55.9
2011	estimate	138,118,643	6,092,955	1,592,086	6.16	56.6
2012	estimate	142,759,714	6,260,190	1,596,286	6.12	57.2
2013	estimate	147,507,584	6,404,900	1,608,760	6.07	57.6
2014	estimate	152,493,241	6,564,146	1,653,476	6.01	57.6
2015	estimate	157,480,037	6,720,831	1,624,196	5.96	58.5
2016	estimate	162,572,901	6,880,730	1,635,649	5.91	59.0
2017	estimate	168,340,462	7,089,665	1,671,315	5.86	59.1
2018	estimate	173,940,307	7,268,116	1,661,677	5.81	59.8
2019	estimate	179,476,520	7,423,739	1,767,144	5.75	59.1
2020	estimate	184,977,543	7,575,907	1,711,489	5.69	60.3
2021	estimate	190,846,914	7,746,339	1,812,023	5.63	59.5
2022	estimate	196,727,377	7,914,630	1,943,603	5.57	58.8
2023	estimate	202,700,272	8,085,670	1,691,169	5.51	62.0
2024	estimate	209,559,534	8,295,998	1,730,879	5.45	62.2
2025	projection	216,271,737	8,456,267	1,766,865	5.37	62.4
2026	projection	222,778,437	8,585,114	1,798,373	5.28	62.5
2027	projection	229,385,899	8,717,171	1,829,345	5.20	62.7
2028	projection	236,204,981	8,869,236	1,862,933	5.12	62.9
2029	projection	243,147,979	9,003,879	1,896,857	5.03	63.1
2030	projection	250,176,326	9,134,857	1,930,851	4.94	63.2
2031	projection	257,302,706	9,264,649	1,965,284	4.86	63.4
2032	projection	264,540,170	9,372,057	1,999,987	4.76	63.6
2033	projection	271,850,069	9,495,927	2,034,775	4.67	63.8
2034	projection	279,251,409	9,617,599	2,071,374	4.58	63.9
2035	projection	286,725,376	9,714,549	2,107,531	4.48	64.1
2036	projection	294,258,748	9,838,553	2,146,021	4.40	64.2
2037	projection	301,896,020	9,919,032	2,183,312	4.30	64.4
2038	projection	309,561,825	10,048,775	2,221,427	4.23	64.5
2039	projection	317,328,967	10,171,879	2,262,580	4.15	64.7
2040	projection	325,173,885	10,297,067	2,304,662	4.08	64.8
2041	projection	333,068,297	10,407,334	2,345,649	4.00	65.0
2042	projection	341,067,434	10,520,569	2,388,259	3.93	65.2
2043	projection	349,129,255	10,642,381	2,433,359	3.87	65.3
2044	projection	357,267,096	10,762,317	2,478,706	3.80	65.5
2045	projection	365,464,116	10,868,972	2,524,431	3.74	65.6
2046	projection	373,730,931	10,987,133	2,573,226	3.68	65.7
2047	projection	382,077,463	11,093,378	2,619,980	3.62	65.9
2048	projection	390,467,829	11,202,638	2,670,203	3.56	66.0
2049	projection	398,935,149	11,305,697	2,720,782	3.51	66.2
2050	projection	407,434,898	11,402,501	2,771,602	3.46	66.3
2051	projection	415,989,240	11,493,776	2,824,697	3.41	66.4
2052	projection	424,587,320	11,583,117	2,877,136	3.36	66.6
2053	projection	433,234,793	11,658,610	2,931,481	3.31	66.7
2054	projection	441,894,106	11,729,408	2,987,332	3.26	66.9
2055	projection	450,573,509	11,797,129	3,044,701	3.22	67.0
2056	projection	459,264,933	11,858,202	3,103,442	3.17	67.1
2057	projection	467,940,270	11,917,336	3,164,516	3.13	67.3
2058	projection	476,633,945	11,985,099	3,226,954	3.09	67.4
2059	projection	485,336,216	12,043,894	3,290,534	3.06	67.5
2060	projection	494,046,763	12,094,961	3,355,112	3.02	67.6
2061	projection	502,741,244	12,142,102	3,420,954	2.98	67.8
2062	projection	511,393,282	12,185,580	3,489,683	2.94	67.9
2063	projection	520,002,872	12,223,854	3,561,193	2.91	68.0
2064	projection	528,592,354	12,256,234	3,632,768	2.88	68.1
2065	projection	537,150,119	12,290,833	3,704,893	2.84	68.3
2066	projection	545,651,023	12,329,632	3,778,247	2.81	68.4
2067	projection	554,129,333	12,364,045	3,853,454	2.78	68.5
2068	projection	562,519,164	12,395,190	3,930,894	2.75	68.7
2069	projection	570,884,538	12,427,232	4,009,646	2.73	68.8
2070	projection	579,216,698	12,445,701	4,088,465	2.70	68.9
2071	projection	587,499,229	12,476,162	4,170,682	2.67	69.0
2072	projection	595,714,616	12,496,317	4,253,824	2.64	69.2
2073	projection	603,890,947	12,519,401	4,339,808	2.62	69.3
2074	projection	611,989,563	12,534,734	4,427,410	2.59	69.4
2075	projection	620,008,130	12,553,384	4,517,657	2.57	69.5
2076	projection	627,938,944	12,568,205	4,607,241	2.54	69.7
2077	projection	635,796,894	12,587,000	4,698,993	2.52	69.8
2078	projection	643,602,256	12,592,450	4,792,222	2.50	69.9
2079	projection	651,338,555	12,602,931	4,887,544	2.48	70.0
2080	projection	658,943,585	12,605,626	4,983,954	2.46	70.2
2081	projection	666,513,189	12,609,888	5,083,579	2.44	70.3
2082	projection	673,944,736	12,620,927	5,183,350	2.42	70.4
2083	projection	681,257,257	12,628,063	5,285,710	2.40	70.5
2084	projection	688,507,260	12,631,119	5,389,208	2.38	70.7
2085	projection	695,676,974	12,629,605	5,495,317	2.37	70.8
2086	projection	702,727,972	12,615,665	5,602,529	2.35	70.9
2087	projection	709,662,973	12,601,258	5,710,765	2.33	71.0
2088	projection	716,455,742	12,598,887	5,820,355	2.32	71.1
2089	projection	723,147,786	12,578,630	5,930,608	2.30	71.3
2090	projection	729,740,131	12,561,555	6,041,227	2.28	71.4
2091	projection	736,204,677	12,545,993	6,152,019	2.27	71.5
2092	projection	742,504,887	12,525,012	6,266,406	2.25	71.6
2093	projection	748,652,898	12,508,555	6,381,511	2.24	71.8
2094	projection	754,668,830	12,495,461	6,493,318	2.23	71.9
2095	projection	760,563,763	12,466,712	6,606,653	2.21	72.0
2096	projection	766,316,961	12,439,461	6,721,278	2.20	72.1
2097	projection	771,923,200	12,411,924	6,832,598	2.19	72.3
2098	projection	777,398,046	12,386,076	6,945,793	2.18	72.4
2099	projection	782,723,937	12,355,048	7,057,492	2.16	72.5
2100	projection	787,895,563	12,331,729	7,165,961	2.15	72.6

AGG · members

Countries and areas in Middle Africa

Middle Africa: member countries and areas, population mid-2023, share of the group and projected mid-2100
#	Country or area	Mid-2023	Share	Mid-2100, projected
1	Democratic Republic of the Congo	105,789,732	51.3%	430,709,446
2	Angola	36,749,906	17.8%	150,045,574
3	Cameroon	28,372,687	13.8%	88,875,688
4	Chad	19,319,064	9.4%	69,546,607
5	Republic of the Congo	6,182,885	3.0%	20,025,644
6	Central African Republic	5,152,420	2.5%	18,779,150
7	Gabon	2,484,788	1.2%	6,903,322
8	Equatorial Guinea	1,847,549	0.90%	5,003,223
9	São Tomé and Príncipe	230,872	0.11%	534,014

Show the numbers: Middle Africa, mid-2026, by single year of age

Middle Africa: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	4,131,100	4,054,730
1	3,996,550	3,934,140
2	3,878,910	3,821,650
3	3,759,010	3,705,920
4	3,646,770	3,600,580
5	3,542,130	3,501,750
6	3,445,060	3,406,980
7	3,352,190	3,318,080
8	3,257,020	3,226,970
9	3,153,520	3,127,000
10	3,054,460	3,031,060
11	2,964,630	2,944,560
12	2,876,180	2,858,930
13	2,791,080	2,776,520
14	2,703,800	2,692,020
15	2,611,170	2,601,710
16	2,514,720	2,507,990
17	2,417,320	2,413,460
18	2,323,510	2,321,940
19	2,233,730	2,234,340
20	2,143,770	2,146,900
21	2,054,060	2,060,200
22	1,971,890	1,981,520
23	1,898,600	1,911,570
24	1,832,510	1,848,440
25	1,770,320	1,788,800
26	1,707,050	1,727,320
27	1,640,550	1,662,020
28	1,587,000	1,609,130
29	1,552,200	1,575,110
30	1,514,950	1,538,440
31	1,453,730	1,477,770
32	1,392,290	1,417,070
33	1,343,890	1,369,090
34	1,295,020	1,320,720
35	1,248,860	1,274,880
36	1,204,260	1,230,250
37	1,162,450	1,188,310
38	1,120,150	1,145,780
39	1,075,760	1,100,930
40	1,030,500	1,055,150
41	986,331	1,010,730
42	942,688	966,698
43	898,486	922,369
44	856,703	881,140
45	819,258	844,595
46	782,350	808,715
47	744,066	771,490
48	710,506	739,360
49	682,012	712,521
50	654,408	686,646
51	628,181	662,312
52	603,147	639,214
53	578,678	616,789
54	554,172	594,397
55	530,189	572,438
56	507,121	551,342
57	483,446	528,986
58	459,410	505,366
59	435,984	481,968
60	413,095	458,932
61	390,634	436,172
62	368,755	413,830
63	347,415	391,868
64	326,383	370,064
65	305,406	348,180
66	284,548	326,384
67	264,184	305,131
68	244,242	284,251
69	224,604	263,525
70	205,634	243,378
71	187,422	223,920
72	169,900	204,961
73	153,030	186,438
74	136,979	168,600
75	121,908	151,728
76	107,833	136,412
77	95,348	122,396
78	84,971	110,724
79	74,870	99,619
80	64,409	87,460
81	54,458	75,545
82	45,380	64,350
83	37,317	54,108
84	30,294	44,918
85	24,262	36,802
86	19,160	29,766
87	14,902	23,741
88	11,335	18,560
89	8,360	14,125
90	5,982	10,478
91	4,180	7,617
92	2,862	5,428
93	1,914	3,778
94	1,252	2,562
95	802	1,692
96	506	1,086
97	315	678
98	194	416
99	120	249
100+	184	332

AGG · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Middle Africa, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

AGG · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Middle Africa

In Middle Africa the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 107,430,000 of them.

100 aged 15–64

86 children

6 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: the orange squares are 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023, and the rows below are how many children (teal) and how many people aged 65 or older (violet) lived alongside them.

At no point between 1950 and 2100 do fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 here.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: one stripe a year from 1950 to 2100. A stripe takes colour in a year when fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people of working age, and stays grey otherwise; hatching means the year is projected.

How every country compares

AGG · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Middle Africa, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Middle Africa gains 94,193 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 25–29, at 19,788 a year more arriving than leaving.

one square = 2,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: left to right is age, from babies to 100. Blue squares above the line are ages at which more people arrive than leave; orange squares below it, ages at which more leave than arrive. These are the UN's projection for 2020–2025. There is no record of migration by age before 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 1,298,108 (1994); its biggest loss, 718,265 (1996).

This is a group of countries, so its figure counts only moves across its own outer edge: someone moving from one country inside it to another does not appear.

How migration works everywhere

AGG · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Middle Africa

Of every 100 babies born in middle Africa in 2023, 17 had a mother under 20, 66 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 17 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 17 under 20 and 17 aged 35 or older.

1950
17 · 66 · 17

2023
17 · 66 · 17

2050 · projected
13 · 69 · 18

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: each block is 100 babies born in that year, one square each, coloured by how old the mother was. The numbers under a block are the three groups, youngest mothers first.

Babies born, 2023: 8,085,670
Average age when women have a baby: 29.4 years; 29.1 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 118; 131 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in middle Africa by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	20,755	40,957	69,677	76,204	65,295	16,775
15–19	179,901	333,162	697,030	1,271,104	1,425,206	707,653
20–24	318,898	522,957	1,076,339	2,077,616	2,782,720	2,172,656
25–29	276,545	464,530	984,116	1,861,857	2,776,389	3,270,659
30–34	205,796	377,024	809,956	1,442,413	2,284,767	3,319,024
35–39	118,588	250,003	521,622	902,560	1,390,590	2,020,123
40–44	66,440	129,756	237,842	374,640	561,651	709,431
45–49	16,767	29,534	48,839	75,830	110,985	111,864
50–54	960	1,483	2,244	3,446	4,898	3,544
All babies	1,204,650	2,149,406	4,447,665	8,085,670	11,402,501	12,331,729

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual tables for regions and groups (estimates to 2023, then the medium projection), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UN WUP 2025 · Maddison Project 2020 · flag-icons. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The 9 countries listed were summed and checked against the UN's total for every year. The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.