Sub-region · UN WPP 2024

Western Africa population

Western Africa population now

479,467,284

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: 446,044,485

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 476.911 million
Median age: 19.4
Aged 65+: 3.1%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 200,000 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

Western Africa in numbers

In mid-2023 there were 446,044,485 people in Western Africa, and 5.5% of the world's people. That is 6.3 times its 1950 population of 70.4 million. It covers 17 countries and areas; the largest are Nigeria (51.1%), Ghana (7.6%), Côte d’Ivoire (7.0%), Niger (5.9%) and Mali (5.3%).

In the UN's medium projection it is still growing in 2100, when it reaches 1.07 billion.

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

The median age was 19.2 in 1950 and 18.8 in 2023; the projection has 35.2 in 2100. 3.0% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 12.9% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is still growing in 2100 in the medium projection.

Population, mid-2023: 446,044,485
Share of the world, 2023: 5.5%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +2.32% · +10,107,484 people
Births, 2023: 14,714,066
Deaths, 2023: 4,377,408
Net migration, 2023: −153,665
Children per woman, 2023: 4.44
Median age, 2023: 18.8 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 58.3 years
Population, mid-1950: 70,442,149
Projected, mid-2050: 734,831,108
Projected, mid-2100: 1,069,781,674

AGG · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections0200 m400 m600 m800 m1 bn1.2 bn1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection (medium). Every column stands for a single year, counted on 1 January, and the paper rules slice it into cells of equal size.

Show the numbers: Western Africa, 1950–2100

Western 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	69,771,107	3,318,678	1,997,478	6.46	35.2
1951	estimate	71,113,191	3,394,637	2,020,848	6.47	35.5
1952	estimate	72,496,803	3,465,684	2,047,614	6.47	35.7
1953	estimate	73,904,503	3,544,024	2,074,078	6.48	36.0
1954	estimate	75,328,980	3,621,100	2,099,919	6.49	36.2
1955	estimate	76,810,253	3,702,295	2,130,533	6.51	36.4
1956	estimate	78,340,150	3,785,886	2,160,100	6.52	36.6
1957	estimate	79,923,631	3,869,290	2,189,680	6.53	36.9
1958	estimate	81,556,140	3,951,512	2,217,788	6.53	37.1
1959	estimate	83,198,666	4,033,852	2,246,048	6.54	37.4
1960	estimate	84,961,996	4,126,284	2,277,021	6.55	37.6
1961	estimate	86,810,381	4,221,575	2,307,741	6.56	37.9
1962	estimate	88,687,042	4,321,590	2,344,355	6.57	38.1
1963	estimate	90,632,413	4,414,772	2,380,634	6.58	38.3
1964	estimate	92,634,272	4,513,737	2,416,767	6.60	38.5
1965	estimate	94,692,063	4,611,064	2,449,268	6.61	38.8
1966	estimate	96,845,781	4,716,070	2,487,385	6.63	39.0
1967	estimate	99,062,851	4,824,481	2,569,563	6.65	38.7
1968	estimate	101,338,534	4,938,582	2,558,767	6.67	39.5
1969	estimate	103,728,342	5,059,870	2,591,608	6.69	39.8
1970	estimate	106,193,958	5,183,248	2,589,266	6.71	40.5
1971	estimate	108,811,837	5,328,489	2,611,157	6.75	40.9
1972	estimate	111,468,773	5,465,333	2,616,046	6.78	41.5
1973	estimate	114,294,499	5,615,847	2,632,728	6.81	42.0
1974	estimate	117,260,320	5,788,517	2,643,642	6.86	42.7
1975	estimate	120,442,539	5,964,583	2,660,744	6.89	43.2
1976	estimate	123,798,752	6,125,434	2,645,445	6.91	44.1
1977	estimate	127,240,712	6,300,351	2,655,255	6.94	44.8
1978	estimate	130,930,029	6,486,035	2,676,991	6.97	45.3
1979	estimate	134,773,552	6,644,689	2,703,714	6.95	45.8
1980	estimate	138,749,417	6,802,442	2,739,658	6.93	46.2
1981	estimate	142,907,947	6,962,951	2,769,739	6.91	46.5
1982	estimate	147,115,622	7,124,928	2,810,295	6.88	46.8
1983	estimate	151,474,699	7,302,138	2,862,220	6.85	47.0
1984	estimate	155,375,418	7,409,081	2,908,661	6.80	47.2
1985	estimate	159,825,793	7,546,092	2,966,381	6.74	47.3
1986	estimate	164,288,558	7,679,063	3,025,500	6.69	47.3
1987	estimate	168,799,680	7,823,832	3,077,346	6.64	47.5
1988	estimate	173,443,039	7,986,341	3,132,273	6.61	47.6
1989	estimate	178,254,669	8,180,683	3,191,364	6.57	47.7
1990	estimate	183,215,580	8,355,357	3,270,090	6.53	47.7
1991	estimate	187,879,456	8,519,610	3,331,657	6.48	47.8
1992	estimate	192,914,487	8,701,393	3,384,307	6.42	47.9
1993	estimate	198,264,410	8,892,917	3,437,732	6.37	48.1
1994	estimate	203,578,756	9,082,250	3,511,682	6.31	48.2
1995	estimate	209,025,659	9,290,934	3,564,358	6.24	48.4
1996	estimate	214,711,648	9,485,047	3,631,386	6.18	48.5
1997	estimate	220,465,573	9,684,022	3,682,296	6.11	48.7
1998	estimate	226,635,095	9,906,494	3,736,771	6.05	48.9
1999	estimate	232,937,290	10,203,172	3,770,110	6.04	49.3
2000	estimate	239,246,691	10,527,062	3,784,835	6.04	49.8
2001	estimate	245,925,562	10,789,936	3,817,610	6.01	50.2
2002	estimate	252,917,618	11,043,846	3,839,905	5.97	50.7
2003	estimate	260,094,348	11,309,349	3,854,466	5.94	51.2
2004	estimate	267,348,402	11,551,718	3,856,751	5.91	51.8
2005	estimate	274,892,239	11,849,367	3,875,834	5.88	52.2
2006	estimate	282,698,299	12,128,119	3,898,624	5.86	52.6
2007	estimate	290,697,883	12,382,849	3,907,167	5.82	53.2
2008	estimate	298,947,035	12,673,455	3,929,286	5.80	53.6
2009	estimate	307,406,612	12,955,280	3,962,324	5.76	54.0
2010	estimate	316,061,225	13,240,801	4,005,825	5.72	54.3
2011	estimate	324,976,186	13,516,849	4,054,285	5.68	54.6
2012	estimate	334,243,095	13,734,063	4,102,640	5.61	54.9
2013	estimate	343,464,014	13,908,701	4,150,297	5.52	55.2
2014	estimate	352,902,770	14,078,720	4,203,225	5.44	55.4
2015	estimate	362,640,536	14,167,705	4,258,626	5.34	55.6
2016	estimate	372,360,465	14,185,975	4,272,341	5.21	55.9
2017	estimate	382,333,041	14,180,788	4,298,316	5.07	56.2
2018	estimate	392,213,410	14,153,582	4,312,247	4.92	56.5
2019	estimate	401,882,522	14,117,123	4,318,635	4.78	56.9
2020	estimate	411,478,122	14,122,596	4,397,616	4.65	56.9
2021	estimate	421,164,119	14,324,166	4,435,188	4.58	57.1
2022	estimate	430,921,013	14,499,156	4,366,945	4.50	57.8
2023	estimate	440,952,989	14,714,066	4,377,408	4.44	58.3
2024	estimate	451,135,981	14,855,287	4,436,435	4.35	58.4
2025	projection	461,366,676	15,017,874	4,498,151	4.27	58.6
2026	projection	471,698,900	15,172,879	4,558,953	4.19	58.8
2027	projection	482,123,387	15,311,632	4,621,726	4.10	59.0
2028	projection	492,637,600	15,456,191	4,686,327	4.02	59.2
2029	projection	503,208,872	15,617,599	4,754,892	3.94	59.3
2030	projection	513,866,748	15,747,056	4,824,757	3.86	59.5
2031	projection	524,576,806	15,886,294	4,893,989	3.78	59.7
2032	projection	535,376,070	16,027,483	4,964,086	3.71	59.9
2033	projection	546,249,322	16,153,768	5,035,564	3.64	60.0
2034	projection	557,172,618	16,261,976	5,107,257	3.57	60.2
2035	projection	568,116,848	16,366,038	5,182,029	3.50	60.4
2036	projection	579,096,137	16,464,732	5,257,739	3.44	60.5
2037	projection	590,098,515	16,540,644	5,332,790	3.38	60.7
2038	projection	601,080,820	16,607,660	5,408,401	3.32	60.9
2039	projection	612,060,829	16,675,576	5,486,198	3.26	61.0
2040	projection	623,031,368	16,724,221	5,563,240	3.21	61.2
2041	projection	633,965,376	16,758,997	5,643,516	3.16	61.4
2042	projection	644,852,285	16,794,366	5,720,797	3.11	61.5
2043	projection	655,699,869	16,828,590	5,802,545	3.06	61.7
2044	projection	666,488,547	16,854,973	5,887,840	3.02	61.9
2045	projection	677,224,420	16,874,052	5,971,394	2.98	62.0
2046	projection	687,871,454	16,893,034	6,058,838	2.94	62.2
2047	projection	698,449,643	16,903,526	6,146,495	2.90	62.3
2048	projection	708,942,138	16,909,953	6,233,550	2.86	62.5
2049	projection	719,368,048	16,925,616	6,324,432	2.83	62.6
2050	projection	729,699,729	16,938,273	6,418,575	2.79	62.8
2051	projection	739,962,487	16,946,397	6,511,743	2.76	63.0
2052	projection	750,148,988	16,968,950	6,610,921	2.73	63.1
2053	projection	760,239,407	16,975,163	6,710,173	2.70	63.3
2054	projection	770,234,545	16,974,393	6,807,364	2.67	63.4
2055	projection	780,112,838	16,979,701	6,907,506	2.64	63.5
2056	projection	789,932,928	16,989,932	7,009,905	2.61	63.7
2057	projection	799,623,999	16,993,611	7,116,745	2.59	63.8
2058	projection	809,204,658	16,999,786	7,221,398	2.56	64.0
2059	projection	818,688,485	17,003,000	7,328,114	2.54	64.1
2060	projection	828,061,924	17,006,674	7,436,098	2.52	64.3
2061	projection	837,315,435	17,001,579	7,545,152	2.49	64.4
2062	projection	846,482,874	16,987,179	7,657,789	2.47	64.6
2063	projection	855,528,222	16,975,006	7,771,720	2.45	64.7
2064	projection	864,454,765	16,962,540	7,885,316	2.43	64.8
2065	projection	873,255,527	16,942,846	8,001,812	2.41	65.0
2066	projection	881,912,851	16,923,711	8,124,260	2.39	65.1
2067	projection	890,449,700	16,907,856	8,242,526	2.37	65.3
2068	projection	898,849,232	16,881,732	8,364,565	2.35	65.4
2069	projection	907,076,147	16,849,123	8,490,189	2.34	65.5
2070	projection	915,138,485	16,811,946	8,620,291	2.32	65.7
2071	projection	923,003,204	16,771,093	8,747,434	2.30	65.8
2072	projection	930,743,293	16,730,496	8,879,214	2.29	65.9
2073	projection	938,274,844	16,686,304	9,014,697	2.27	66.0
2074	projection	945,643,511	16,638,703	9,153,173	2.26	66.2
2075	projection	952,830,357	16,587,975	9,290,348	2.24	66.3
2076	projection	959,862,012	16,537,970	9,429,825	2.23	66.5
2077	projection	966,666,553	16,483,094	9,578,597	2.21	66.6
2078	projection	973,258,025	16,431,828	9,722,152	2.20	66.7
2079	projection	979,674,124	16,382,618	9,869,808	2.19	66.8
2080	projection	985,895,281	16,328,360	10,020,861	2.18	67.0
2081	projection	991,904,139	16,273,394	10,169,776	2.16	67.1
2082	projection	997,727,892	16,227,757	10,320,464	2.15	67.2
2083	projection	1,003,304,589	16,168,445	10,467,430	2.14	67.3
2084	projection	1,008,721,500	16,117,058	10,621,187	2.13	67.5
2085	projection	1,013,875,130	16,059,384	10,773,572	2.12	67.6
2086	projection	1,018,863,899	16,004,018	10,921,572	2.11	67.7
2087	projection	1,023,669,001	15,949,302	11,066,530	2.10	67.8
2088	projection	1,028,225,968	15,890,716	11,204,218	2.09	67.9
2089	projection	1,032,589,798	15,840,218	11,342,692	2.08	68.1
2090	projection	1,036,799,966	15,781,026	11,480,767	2.07	68.2
2091	projection	1,040,805,231	15,721,495	11,608,981	2.06	68.3
2092	projection	1,044,613,240	15,654,027	11,734,643	2.05	68.4
2093	projection	1,048,210,329	15,598,176	11,856,343	2.04	68.5
2094	projection	1,051,616,733	15,542,534	11,972,736	2.04	68.7
2095	projection	1,054,882,922	15,485,198	12,085,158	2.03	68.8
2096	projection	1,057,949,851	15,428,336	12,193,521	2.02	68.9
2097	projection	1,060,880,692	15,361,202	12,298,979	2.01	69.0
2098	projection	1,063,631,172	15,299,211	12,401,308	2.00	69.1
2099	projection	1,066,236,027	15,225,129	12,492,763	2.00	69.3
2100	projection	1,068,652,779	15,159,149	12,586,272	1.99	69.4

AGG · members

Countries and areas in Western Africa

Western 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	Nigeria	227,882,945	51.1%	476,747,781
2	Ghana	33,787,914	7.6%	67,547,746
3	Côte d’Ivoire	31,165,654	7.0%	104,042,820
4	Niger	26,159,867	5.9%	90,819,274
5	Mali	23,769,128	5.3%	79,354,048
6	Burkina Faso	23,025,776	5.2%	49,854,228
7	Senegal	18,077,574	4.1%	47,014,186
8	Guinea	14,405,468	3.2%	32,007,046
9	Benin	14,111,034	3.2%	39,587,568
10	Togo	9,304,338	2.1%	26,300,754
11	Sierra Leone	8,460,512	1.9%	15,934,256
12	Liberia	5,493,031	1.2%	12,665,394
13	Mauritania	5,022,442	1.1%	17,118,470
14	Gambia	2,697,846	0.60%	5,703,042
15	Guinea-Bissau	2,153,339	0.48%	4,665,484
16	Cabo Verde	522,330	0.12%	416,940
17	Saint Helena	5,288	less than 0.01%	2,635

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

Western Africa: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	7,310,890	7,101,410
1	7,076,190	6,902,390
2	6,928,760	6,766,600
3	6,785,220	6,625,040
4	6,639,670	6,476,760
5	6,503,820	6,336,800
6	6,411,700	6,238,480
7	6,371,140	6,190,790
8	6,339,680	6,152,470
9	6,305,650	6,114,580
10	6,264,150	6,073,240
11	6,203,060	6,014,610
12	6,095,800	5,906,910
13	5,972,480	5,776,670
14	5,861,930	5,661,650
15	5,733,530	5,536,340
16	5,587,480	5,393,400
17	5,439,750	5,249,050
18	5,286,040	5,102,710
19	5,131,190	4,955,290
20	4,970,660	4,802,720
21	4,795,410	4,636,050
22	4,625,810	4,473,170
23	4,456,180	4,310,820
24	4,279,460	4,141,940
25	4,106,110	3,976,630
26	3,926,260	3,805,310
27	3,745,870	3,634,390
28	3,588,840	3,489,880
29	3,458,310	3,372,660
30	3,343,380	3,268,270
31	3,233,910	3,166,540
32	3,126,000	3,065,730
33	3,022,660	2,971,380
34	2,925,280	2,883,620
35	2,833,670	2,799,140
36	2,748,000	2,718,500
37	2,663,110	2,637,970
38	2,580,420	2,558,580
39	2,506,400	2,486,670
40	2,438,100	2,418,960
41	2,370,840	2,350,800
42	2,306,970	2,284,940
43	2,234,410	2,210,760
44	2,148,860	2,124,910
45	2,067,500	2,043,840
46	1,997,140	1,974,190
47	1,923,470	1,902,540
48	1,835,510	1,817,860
49	1,743,040	1,728,910
50	1,656,060	1,646,830
51	1,571,210	1,568,880
52	1,483,960	1,489,230
53	1,401,520	1,413,420
54	1,325,410	1,342,710
55	1,256,790	1,278,180
56	1,195,010	1,220,170
57	1,134,480	1,164,040
58	1,074,210	1,108,330
59	1,016,570	1,055,340
60	961,674	1,005,290
61	909,035	957,655
62	857,579	910,804
63	806,533	863,489
64	756,266	815,897
65	702,728	764,162
66	651,577	713,692
67	606,836	668,676
68	562,897	624,147
69	519,257	579,667
70	476,328	535,665
71	434,406	492,454
72	394,109	450,668
73	355,482	410,447
74	318,642	371,978
75	283,583	335,102
76	249,066	296,462
77	217,930	261,081
78	193,893	233,002
79	171,461	206,676
80	148,039	180,215
81	125,828	154,370
82	105,348	130,298
83	86,983	108,520
84	70,430	89,134
85	55,678	71,973
86	43,140	57,166
87	32,789	44,754
88	24,316	34,304
89	17,522	25,592
90	12,262	18,602
91	8,358	13,210
92	5,552	9,163
93	3,589	6,201
94	2,266	4,108
95	1,402	2,659
96	843	1,676
97	498	1,029
98	290	616
99	165	362
100+	204	451

AGG · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Western 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 Western Africa

In Western Africa the number of people aged 15–64 is still growing in 2100, the last year the UN projects. In 2023 there were 247,623,000 of them.

100 aged 15–64

75 children

5 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: one orange square for each of 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023. Beneath them, teal for the children living alongside those 100 and violet for the people aged 65 or older.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 25 years: 2066–2090.

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 Western Africa, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Western Africa loses 137,474 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 30–34, at 45,668 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 5,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: each column is one age, youngest on the left. Above the line, in blue, are the ages gaining people; below it, in orange, the ages losing them. This is the UN's projection for 2020–2025 — the record of migration by age does not go back beyond 2020.

Across the counted years, 1950 to 2023, its biggest single-year gain was 167,794 (1997); its biggest loss, 539,215 (1983).

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 Western Africa

Of every 100 babies born in Western Africa in 2023, 15 had a mother under 20, 69 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 16 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 17 under 20 and 18 aged 35 or older.

1950
17 · 65 · 18

2023
15 · 69 · 16

2050 · projected
10 · 74 · 16

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

How to read this: shrink a year's babies to 100 and colour each one by the age of its mother — that is a block. Under it, the same three groups as numbers, starting with the youngest mothers.

Babies born, 2023: 14,714,066
Average age when women have a baby: 29.1 years; 29.4 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 91; 143 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Western Africa by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	63,494	127,566	181,758	79,757	22,885	4,161
15–19	508,866	1,064,917	1,735,240	2,192,586	1,759,233	734,450
20–24	802,070	1,431,606	2,671,695	3,954,848	4,541,557	3,040,178
25–29	762,376	1,272,644	2,400,781	3,500,506	4,465,892	4,467,022
30–34	586,512	998,014	1,791,530	2,635,795	3,464,256	4,100,854
35–39	369,346	653,398	1,124,499	1,559,418	1,910,943	2,130,856
40–44	180,903	337,448	484,944	628,947	639,768	594,241
45–49	42,834	75,293	129,947	154,851	128,062	84,653
50–54	2,277	3,697	6,668	7,358	5,677	2,734
All babies	3,318,678	5,964,583	10,527,062	14,714,066	16,938,273	15,159,149

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 17 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.