Africa is the third largest continent in the world, after Asia and America . With 1,300 million inhabitants, it is divided into 54 sovereign states: Angola, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Gambia, Mauritania, Somalia … It is of special interest to know which are the most populated cities in Africa in 2021 .
Lagos, Nigeria (24 million)
Lagos is a Nigerian port city that, according to various studies, is one of the cities with the highest population growth in the world . Despite having one of the main road networks in West Africa, traffic in Lagos is in chaos. Traffic jams are frequent, and it is estimated that a driver spends an average of 30 hours a week in the car just to get to and from work.
Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (17 million)
Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It extends over more than 15 kilometers from north to south and over more than 30 kilometers from east to west . It is a ube of strong contrasts, with very elegant residential neighborhoods and also extremely poor areas.
Cairo, Egypt (16.7 million)
El Caio is the largest city in the Arab world and the Middle East. It is home to a large number of international institutes and universities , as well as highly advanced health centers. Due to the traffic that circulates through the city and the low level of rainfall, it is one of the most polluted cities globally.
Nairobi, Kenya (4.3 million)
Nairobi is the most populous city in East Africa, and today it is one of the most prosperous cities on the continent both economically and politically . It has experienced one of the highest growth rates in Africa. In 1995 the population was 1.9 million inhabitants, in 2009 it had already added 3.1 million inhabitants and in 2020 4.3 million inhabitants.
Luanda, Angola (2.5 million)
Luanda is the capital and main city of Angola, located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Most of Luanda’s inhabitants are members of the Bakongo and Ovimbundu ethnic groups . The official language, and also the most widely spoken is Portuguese. In the 90s and during the first years of the new millennium, the population of the capital increased exponentially, from 400,000 inhabitants to more than 2 million as a result of the Angolan Civil War. Many people migrated from rural areas to the capital.
These are the most populous cities in Africa.
