Africa's ‘biggest’ country that has 15% of the continent's population

The country has the largest population in Africa (Image: Getty)

One country in Africa is so densely populated it’s home to 15% of the continent's population, and accounts for 2.8% of the world's inhabitants. The green and white flagged nation, one of the continent's leading economies, has five times more people per square mile than the average across Africa.

The mega country's population stood at more than 200 million as of May 19, 2025, based on Worldometer’s elaboration of the latest United Nations data. It estimated Nigeria's total population to be a whopping 236,912,780, which accounts for 15% of the estimated 1.54 billion people across 54 countries in Africa.

Lagos, Nigeria, is the most populous city in Africa (Image: Getty)

Even though Nigeria has the most people, it isn't actually the largest by land mass, which is a title held by Algeria in North Africa, spanning more than 900,000 square miles, compared to Nigeria which is closer to 356,000 in comparison.

However Algeria doesn't have a very large population due to its terrain, which is largely covered by the Sahara Desert, and nearly 90 percent of the country is thought to be left uninhabited.

The West African country in contrast has five times more people per square mile than the average across the continent, with 675 people per square mile compared to 135 people across Africa.

Algeria is largely covered by the Sahara Desert (Image: Getty)

Nigeria's ex-capital city, Lagos, is also the most populous city in Africa as the base for the Nigerian Stock Exchange, and multi-national giants like the Dangote Group, owned by Aliko Dangote - a man estimated to be worth over $23.9billion (£18.8billion). 

As a hub for international trade, it is the richest city in West Africa, home to 4,200 millionaires and two billionaires, according to the Africa Wealth Report 2024 by Henley and Partners.