14 November 2026 · Africa Flying

Africa’s population, 2026 to 2036, from the UN projection

These figures are not an Africa Flying measurement. They are the United Nations World Population Prospects 2024, medium variant, mid-year estimates, as compiled on the page linked below. Precise published forecasts for 2036 are limited, and the figures are projections subject to revision.

The Earth photographed from Apollo 17 on 7 December 1972, with Africa in the centre of the disc. — Africa from Apollo 17, 7 December 1972. A photograph of the continent, not a project measurement.Credit: NASA / Apollo 17 crew; restored copy on Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain (NASA).

2026: about 1.585 billion
2030: about 1.727 billion
2035: about 1.910 billion
2036: about 1.947 billion

The same compilation describes Africa adding roughly 35 to 37 million people a year. From 2026 to 2036 that is a net increase of about 360 million people. Growth rates are described as slowing from about 2.2 percent in 2026 toward about 1.9 percent by 2036, and still the highest of any major region. The median age is about 20.

Source: the cited compilation of UN World Population Prospects 2024. The connectivity note is separate and is not a pipeline reading either.

Written for the Africa Flying blog, 14 November 2026. A 2026 research preview: simulation, partial ingest, and the sources named in the note.