When discussing Africa’s population, attention is always put on mega cities and population booming countries of Africa. on the other side of the continent however, there are countries that have population less than the population of the 10th largest city in Nigeria.
Some of these countries have small population due to their small size while others are a chunk of sparsely populated lands. Here we analyse the least populated countries in Africa, giving a hint about their capital cities’ population and the projected population.
Least Populated Countries in Africa.
| Rank | Country | Estimated Population (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seychelles | 135,000 |
| 2 | Sao Tome and Principe | 245,000 |
| 3 | Cape Verde | 529,000 |
| 4 | Comoros | 899,000 |
| 5 | Djibouti | 1.2 million |
| 6 | Mauritius | 1.3 million |
| 7 | Eswatini | 1.3 million |
| 8 | Equatorial Guinea | 2 million |
| 9 | Guinea Bissau | 2.3 million |
| 10 | Lesotho | 2.3 million |
10. Lesotho: 2.3 million people. Officially The Kingdom of Lesotho, Lesotho is one of the smallest countries in Africa with land size slightly over 30,000 KM2. The country is a single locked country, one of the three enclave countries in the world the other being Vatican City and San Marino, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa.
The country is moderately populated with population density of 68/KM 2. The capital of Lesotho is Maseru with an estimated population of 512,000 people as of 2026.
Rugged mountainous areas which limit habitable land and migrating work force to South Africa are some of the reasons why Lesotho has few people. The population is projected to hit 3 million by 2050 with population growth at 1.1% per annum.
9. Guinea Bissau: 2.3 million people. One of the few Portuguese speaking countries of West Africa, Guinea Bissau has population density of 47/km2. The capital and largest city is Bissau which has population of 731,000 as of 2026.
Political instability and emigration, poor health infrastructure and high mortality rates are some of the reasons why Guinea Bissau has low population.
With an annual growth rate of 3.2%, the population is projected to hit 3.4 million by 2050.
8. Equatorial Guinea: 1.96 million people. Equatorial Guinea is a country located in mid-west Africa on the Atlantic Ocean. The country has the 3rd highest GDP per capita nominal in Africa due to its rich oil reserves.
The country’s former capital and largest city Malabo has population of 297,000 people while the new capital designated in January 2026 Ciudad de la Paz is still under construction and has population less than 10,000 people.
Population is expected to hit 2 million people by 2027 and by 2050 to be over 3.1 million people growing at an annual rate of 2.4%.
7. Eswatini: 1.3 million people. Formerly Swaziland, the Kingdom of the Swazi is one of the least populated countries in Africa. Located between Mozambique and South Africa, Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa by land size.
The country has population density of 66.8/km2. Mbabane is the largest city and one of two capital cities with population of 76,000 being one of the least populous capital cities in Africa.
The population is projected to hit 1.51 million by 2050 with an annual growth rate of 0.9%.
6. Mauritius: 1.26 million people. Mauritius is an island country located off the coast of East Africa, in the Indian Ocean.
The country ranks as one of the best in Africa in terms of GDP Per capita, both nominal and PPP, peace index, stability, press freedom, democracy, human development index and many other economic and social indicators.
The country’s capital and largest city Port Louis has 144,000 people with an economy dependant of service sector and tourism.
Mauritius has reached stage four of population growth, where there are low birth rates and low death rates leading to a stable population that is slightly declining and is expected to reduce to 1.1 million by 2050.
5. Djibouti: 1.2 million people. Located in the horn of Africa, Djibouti is one of the smallest and least populated countries in Africa.
The capital city is also called Djibouti and it is a home to more than a half of the country’s population, 625,000 people as of 2026. The country’s low population is primarily due to its size 23,200 km2. The country is also poor with harsh arid climate to support many inhabitants. Recent migrations to neighboring countries in search of better opportunities have also impacted the population.
Population is projected by World Health Organization to hit 1.6 million by 2050 with an annual growth of 1.31% per annum.
4. Comoros 899,000 people. Comoros is one of the 5 island countries of Africa. Located in Indian ocean, the island the 3rd smallest country in Africa by area. Moroni is the country’s capital with population of 88,000.
Literacy rate is at 89%, the country is predominantly employed in the Agricultural sector with a growing tourism sector.
Both Population Pyramid and World Health Organization project Comoros’ population to hit 1.3 million by 2050 with annual growth at 1.37%.
3. Cape Verde 529,000 people. Cape Verde is an island country in West Africa. A predominantly Portuguese speaking state, Cape Verde has population of 0.53 million with 80% of the population living in urban areas.
The capital and largest city is Praia with 205000 people as of 2026.
The population is slightly stable and is not expected to increase drastically by 2050. With an annual rate increase of 0.23%, projections vary between 560,000 to 600,000 but some put projections as high as 750,000 people by 2050.
2. Sao Tome and Principe 245,000 people. Sao Tome and Principe is an island country in the mid-west Africa. The Portuguese speaking island is the 2nd smallest country in Africa and the second least populated on the continent.
The population is employed in Agriculture which is the key sector of the country’s economy with tourism and petroleum also showing potential. Sao Tome is one of the two main islands and also acts as the capital of the country with 93,000 people.
Population is projected to hit 370,000 by 2050 with an annual population growth of 1.99%.
1. Seychelles 135,000 people. This is the smallest and least populous country in Africa. The country is located in East Africa in the Indian ocean. The capital is Victoria and has population of 30,000 people.
Working as a colonial prison of the British Empire, the island’s population is comprised of creole population of East African Bantu tribes who were transported to the island ocean as slaves and Indians.
Projections put Seychelles population at 145,000 by 2040 and 150,000 by 2050.
All this seen, Africa remains the second most populous continent in the world after Asia with population as high as 1.57 billion in 2026. Whereas countries in Africa that have population less than one million exist, they are not regarded as macro states as the least populated countries of Europe, Caribbean and Pacific islands that have population between 2,000- 50,000. Population growth in most of these countries is positive with exception of few that are highly urbanized.
