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Indicators · Market size

Population

Everyone living in the country, whatever their legal status, at mid-year.

Why it matters

The size of the potential customer base and labour pool. Combined with growth and urbanisation it signals where demand will come from over the life of an investment.

Read with care

Figures between censuses are projections. Several countries have not run a census in over a decade.

Source

World Bank

people. 54 African countries, 1990 to 2025.

Population: highest in DRC, lowest in Seychelles

Population, people. Latest year available, 2025. 16 of 16 countries have data.

1m
3m
22m
39m
No data
Loading map…
Source: World Bank· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

Ranked: populationiWhy it mattersThe size of the potential customer base and labour pool. Combined with growth and urbanisation it signals where demand will come from over the life of an investment.

Click a country to highlight it.

020m40m60m80m100m120mDRC112.8mTanzania70.5mSouth Africa64.7mAngola39.0mMozambique35.6mMadagascar32.7mMalawi22.2mZambia21.9mZimbabwe17.0mNamibia3.1mBotswana2.6mLesotho2.4mEswatini1.3mMauritius1.2mComoros883kSeychelles123kmedian 19.4m
dotzedw Insights Centre
How spread out SADC is
Median 19.4mLog scaleLowest: Seychelles 123kHighest: DRC 112.8m

Over time

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Population against income per person

Each bubble is a SADC country, sized by population. Dashed lines mark the SADC medians. Countries far from the pattern are worth a closer look.

0.020.0m40.0m60.0m80.0m100.0m120.0m$1,000$3,000$10kGDP per person, US$ (log scale)PopulationDRCTanzaniaSouth AfricaAngolaMozambiqueMalawiZambiaZimbabwe
Source: World Bank, World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Table

The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.
RankCountryValueYearFive-year changeGradeDetails
1DRC112.8m2025up 18% since 2020A
2Tanzania70.5m2025up 16% since 2020A
3South Africa64.7m2025up 7% since 2020A
4Angola39.0m2025up 17% since 2020A
5Mozambique35.6m2025up 16% since 2020A
6Madagascar32.7m2025up 13% since 2020A
7Malawi22.2m2025up 14% since 2020A
8Zambia21.9m2025up 15% since 2020A
9Zimbabwe17.0m2025up 9% since 2020A
10Namibia3.1m2025up 13% since 2020A
11Botswana2.6m2025up 8% since 2020A
12Lesotho2.4m2025up 6% since 2020A
13Eswatini1.3m2025up 5% since 2020A
14Mauritius1.2m2025down 2% since 2020A
15Comoros883k2025up 10% since 2020A
16Seychelles123k2025up 25% since 2020A