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Indicators · Market size

Urban population growth

Yearly growth in the number of people living in urban areas.

Why it matters

Fast urban growth drives demand for housing, power, water, transport and consumer goods, and signals where infrastructure is falling behind.

Read with care

Boundary changes can create jumps that are not real migration.

Source

World Bank

% a year. 54 African countries, 1990 to 2025.

Urban growth: highest in Mozambique, lowest in Mauritius

Urban population growth, % a year. Latest year available, 2025. 16 of 16 countries have data.

0%
2%
4%
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Source: World Bank· Get the data (Professional)·dotzedw Insights Centre

Ranked: urban growthiWhy it mattersFast urban growth drives demand for housing, power, water, transport and consumer goods, and signals where infrastructure is falling behind.

Click a country to highlight it.

0%1%2%3%4%5%Mozambique4.9%Tanzania4.8%Malawi4.4%Angola4.1%DRC4.0%Madagascar3.8%Zambia3.7%Zimbabwe3.4%Lesotho3.3%Comoros3.0%Namibia3.0%Eswatini2.8%Botswana2.3%Seychelles1.6%South Africa1.3%Mauritius-0.1%median 3.4%
dotzedw Insights Centre
How spread out SADC is
Median 3.4%Lowest: Mauritius -0.1%Highest: Mozambique 4.9%

Over time

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Urban population growth 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.

0.0%1.0%2.0%3.0%4.0%5.0%$1,000$3,000$10kGDP per person, US$ (log scale)Urban growthDRCTanzaniaSouth AfricaAngolaMozambiqueMadagascarZambiaZimbabwe
Source: World Bank, World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Table

The same figures as the map, for screen readers and copying.
RankCountryValueYearFive-year changeGradeDetails
1Mozambique4.9%2025up 0.5 points since 2020A
2Tanzania4.8%2025up 0.3 points since 2020A
3Malawi4.4%2025up 0.8 points since 2020A
4Angola4.1%2025down 0.3 points since 2020A
5DRC4.0%2025little changed since 2020A
6Madagascar3.8%2025little changed since 2020A
7Zambia3.7%2025little changed since 2020A
8Zimbabwe3.4%2025down 0.5 points since 2020A
9Lesotho3.3%2025down 0.5 points since 2020A
10Comoros3.0%2025little changed since 2020A
11Namibia3.0%2025down 1.1 point since 2020A
12Eswatini2.8%2025up 0.5 points since 2020A
13Botswana2.3%2025up 0.7 points since 2020A
14Seychelles1.6%2025little changed since 2020A
15South Africa1.3%2025down 0.3 points since 2020A
16Mauritius-0.1%2025little changed since 2020A