Top 10 largest cities in Africa by population in 2026
By Aboki Forex —
Africa's cities are filling up faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. A 2025 study by the Africa Centre for Strategic Studies shows urbanisation is accelerating across the continent. Cities are growing by an average of 3.5% each year.
Nearly half of Africans, over 700 million people, already live in urban areas. The ten largest urban centres on the continent now hold a combined population of roughly 107.9 million people. That is more than the entire population of Germany. Every single one of these cities grew over the past year. Some grew by up to 5.13%.
Some cities, like Kinshasa, are growing at a pace that would alarm planners anywhere else in the world. Others, like Alexandria, are expanding more steadily. This is a sign of a more mature, slower-churning urban economy.
What stands out most is the geography of growth. Seven of the ten largest cities sit in Sub-Saharan Africa. They are almost without exception the fastest-growing entries on the list. North Africa's two representatives, Cairo and Alexandria, are older and more established. They are growing at a gentler pace.
Nigeria alone places two cities in the top three. This shows how much of Africa's urban future is being written in West Africa's most populous nation.
Below is how the ten largest cities on the continent stack up in 2026, counting from tenth to first, according to data from World Population Review.
10. Alexandria, Egypt - 5,521,580 people
Alexandria, the great Mediterranean port city of Egypt, closes out the top ten with a population of 5,521,580. This figure is up 0.98% from 5,468,041 in 2025. However, it has the slowest growth rate on this list. Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great and was once home to the ancient world's most famous library. It remains Egypt's second-largest city after Cairo and is a key industrial and shipping hub on the North African coast. The Port of Alexandria is one of the largest and busiest ports in the Mediterranean Sea and the most important port in Egypt. It handles a huge volume of cargo, containers, and passenger traffic.