Egypt ranks as third most populous African country with 104.2m

Egypt has been ranked first in terms of population in the North African region, with 104.2 million, and placed third on the continent behind Nigeria and Ethiopia. (Reuters/File Photo)
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Updated 21 November 2022
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Egypt ranks as third most populous African country with 104.2m

  • African continent 'expected to host 25.4% of world’s population by 2050’

CAIRO: Egypt has been ranked first in terms of population in the North African region, with 104.2 million, and placed third on the continent behind Nigeria and Ethiopia, after figures were released to coincide with African Statistics Day.

The numbers were revealed in a press release from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.

According to CAPMAS, Egypt’s population represents about 7.3 percent of the population of Africa and 1.3 percent of the world’s numbers. The country ranks 14th in terms of world population.

Nigeria ranked first in the West African region, with a population of 219.5 million, 15.4 percent of Africa’s numbers.

Ethiopia was the most populous country in the East African region with 122.1 million, 8.6 percent of the population of Africa.

In the Central African region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo hosts 96.5 million people, some 6.8 percent of Africa’s population.

South Africa has a population of 61.1 million, which is 4.3 percent of Africa’s population.

CAPMAS estimates that the African continent is expected to host 25.4 percent of the world’s population by 2050. This figure compares to 17.8 percent in 2022.

The agency added that the population of the continent reached 1.42 billion people on Nov. 17, some 17.8 percent of the world’s population of 8 billion. The world figure is expected to reach 9.75 billion by 2050.

African Statistics Day, which takes place on November 18, began in 1990 and aims to raise public awareness of the importance of figures in economic and social development.


US sanctions Larijani and other Iranian officials over protest crackdown

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US sanctions Larijani and other Iranian officials over protest crackdown

WASHINGTON: The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on Iranian security officials and financial networks, accusing them of orchestrating a violent crackdown on peaceful protests and laundering billions in oil revenues.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the measures in the wake of the biggest anti-government protests in the history of the Islamic republic, although the demonstrations appear to have diminished over the last few days in the face of repression and an almost week-long Internet blackout.
“The United States stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, adding that the action was taken at President Donald Trump’s direction.
Among those sanctioned is Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, whom Washington accused of coordinating the crackdown and calling for force against protesters.
Four regional commanders of Iran’s Law Enforcement Forces and Revolutionary Guard were also sanctioned for their roles in the crackdown in Lorestan and Fars provinces.
Security forces in Fars “have killed countless peaceful demonstrators” with hospitals “so inundated with gunshot wound patients that no other types of patients can be admitted,” the Treasury said.
The Treasury additionally designated 18 individuals and entities accused of operating “shadow banking” networks that launder proceeds from Iranian oil sales through front companies in the UAE, Singapore and Britain.
These networks funnel billions of dollars annually using cover companies and exchange houses, as Iranian citizens face economic hardship, according to the Treasury.
The sanctions freeze any US assets of those designated and prohibit Americans from doing business with them. Foreign financial institutions risk secondary sanctions for transactions with the designated entities.
The action builds on the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. In 2025, the Treasury sanctioned more than 875 persons, vessels and aircraft as part of this effort, it said.