Which has higher population, total, Iran or Sub-Saharan Africa?

Sub-Saharan Africa, at 1.32 billion against 92.42 million in Iran as of 2025.

What is the difference in population, total between Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa?

1.23 billion, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa?

66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.

Where does this data come from?

World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Population, total. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Iran vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Population, total

Iran

92.42 million

in 2025

Sub-Saharan Africa

1.32 billion

in 2025

Iran rank

17th

Sub-Saharan Africa rank

18th

Population, total over time

Iran
Sub-Saharan Africa

How they compare

Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 1.32 billion against 92.42 million in Iran, a difference of 1.23 billion.

That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 14.3 times Iran's.

Across all 66 years both countries report, Sub-Saharan Africa has been ahead every year.

Iran ranks 17th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 18th of 218 countries.

Sub-Saharan Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade	Iran	Sub-Saharan Africa	Difference	Ahead
1960s	24.74 million	255.48 million	230.74 million	Sub-Saharan Africa
1970s	33.49 million	334.02 million	300.53 million	Sub-Saharan Africa
1980s	48.61 million	446.72 million	398.11 million	Sub-Saharan Africa
1990s	62.12 million	589.74 million	527.62 million	Sub-Saharan Africa
2000s	71.27 million	771.38 million	700.10 million	Sub-Saharan Africa
2010s	82.17 million	1.01 billion	930.91 million	Sub-Saharan Africa
2020s	90.05 million	1.24 billion	1.15 billion	Sub-Saharan Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher population, total, Iran or Sub-Saharan Africa?: Sub-Saharan Africa, at 1.32 billion against 92.42 million in Iran as of 2025.
What is the difference in population, total between Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 1.23 billion, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa?: 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
How do Iran and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for population, total?: Iran ranks 17th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 18th of 218 countries.
Where does this data come from?: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Population, total. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Iran vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Population, total. Statizoid, drawing on World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Retrieved 06 November 2026, from https://climate.statizoid.com/compare/population-total/iran-islamic-rep/sub-saharan-africa/

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About this data

Indicator: Population, total
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage: 266 places, 17,526 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed: 29 October 2026

Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.