France vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Urban population
Urban population over time
- France
- Sub-Saharan Africa
How they compare
Sub-Saharan Africa currently reports 590.23 million against 54.18 million in France, a difference of 536.05 million.
That makes Sub-Saharan Africa's figure about 10.9 times France's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, Sub-Saharan Africa has been ahead every year.
France ranks 17th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 20th of 215 countries.
Sub-Saharan Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | Sub-Saharan Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 32.95 million | 41.38 million | 8.43 million | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 1970s | 39.03 million | 69.53 million | 30.50 million | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 1980s | 41.60 million | 114.63 million | 73.03 million | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 1990s | 44.58 million | 179.66 million | 135.08 million | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 2000s | 48.55 million | 269.82 million | 221.27 million | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 2010s | 51.61 million | 402.27 million | 350.65 million | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 2020s | 53.73 million | 540.44 million | 486.71 million | Sub-Saharan Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher urban population, France or Sub-Saharan Africa?
- Sub-Saharan Africa, at 590.23 million against 54.18 million in France as of 2025.
- What is the difference in urban population between France and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 536.05 million, with Sub-Saharan Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do France and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for urban population?
- France ranks 17th and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 20th of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Urban population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.