Published: November 2, 2026
Egypt has the largest diaspora of any African country, on the one measure that counts people rather than descendants. The United Nations counts 4.82 million people who were born in Egypt and now live abroad. That is more than double the number for Nigeria, even though Nigeria has by far the largest population on the continent.
Key Facts
- Egypt ranks first with 4,820,002 emigrants in mid-2024, according to UN DESA International Migrant Stock 2024.
- The top 10 countries of origin account for 26,880,289 emigrants, or 64.9 percent of Africa's 41.4 million emigrants.
- Egypt's diaspora is 2.30 times Nigeria's. Nigeria ranks only sixth, with 2,094,265 emigrants.
- North Africa dominates the list. Egypt, Sudan, Morocco and Algeria together account for 14,014,833 emigrants, or 52.1 percent of the top 10 total.
- DR Congo edges Nigeria for fifth place by only 3,122 people, so the two should be read as effectively tied.
| Rank | Country of origin | Emigrants living abroad (mid-2024) | Main destination pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 4,820,002 | Western Asia and North Africa |
| 2 | Sudan | 3,786,603 | Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa/Western Asia |
| 3 | Morocco | 3,627,829 | Europe and North America |
| 4 | South Sudan | 3,168,836 | Neighbouring African countries |
| 5 | DR Congo | 2,097,387 | Neighbouring African countries |
| 6 | Nigeria | 2,094,265 | Europe and North America, plus West Africa |
| 7 | Burkina Faso | 2,050,050 | Cote d'Ivoire and West Africa |
| 8 | Somalia | 1,935,594 | Neighbouring African countries and beyond |
| 9 | Algeria | 1,780,399 | Europe and North America |
| 10 | Zimbabwe | 1,519,324 | Southern Africa and beyond |
Together, the top 10 account for almost two thirds of all Africans living outside the country where they were born. The next country, Mali, misses the list with 1,292,519 emigrants, trailing Zimbabwe by 226,805.
Selected Details
1. Egypt: 4,820,002
Egypt's diaspora is the largest in Africa by a clear margin. Most Egyptian emigrants live in Western Asia and other North African countries, with large communities in the Gulf states. Egypt alone accounts for 17.9 percent of the top 10 total.
2. Sudan: 3,786,603
Sudan ranks second, and its diaspora is shaped by both work and war. Roughly 1.95 million Sudanese emigrants live in other Sub-Saharan African countries, and about 1.7 million live in North Africa and Western Asia. Sudan is both a major country of origin and a major host country.
3. Morocco: 3,627,829
Morocco ranks third, and most of its emigrants live in Europe and North America. Proximity to Europe, colonial era ties and long established communities in France and Spain help explain the pattern. Morocco's diaspora is one of the oldest large African diasporas in Europe.
4. South Sudan: 3,168,836
South Sudan ranks fourth, a striking result for one of Africa's youngest and smallest states by population. Its diaspora is driven largely by conflict and displacement, and most South Sudanese abroad live in neighbouring African countries. The size of the figure shows how war, not population size alone, creates a diaspora.
5. DR Congo: 2,097,387
DR Congo takes fifth place by the narrowest margin in the table, just 3,122 people ahead of Nigeria. Its diaspora reflects decades of conflict in the east of the country and labour migration within Central and Southern Africa. In DR Congo's case, women slightly outnumber men among emigrants, unlike most countries on this list.
6. Nigeria: 2,094,265
Nigeria is the surprise of this ranking. Africa's most populous country, with about 242 million people, has only the sixth largest diaspora. About 1.2 million Nigerians live in Europe and North America, with the rest spread across West Africa and the wider world. In absolute numbers, Nigeria's diaspora is large. As a share of its population, it is small.
7. Burkina Faso: 2,050,050
Burkina Faso ranks seventh, and its story is mostly a West African story. The corridor from Burkina Faso to Cote d'Ivoire is the largest migration corridor in Africa, with roughly 1.7 million Burkinabe living in Cote d'Ivoire. Most Burkinabe abroad never leave the region.
8. Somalia: 1,935,594
Somalia ranks eighth, and its diaspora is one of the most widely scattered in Africa. Decades of conflict and state collapse pushed Somalis into neighbouring countries, the Gulf, Europe and North America. Somalia is a reminder that a diaspora can be both a refugee story and a trading story.
9. Algeria: 1,780,399
Algeria ranks ninth, and about 1.7 million Algerians live in Europe and North America. France remains the single most important destination, a legacy of colonial ties and family networks built over generations. Algeria's diaspora is older and more settled than the conflict driven diasporas above it.
10. Zimbabwe: 1,519,324
Zimbabwe closes the top 10 with 1,519,324 emigrants. Its diaspora grew through decades of economic migration and political crisis, with a large share living elsewhere in Southern Africa. Zimbabwe's figure is less than one third of Egypt's, which shows how far ahead the leader sits.
What this ranking does and does not count
This ranking counts migrant stock, not ancestry. It includes only people who were born in an African country and now live in another country for at least 12 months. It includes refugees. It does not count descendants born abroad, so it is very different from lists of African diaspora populations by destination, such as the tens of millions of people of African descent in the United States and Brazil. Readers who want the destination view can read our earlier article on the countries with the largest African diasporan populations. The two lists answer different questions, and both are worth reading side by side.
Most African emigrants stay close to home. Of Africa's 41.4 million emigrants, 18.7 million live in other Sub-Saharan African countries, 13.2 million live in Europe and North America, and 8.4 million live in North Africa and Western Asia. The popular image of African migration as a one way flow to Europe misses the larger movement within the continent itself.
The diaspora also sends money home at a scale that shapes economies. Our ranking of African countries by diaspora remittances shows Egypt again in first place, which is no coincidence. The countries with the largest diasporas are often the countries that receive the most remittances, though the order is not identical.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which African country has the largest diaspora in the world?
Egypt, with 4,820,002 people born in Egypt living abroad in mid-2024, according to UN DESA International Migrant Stock 2024. Sudan is second with 3,786,603, and Morocco is third with 3,627,829.
How many Nigerians live abroad?
About 2,094,265 people born in Nigeria lived abroad in mid-2024. That puts Nigeria sixth among African countries of origin, behind Egypt, Sudan, Morocco, South Sudan and DR Congo. About 1.2 million of them lived in Europe and North America.
What is the difference between a diaspora and migrant stock?
Migrant stock counts people living outside the country where they were born, at one point in time. Diaspora is a broader word that often includes descendants born abroad, who are not counted in migrant stock figures. That is why destination lists, which count people of African descent, give much larger numbers than this ranking.
Where do most African migrants go?
Most stay in Africa. Of the 41.4 million Africans living abroad in 2024, 18.7 million lived in other Sub-Saharan African countries. Europe and North America hosted 13.2 million, and North Africa and Western Asia hosted 8.4 million.
How many Africans live outside the country where they were born?
About 41.4 million people in mid-2024, according to UN DESA data analysed by the Africa Data Hub. The top 10 countries of origin in this ranking account for 26,880,289 of them, or 64.9 percent.
Data Sources
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, International Migrant Stock 2024, via Our World in Data: Immigrants and emigrant populations, emigrants, 2024
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, International Migrant Stock dataset page: International Migrant Stock
- Africa Data Hub, Most African Migrants Stay Within the Continent (2024 UN Population Division data): Africa Data Hub migration analysis
- SWP Working Paper 03, December 2025, Mapping African Migration (UN DESA data): Mapping African Migration
- Migration Data Portal, International migrant stocks (UN DESA 2024): International migrant stocks overview
Methodology
This ranking uses UN DESA International Migrant Stock 2024, mid-year estimates. The ranked figure for each country is the total number of people born in that country who were living in another country in mid-2024, for at least 12 months, including refugees. Where country of birth data were unavailable, citizenship was used as a proxy, following UN DESA practice. The same definition is applied to every row, and no rows mix different vintages or definitions.
Figures are reported exactly as published in the UN DESA table via Our World in Data. Rounded second sources (Africa Data Hub: Egypt 4.9 million; SWP: Egypt 4.8 million) confirm the order of the top three and are consistent with the exact figure of 4,820,002 once rounding is taken into account. Destination patterns in the table and sections are rounded figures from the Africa Data Hub and SWP analyses of the same UN data, and are presented as approximate. The DR Congo lead over Nigeria is only 3,122 people and should be read as effectively tied. Mali, with 1,292,519 emigrants, is the first country outside the top 10.
For context, Nigeria's population of about 242 million is the July 1, 2026 estimate from the UN World Population Prospects 2024 revision, as reported in our population ranking of all 54 African nations.
