Nigeria tops African countries with most homeless population as review estimates 4.5 million

Nigeria has the largest homeless population in Africa, with an estimated 4.5 million people living without shelter in 2025, according to estimates from World Population Review reported by Daily Trust. The figures compare homeless numbers with total population and with the number of homeless people per 10,000 residents, showing that some countries carry the heaviest absolute burden while others face sharper pressure relative to their population size.

Uganda follows Nigeria with an estimated 4 million homeless people against a population of 51.54 million, while Sudan is third with about 3 million homeless people and a population of 50.58 million. The Democratic Republic of Congo is estimated at 1.5 million homeless people within a population of 108.41 million, Somalia at 1.4 million, and Zimbabwe at 1.2 million. Burkina Faso is put at 700,000 and Mozambique at 640,000, with Ethiopia also appearing among the countries carrying large homeless populations.

In Nigeria, the report points to Lagos as the clearest illustration of the problem. Neighbourhoods such as Oshodi, Ajegunle, Ketu, Shomolu and Obalende host people living on the streets, under bridges or in informal clusters, often because of unaffordable rents and migration from neighbouring states in search of work. Waterfront settlements such as Makoko are described as stilt-house communities where families live without secure tenure or access to basic sanitation, with similar patterns recorded in Abuja and Kano.

Across the continent the report attributes urban homelessness to rapid urbanisation, inadequate housing supply, economic inequality, conflict and environmental pressure. Egypt's dense informal districts on the outskirts of Cairo and Alexandria, Khartoum and its surrounding towns in Sudan, and Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe are cited as examples of cities where street populations overlap with expanding informal settlements.

The report also flags children as the most exposed group. Citing UNICEF, it notes that many homeless children take on hazardous street work such as navigating traffic to sell goods, while others are pushed into illegal activity, underscoring what it describes as an urgent need for protective measures and shelter provision.

The comparison comes as African countries continue to weigh housing policies against the scale of the shortfall. The report notes that while Europe, North America and Asia have deployed affordable housing programmes, social support networks and emergency shelters, African cities face the added pressure of fast urban growth, inequality and displacement.