What is the population of Dakar?
Dakar has a city population of 2,646,503. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
Capital city · Senegal · Africa
Dakar
City population
2,646,503
#1
in Senegal
#1
in Dakar
#147
worldwide
14.694, -17.444
About Dakar
Dakar's city-proper population of 2,646,503 makes it Senegal's largest urban center, with the metropolitan area reaching 3,938,000 residents. The city experiences rapid growth at 3.2% annually, driven by a dense concentration of 7,200 people per km² across its low-lying terrain at just 12 m elevation. Two major airports—Léopold Sédar Senghor International and Blaise Diagne International—serve the city's transportation needs.
Current mayor Barthélémy Dias leads municipal administration in this coastal West African city. The combination of high density and substantial population growth presents ongoing development pressures typical of rapidly expanding urban centers in the region.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
3,938,000
0.047% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+3.15%
Archive estimateDensity
7,200/km²
547 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#1of 9
Leadership
Barthélémy Dias
Coordinates
14.694, -17.444
Record updated
27 July 2024
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.
Nearby Cities
All 65 in SenegalClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
| Dakar | 2.65M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- Léopold Sédar Senghor International AirportDKR
7 km from the city centre
- Blaise Diagne International AirportDSS
40 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in Senegal
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 2,555,369 |
| 1960 | 3,340,907 |
| 1970 | 4,466,328 |
| 1980 | 5,845,638 |
| 1990 | 7,720,523 |
| 2000 | 9,968,260 |
| 2010 | 12,635,413 |
| 2020 | 16,789,219 |
| 2030 | 21,163,192 |
| 2040 | 25,797,510 |
| 2050 | 30,364,954 |
| 2060 | 34,822,200 |
| 2070 | 38,922,604 |
| 2080 | 42,337,037 |
| 2090 | 45,032,516 |
| 2100 | 47,014,186 |
Dakar Population FAQ
Where is Dakar?
Dakar is in Dakar, Senegal. Its coordinates are 14.694, -17.444.
How big is Dakar compared with other cities in Senegal?
It is the 1st largest of the 65 cities listed in Senegal, holding 14.0% of the national population.