What is the most populous capital city in Africa? What African
capital city has the largest land area? Cairo, the capital of
Egypt, is the African capital with the largest population, about
7.9 million. When the surrounding metropolitan area is included,
Cairo has a population of 14.8 million, making it the among the
20 largest cities in the world. Other large African capital
cities include: While it is not the capital, the urban area
based around Lagos, Nigeria has a population of 11.4 million. In
land area, Cairo (104 square miles) and Lagos (56 square miles)
are generally considered the largest in Africa. It is often
difficult to estimate the size of African cities because recent
urban sprawl has spilled into the surrounding countryside. —The
Fact Monster