How Many Chinese Live in Africa? Data for 54 Countries (2026)

South Africa ~200,000–350,000 (estimate)

Africa's largest Chinese community, but there is no official count. The common "300,000+" comes from 2012–2015 estimates; Taiwan's OCAC put it at 510,000 for 2025 using a broad definition. South African-born and Taiwanese Chinese keep emigrating, so the real figure is probably lower. UN birthplace data (2024) shows only about 8,600.^{[9, 10, 3, 11, 2]}

South Africa guide for Chinese residents

Madagascar ~50,000 (about 40,000 new migrants, 10,000 old diaspora)

MOFCOM 2025 and China's foreign ministry both give about 50,000, down from 60,000 in 2020, all of the drop among new migrants. A 2026 embassy article mentions "500,000–600,000 of Chinese descent", which counts mixed-descent Malagasy who mostly don't speak Chinese. A Chinese-owned mall in Antananarivo was looted in the September 2025 protests.^{[12, 13, 14, 15]}

Madagascar guide for Chinese residents

Nigeria ~30,000–50,000

China's ambassador gave 40,000–50,000 in both 2017 and 2020. MOFCOM's 2025 guide says about 100,000, the same as the 2007 peak estimate, so it is probably carried over; OCAC's 200,000 is far higher than any other source. Over 400 Chinese nationals were arrested for fraud and illegal mining between late 2024 and March 2025.^{[16, 17, 18, 19, 3]}

Nigeria guide for Chinese residents

Ghana ~30,000–50,000

MOFCOM 2025: 30,000–50,000; the embassy said about 30,000 in 2018. Numbers move with illegal gold mining (galamsey): 4,592 Chinese left during the 2013 crackdown, and 92 of 107 foreigners deported in April 2025 were Chinese. The "750,000" figure online is not credible.^{[20, 21, 22, 1]}

Zimbabwe ~25,000–50,000 (growing)

MOFCOM 2025: 30,000–50,000 including company staff, up from about 10,000 in 2020. Zimbabwe's home affairs minister told parliament in 2024 there were about 25,000 Chinese nationals. A lithium and gold boom is driving growth. Claims of 85,000 or 100,000+ have no source.^{[23, 24, 1]}

Kenya ~20,000–50,000

MOFCOM's 2025 guide says "conservatively over 50,000" but admits there are no exact statistics, and the figure has been repeated since about 2020. Chinese contract workers fell from 8,348 (2019) to 3,091 (2024). About 100,000 Chinese tourists visit each year; they are not residents.^{[25, 1, 26]}

Kenya guide for Chinese residents

Angola ~20,000–50,000 (falling)

MOFCOM 2025 (written June 2025): about 50,000 Chinese citizens, over half of them workers. After the July 2025 fuel-price riots, nearly 100 Chinese shops were looted and thousands left, so the real number is probably near the lower end now. The "250,000–300,000" still quoted in the media is the 2012 construction-boom peak.^{[27, 28, 29, 1]}

Mauritius ~20,000–30,000 of Chinese descent; ~3,000 PRC nationals

Mostly third- and fourth-generation Hakka families (about 90% from Meixian), in Port Louis and Curepipe. MOFCOM 2025 gives about 20,000; the 2022 census, which counts by religion, gives 0.9% Sino-Mauritian (about 11,000, an undercount). The community is shrinking through emigration and intermarriage. About 3,000 residents hold PRC citizenship.^{[30, 31, 2]}

Mauritius guide for Chinese residents

Tanzania ~20,000–30,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 30,000, including about 4,000 staff of Chinese companies. The figure matches the ambassador's "30,000+" from 2013, so it may be carried forward. Most live in Dar es Salaam and work in wholesale trade, manufacturing, construction and mining.^{[32, 1]}

Tanzania guide for Chinese residents

Zambia ~15,000–30,000

The only official figure is from 2014: Zambia's Home Affairs ministry counted 19,845 Chinese. The "80,000" and "100,000" figures go back to a 2006 election campaign and researchers found them badly inflated. Chinese contract workers fell from 8,906 (2019) to 3,291 (2024).^{[33, 7, 34, 1]}

Zambia guide for Chinese residents

Guinea ~15,000–25,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 20,000. Guinea had 11,071 Chinese contract workers at end-2024, the most in Africa, mainly on bauxite and the Simandou iron-ore project.^{[35, 1]}

Egypt ~10,000–20,000 (about 16,000)

MOFCOM 2025: about 8,000 long-term Chinese residents plus 8,170 contract workers at end-2024, about 16,000 in total. Chinese factories have been moving to the Suez zone and 10th of Ramadan City since 2024 to avoid US tariffs, and there were over 3,000 Chinese firms by August 2026, so the number is probably rising.^{[36, 1, 37]}

Egypt guide for Chinese residents

DR Congo 10,000+ (no total published)

There were 9,694 Chinese contract workers at end-2024, not counting private traders and miners, so the total is above 10,000. MOFCOM's 2025 guide gives no total, and the "50,000" figure online has no reliable source. Most are in Kinshasa and the copper-cobalt belt of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba.^{[38, 1, 39]}

Uganda ~10,000–20,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 20,000. Unofficial estimates quoted by local media in 2017 ranged from 10,000 to 50,000. Most are in Kampala, Jinja, Entebbe and the industrial parks, in retail, manufacturing and construction.^{[40, 41, 1]}

Ethiopia ~8,000–20,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 8,000 Chinese citizens. The ambassador's "about 60,000" in 2016 was the railway and industrial-park peak. Numbers have fallen sharply since, with the Tigray war and insecurity in Oromia and Amhara.^{[42, 43, 1, 2]}

Mozambique ~6,500–20,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 4,500 long-term residents (Mozambique immigration data) plus about 2,000 Chinese company staff; the 2021 edition gave about 20,000 including short-term stays. Most live in Maputo, Matola and Beira.^{[44, 45, 1]}

Algeria ~10,000 (incl. contract workers)

MOFCOM 2025: about 4,000 Chinese residents at end-2024, not counting company staff, plus 5,718 contract workers, about 10,000 in total. Algeria was once China's biggest labour market in Africa, with over 90,000 workers in 2015–2016; the "100,000+" figure online refers to that peak.^{[46, 1, 47]}

Botswana ~5,000–10,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 5,000; UN data counts 5,043 China-born residents (2024), which agrees. Most are in Gaborone, Francistown and Maun, in import-export and retail.^{[48, 2]}

Cameroon ~6,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 6,000 (7,000 in 2020), mostly from Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangxi and Liaoning, in Douala and Yaoundé.^[49]

Republic of the Congo ~4,500–6,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 4,500 residents plus about 1,400 workers; the 2020 edition said nearly 10,000 before construction work fell. Most are in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire.^{[50, 1]}

Senegal ~5,000 (incl. Chinese company staff)

Chinese embassy statistics: about 5,000 including Chinese company staff. Dakar has a Chinese shopping street on Boulevard du Centenaire.^[51]

Côte d'Ivoire ~4,000–5,000

The only official figure is about 4,000, from China's foreign ministry in 2016. MOFCOM's 2025 guide gives no number. Most live in Abidjan and work in contracting, retail, restaurants and pharmacies.^{[52, 53, 1]}

Lesotho ~3,000–5,000

MOFCOM 2020: about 2,900, including company staff, managers at Taiwanese textile plants and traders; no newer figure was found. Chinese shops are in almost every town.^{[54, 1]}

Namibia ~2,000–4,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 1,200 Chinese residents and traders (June 2025) plus about 700 company staff; the embassy said under 4,000 in 2019. Claims of 100,000–130,000 were debunked by Namibia Fact Check.^{[55, 56, 2]}

Sierra Leone ~3,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 3,000 resident Chinese in Freetown, Makeni, Bo and Tonkolili.^[57]

Morocco ~2,000–3,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 2,000, over half in Casablanca. Battery and auto-parts plants in Tangier and Kenitra since 2023 may have added more.^[58]

Rwanda ~2,000–3,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 3,000, of whom about 2,000 are self-employed, almost all in Kigali.^[59]

Malawi ~2,000–3,000

MOFCOM 2025: over 2,000 including company staff, mainly in Lilongwe and Blantyre. Malawi law limits foreign traders to the four main cities.^[60]

Cabo Verde ~2,000–3,000

Cabo Verde's ambassador in Beijing said about 3,000 in 2017; no newer figure was found. Most are shopkeepers from Hebei and Wenzhou in Praia and Mindelo.^[61]

Gabon ~2,100

MOFCOM 2025: about 2,100 resident Chinese, mainly in Libreville, in timber, retail, hotels and restaurants.^[62]

Mali ~1,000–3,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 3,000, mainly in Bamako. In August 2025 the embassy told gold-mining firms and staff to stop work and leave, so the number has probably fallen.^[63]

Benin ~2,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 2,000, mainly in and around Cotonou. Chinese ordinary passport holders have been visa-exempt since September 2023.^[64]

Liberia ~1,500–2,500

MOFCOM 2025, citing Liberia's immigration service: about 1,500, mostly in Monrovia. There were 2,134 Chinese contract workers at end-2024.^{[65, 1]}

Equatorial Guinea ~2,000

MOFCOM 2025: about 2,000 (about 1,000 of them private residents), in Malabo and Bata. At the 2014 oil-funded building peak there were 12,550 contract workers.^{[66, 1]}

Chad ~1,600

MOFCOM 2025: about 1,600, mostly staff of Chinese companies, chiefly CNPC's oilfields and refinery (about 2,600 in 2020). The "40,000" figure online is wrong.^[67]

South Sudan ~500–1,500 (estimate)

About 2,300 Chinese citizens were there before the 2013 civil war, followed by several evacuations. MOFCOM 2025 describes the community as "very small". Most are in Juba and the oilfields.^{[68, 69]}

Togo ~900

MOFCOM 2025: just over 900, mainly in Lomé and Kara.^[70]

Djibouti ~800

MOFCOM 2025: about 800, mainly in Djibouti City (about 2,000 in 2018, at the port and railway building peak). Personnel at China's military base are not counted.^{[71, 1]}

Seychelles ~400

MOFCOM 2025: about 400, mainly on Mahé; UN data counts 527 China-born residents (2024). Assimilated Sino-Seychellois descendants are not included.^{[72, 2]}

Mauritania Several hundred or more (no total)

MOFCOM's 2025 guide gives no number. There were 393 contract workers at end-2024 (4,611 in 2019, mostly in fishing). Chinese fishing and fishmeal firms are based in Nouadhibou.^{[73, 1]}

Sudan Before the war ~1,500–2,500; now a few hundred

After war broke out in April 2023, China evacuated over 1,300 citizens, and 139 more left via Egypt. There is no count of those who stayed.^{[74, 75, 1]}

Libya Under 1,000 (probably a few hundred)

About 36,000 Chinese were in Libya before 2011, when 35,860 were evacuated; about 1,700 more left in 2014. Since then there have been only tens to about a hundred contract workers and no Chinese associations.^{[76, 77, 1]}

Burkina Faso ~500

MOFCOM 2025: about 500, mainly in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso. Relations with China were restored in 2018.^[78]

Central African Republic ~400

MOFCOM 2025: about 400, plus uncounted gold miners. Nine Chinese were killed at a gold mine near Bambari in March 2023; the embassy advises staying in Bangui.^[79]

Niger ~300–500

MOFCOM 2025: just over 300, mainly in Niamey. Contract workers fell from 2,320 (2022) to 441 (2024) after the Niger–Benin pipeline was finished.^{[80, 1]}

Eritrea ~300–500

MOFCOM 2025: just over 400 staff of Chinese organisations in Asmara, Massawa and mining sites; there are almost no private Chinese traders.^[81]

Eswatini A few hundred

Eswatini recognises Taiwan, so there is no PRC embassy or MOFCOM guide. Media reported 200+ Chinese nationals in August 2026, when Beijing told them to leave; there are also 20–30 Taiwanese investors.^{[82, 83]}

Tunisia ~250–350

MOFCOM 2025: about 30 long-term residents and 200–300 staff of Chinese institutions. There are no Chinese associations.^[84]

The Gambia ~300

MOFCOM 2025: about 300, mainly in the Greater Banjul area.^[85]

Comoros ~300

MOFCOM 2025: about 300, mostly aid and contracting project staff, in Moroni and Mutsamudu.^[86]

Burundi ~300

MOFCOM 2025: about 300 Chinese, 150 of them long-term, mainly in Bujumbura.^[87]

Guinea-Bissau ~100–200

MOFCOM 2020: about 100, mainly in Bissau.^{[88, 1]}

São Tomé and Príncipe ~100

MOFCOM 2025: about 100, mainly in São Tomé city. Relations with China were restored in 2016.^[89]

Somalia Under 100 (no count)

There is no count. There were 48 Chinese contract workers at end-2024. China advises against all travel to Somalia.^[1]