Dakar is one the largest cities in Africa, its population growth is significant and its population is growing rapidly. From a population of 400,000 in the 1970s, the rural exodus has more than quadrupled in 20 years. In the 2002 census, the population of the 19 district municipalities amounted to approximately 955,897 people, 143,165 households and 77,960 concessions. At the last general census of the population, housing, agriculture and livestock (RGPHAE) published in September 2014, the region of Dakar had 3,139,325 inhabitants in 2013, nearly a quarter of the total population of Senegal (23.2% – 13.508 715 inhabitants) on an area representing only 0.3% of the total area of the country. With 3,139,325 people, the region ranks among the top 50 most populous cities in Africa. As for the city of Dakar, it was estimated at about 1,114,000 inhabitants by the last census.
The average household size in Dakar is seven people according to the 2015-2016 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS-Urban). It also reveals that 11% of the households are made up of one person and 9% of two people.
The most common households are those made up of more than 10 people (24%). Nearly seven out of ten households (69%) are headed by one man versus three out of ten (31%) by a woman.