The Answer:

As of 2004, Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is the African capital with the largest population, about 7.6 million. When the surrounding metropolitan area is included, Cairo has a population of 11.1 million, making it the among the twenty largest cities in the world. Other large African capital cities include:

Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 6.5 million Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2.7 million Luanda, Angola, 2.3 million

While it is not the capital, the urban area based around Lagos, Nigeria has a population of 11.1 million; before rounding, it's only slightly smaller than the Cairo area.

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.

For more information on the world's largest cities check out our charts of the World's Most Populous Cities and World's Most Populous Urban Agglomerations.

—The Editors