Background: Hypertension is a leading cause of cardiovascular disease and premature death in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), but region-wide prevalence estimates remain inconsistent due to fragmented evidence.

Objectives: To estimate the pooled prevalence of hypertension in SSA and examine regional, urban-rural, and age-related disparities.

Methods: The authors searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, African Journals Online, and Google Scholar for observational studies published between 2010 and 2025 reporting hypertension prevalence among adults (18 years and older) in SSA. Random-effects meta-analysis using logit transformation was performed to pool prevalence, with subgroup analyses by region, urban/rural setting, age, and sex.

Results: Of 3,250 records, 45 studies (533,167 participants, 26 countries) met inclusion criteria. The pooled hypertension prevalence was 29.9% (95% CI: 27.8%-32.1%). Prevalence was higher in urban (32.9%) than rural (26.3%) settings. Southern Africa had the highest prevalence (34.8%), followed by West Africa (31.2%), Central Africa (29.6%), and Eastern Africa (27.2%). Prevalence increased steeply with age, from 10.6% (21-30 years) to 66.4% (71-80 years).

Conclusions: Approximately one in three adults in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to have hypertension, with substantial regional and urban-rural disparities. The steep age gradient signals a potential window for early screening and prevention.

This study was originally published in Discover Public Health (2026) 23:1469 by Eling Felix and Md. Kamrul Hossain, and is indexed here under its CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license, with full credit to the original authors and journal. Read the full paper via the DOI link below.