Elephant Facts & Figures old

Below we have listed some facts and figures for the three species of elephants. Population figures represent estimates from the African and Asian Elephant Specialist Groups of the IUCN.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the African forest elephant (Loxodonta Cyclotis) as Critically Endangered, and the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana) and Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) as Endangered.

African elephant with long tusks walking through tall grass in a savanna.

Population 2016 (Estimates):

352,271 + 22,711 = 374,982

Population 2012 (Estimates):

434,000-550,000

Population 2008 (Estimates):

490,000-575,000

Population 1979 (Estimates):

1.3 million both African species

IUCN Status:

Endangered

Range states:

37 Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa Native: Angola (Angola); Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Liberia; Malawi; Mali; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Uganda; Zambia; Zimbabwe Regionally extinct: Burundi; Gambia; Mauritania Reintroduced: Swaziland

Ave. max height male:

Almost 4 m

Ave. max height female:

Almost 2.7 m

Ave. max weight male:

6,000 kg

Ave. max weight female:

2,767 kg