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Flamingo colonies tend to gather around saline lakes where they are available, and East Africa is home to some of the largest flamingo colonies in the world. Saline lakes such as the Soda Lakes provide permanent habitats for these remarkable birds.
As of 2023, the lesser flamingo has the largest population globally, ranging from 1.5 to 2.5 million individuals. Lake Natron in Tanzania is one such example, hosting a large and well-known African flamingo breeding colony with approximately 2.5 million flamingos. In January 1995, the number of lesser flamingos reached over 2.75 million in six lakes in Tanzania that were surveyed during the breeding season.
In 2017, Lake Natron was home to 75% of the world’s lesser flamingos, equivalent to about 3.2 million birds.
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Below is a list of the estimated number of lesser flamingos in various countries:
Kenya: 2,000,000
Tanzania: 1,600,000
Ethiopia: 300,000
South Africa: 200,000
Botswana: 200,000
Chile: 135,000
Argentina: 105,000
India: 100,000
Algeria: 100,000
Spain: 70,000
Cuba: 70,000
Bolivia: 51,000
Brazil: 50,000
Mexico: 40,000
Peru: 37,000
Venezuela: 30,000
Bahamas: 15,000
Significant flamingo populations are also found in the Middle East, the Caribbean, and around the tip of the South American continent. The greater flamingo species holds the second-largest population with approximately 680,000 birds worldwide.
