Found throughout southern, eastern and western Africa, while it remains a common species with a stable population in the lower region of Casamance, some areas of The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau, other regions such as Dakar, Senegal, show more than 85% losses in population over the last 50 years. Threats include poisoning, hunting, loss of habitat and collisions with electricity infrastructure, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as “critically endangered” in their latest assessment (2022). The highest current regional density of hooded vultures is in the western region of The Gambia.

While the populations in Gambia are relatively stable, it is declining almost everywhere else in its range at an average rate of 83% (range 64–93%) over 53 years or 3 generations. Its total population is estimated at a maximum of 197 000 individuals. Some declines have been reported to have occurred in only 20 years, almost approaching the speed and extent of the Asian vulture crisis of the 1990s. The highest regional density of hooded vultures is in western Gambia.

It might be odd to think of a species with almost 200,000 individuals in the wild as critically endangered, but the decline in its population has been fast, and without a halt in the near future, extinction seems pretty likely. Current threats include poisoning, hunting, habitat loss and degradation of habitat.