African Century
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- Authors: ANDREW STANLEY
- Published: September 1, 2023
Demographic trends and historical context
- Africa's population was estimated to be around 140 million in the year 1900 and accounted for 9 percent of the world's population at that time.
- Africa's total population has increased tenfold and now stands at over 1.4 billion.
- The increase has been fueled by a combination of falling mortality and some of the highest birth rates in the world.
United Nations projections
- The United Nations projects that by 2050, Africa's population will reach close to 2.5 billion.
- Such a figure would mean that more than 25 percent of the world’s population will be African.
- Africa's population growth will slow thereafter, but the continent will remain by far the largest source of growth globally: its share of the world’s population is set to reach close to 40 percent by the end of the century.
- The UN expects just eight countries to account for more than half of the increase in global population over the next three decades, and five of those countries are in Africa.
Age-structure and economic implications
- The working-age population in these African countries, and in many others across the continent, will grow faster than any other age group.
- This projected shift in population and potential demographic dividend could have profound economic effects.
- Some of these states could possibly emerge as new world powers, implying a potential alteration of the world order.
F&D Magazine — "African Century" by ANDREW STANLEY, September 2023
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- African Century