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Cradle of Civilization—Africa

AFRICA

Population: 1.2 billion (16.4 percent of world total)

Projected 2050 population: 2.47 billion (51 percent growth)

Number of Countries: Fifty-four countries and four dependencies

Largest Population: Nigeria (186.9 million)

Smallest Population: Seychelles (97,000)

Largest Economy: Nigeria (#24 by GDP)

Smallest Economy: Seychelles (#170 by GDP)

Landmass: 11.5 million square miles

Density: 106 people per square mile

Growth Rate: 2.53 percent

Projected 2050 Annual Rate of Growth: 1.78 percent

Median Age: 19.5

Projected 2050 Median Age: 25

To say that Africa is complicated is an understatement, and the demographic information above doesn’t really tell anyone a whole lot, as every African country is so different. But it does tell you that Africa is young and growing, two attributes conducive to economic growth. In fact, youth and population growth combined have been recognized as key to the continent’s economic future, with economists forecasting that Africa’s labor force will exceed 1.1 billion by 2040, a number that will be greater than that of either China or India.

Africa’s recent and relatively newfound economic growth is largely the result of a worldwide commodity boom and various African governments’ efforts to stabilize their countries by ending conflicts and improving micro- and macro-economic conditions. In fact, while most people believe that Africa has been primarily propped up by the resource boom, natural resource extraction and related activities contributed to less than 32 percent of Africa’s GDP growth in the first ten years of this century

This suggests that the continent’s resources provided the ignition and accelerant to get the economy started, and that now the GDP is being propelled more by numerous other sectors and a fast-growing labor force—a labor force that is helping Africans join the ranks of the world’s consumers and creating a middle class that is already bigger than India’s.

There are economic naysayers who argue that Africa is still too backward, that it won’t be able to industrialize fast enough to keep its labor competitively productive, and that it will wither should commodity prices fall. But I would posit that its growing population of youth might be its greatest commodity. In fact, this youth has already proved to be especially innovative in the rise of the continent’s digital economy, which is helping boost the rest of the economy. The booming economies of Kenya, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa—referred to as the “KINGS” countries—lead the rest of Africa economically in part because of the development of their strong broadband networks and government policies that encourage innovation. The KINGS countries have mobile penetration rates exceeding 90 percent, with broadband available on most of the population’s phones. All indications point to swarms of youthful entrepreneurs using the technologies to create new businesses. Enough new businesses that the Harvard Business Review recently named Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa as having the fastest-growing digital economies in the world.