Towards the end of 2023, the New York Times began a series titled Old World, Young Africa. The series was focused on how African youth are shaping the continent’s future and how their impact is being felt around the world. The first article in the series, The World is Becoming More African, highlights the astonishing change that is taking place across the continent.
Did you know that the 54 countries that make up Africa cover a larger territory than China, the U.S., Europe and India combined? And within that great expanse are a myriad of cultures, languages, and traditions. The fastest-growing continent and youngest population? That would be Africa with a median age of 19. Compare that with the world’s most populous country, India, where the median age is 28. In China and the U.S., it’s 38. Over the next twenty-five years, Africa’s population is projected to nearly double to 2.5 billion people. Within the next ten years, Africa will have the world’s largest workforce, and by 2050, one in four people on Earth will be African.
This soaring population growth is due in large part to hard won progress in nutrition and disease prevention – Africans are eating better and living longer, and infant mortality has been halved over the last quarter century. The youth of Africa is better educated than ever before—in 2020, 44% of Africans graduated from high school, compared to 22% in 2000, but jobs can be hard to come by, and high levels of unemployment pose a significant threat to stability across the region.
The rapidly growing prominence of African youth is already having a notable impact on global culture with African artists like Burna Boy and WBH supporter Mdou Moctar drawing massive crowds around the world. Afrobeats, a musical genre with its roots in West Africa, has become a global sensation, and the Grammys added a new category for Best African Music. The cultural influence is not limited to music either – Africa’s cultural influence is evident across the entertainment industry as well as in the fashion and art worlds.
Lastly, Africa is poised to become a leader in the green economy – 60% of the world’s solar energy potential lies in Africa as does 70% of the world’s supply of cobalt, a mineral that is essential in the production of electric vehicles. The tropical rainforests on the continent pull more carbon from the atmosphere than the Amazon. The transition to green energy is sure to bring major economic opportunities across Africa with projects like a $10 billion green hydrogen plant in Namibia and a striking solar tower in Morocco already in process.
The transformation taking place in Africa will dramatically impact the entire planet, so it’s critical that we educate ourselves on the challenges and triumphs of this vast continent.
_blank.svg){kind=link}
