UNICEF are predicting a large increase in the number of births in Africa, and by the year 2050, four out of 10 people on Earth will be African. They add that between now and then, about 1.8 billion African babies will be born.
Africa is already home to one of the world’s youngest populations. The African Union says about two-thirds of the continent’s 1.1 billion people are less than 35 years old. Many of these young people will reach reproductive age in the next 30 years.
One researcher at a university in South Africa says that population growth is a serious public policy issue. He adds that every African leader needs to be thinking about the future now.
However, an expert in Johannesburg says population growth is not the problem in Africa. He says the continent has enough resources but it must plan carefully to make those resources available to all Africans present and future.
