Three Billion Africans by Prof. Ken Opalo

We highly recommend Professor Ken Opalo’s intriguing article “Three Billion Africans – How demographics will shape African states’ economic and political futures” published on Substack.

The article discusses Africa’s demographic development from a largely underpopulated continent to the current demographic boom and explains the associated political and economic implications. Professor Opalo argues that the effects will vary significantly but will have a largely positive impact due to the “increasing sources of potential solutions (brains)”.

“The net effects of these changes are hard to predict. What we should expect is significant variation across the region. Some countries’ economies will respond to the new pressures by increasing agricultural productivity and boosting mass job creation in urban areas; in addition to investing in essential public goods and services. Others will be overwhelmed by the weight of insatiable demands, and remain stuck in the underdevelopment equilibrium. Many more will be in the middle, experiencing generalized failures in some domains, but also learning to cope or thrive in others”

You can read the full article here

Image: Sensay – stock.adobe.com