Africa’s Demographic Dangers:

Africa’s Demographic Dangers

While fertility rates fall dramatically across the globe, the rate in most African countries are above – often double – the replacement threshold. Due to this, its population from 1960 to now has increased more than fivefold to 1.5 billion people. It is expected to reach a staggering 2.5 billion in 2050. This will mean that more than a quarter of people on the globe will be African by the middle of this century. And a considerably higher proportion of the world’s working-age population will be African.

Fertility Rates of Most Populous African Countries 1950-2025
Data is ranked on highest population fertility rates by 2025.

Country	1950	1975	2000	2025	2050
Chad	6.06	6.88	7.25	6.47	7.35
Congo, Dem. Rep	5.97	6.42	6.70	6.26	6.79
Central African Republic	5.93	5.88	5.85	6.01	6.02
Niger	7.56	7.54	7.83	6.46	7.04
Mali	6.87	7.25	6.89	5.86	6.07
Angola	5.77	7.49	6.64	5.43	5.73
Brunei	6.98	4.99	2.40	1.58	0.79
Mozambique	6.00	6.66	5.83	4.91	4.84
Mauritania	5.79	6.71	5.46	4.83	4.75
Tanzania	6.18	7.10	5.67	4.71	4.45

Country	1950	2000	2025	2050
Chad	6.1	7.2	6.5	7.4
Congo, Dem. Rep	6.0	6.7	6.3	6.8
Central African Republic	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.0
Niger	7.6	7.8	6.5	7.0
Mali	6.9	6.9	5.9	6.1
Angola	5.8	6.6	5.4	5.7
Brunei	7.0	2.4	1.6	0.8
Mozambique	6.0	5.8	4.9	4.8
Mauritania	5.8	5.5	4.8	4.8
Tanzania	6.2	5.7	4.7	4.5

Source: World Economics Population Database, 2025

Whilst the African population is the world’s youngest, it is also certain that the demand for jobs outstrips supply, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. The IMF have noted this year that the region must create more jobs for its rapidly growing population, transforming informality into employment. The growing chasm between the need for employment, and the growth of jobs, in Africa, is likely to be partly responsible for recent political unrest.

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