Sub-Saharan Africa is set to become the world’s biggest source of new workers over the next 25 years, with more than 620 million people expected to join its working-age population by 2050, according to the World Bank. The demographic shift is expected to place Africa at the centre of the global labour market as ageing populations and shrinking workforces reshape economies across other regions.
The World Bank estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa’s population will rise from about 1.5 billion in 2024 to 2.5 billion by 2050, creating a huge pool of potential workers. However, the population boom also presents a major economic challenge, as African countries will need to create enough productive employment to prevent the growing workforce from translating into higher unemployment and underemployment.
According to the World Bank, the region will need to generate an average of 25 million jobs every year through 2050simply to keep pace with the expansion of its working-age population. The challenge is particularly significant because economic growth in many African economies has not produced jobs quickly enough, prompting calls for more productive, diversified and private-sector-led growth backed by better infrastructure, skills and business-friendly institutions.
The World Bank has identified infrastructure and energy, agriculture and agribusiness, healthcare, tourism and value-added manufacturing as sectors capable of generating employment at scale. It stressed that unlocking these opportunities will require more than public spending, with increased private-sector investment, improved infrastructure, stronger institutions and skills development needed to help African businesses expand and participate in evolving global supply chains.
For Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, the demographic shift could become a major economic opportunity if the expanding workforce is matched with productive jobs and relevant skills. A failure to accelerate job creation, however, could deepen unemployment and underemployment while putting further pressure on household incomes. The coming decades will therefore test whether Nigeria and other African economies can turn their rapidly growing populations into a productive economic advantage.
source: punch
