Africa Ahead: The Next 50 Years



Credit: Mo Ibrahim Foundation

I came across a research report on Africa titled - Africa Ahead: The Next 50 Years. It is a report compiled by Mo Ibrahim Foundation, a foundation which is a non-grant making organisation that focuses on defining, assessing and enhancing governance and leadership in Africa.

These ‘Facts and Figures’ provides highlights on Africa’s potential assets and challenging hurdles, and outlines some key policy priorities that will require exceptional leadership and governance. The full report is 112 pages. I have read them but I will only share the highlights which I found thoughtful.

 

Ø  Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana & Nigeria together produce 64% of the world’s cocoa, while the entire African continent accounts for about 3% of its consumption.

Ø  Sub-Saharan Africa has the lowest share of engineering graduates in the world.

Ø  With almost 43,000 troops currently serving as Blue Helmets, African countries contribute 37% of total UNPKO troops.

Ø  80% of the labour force in sub-Saharan Africa is employed in the informal sector.

Ø  Africa accounts for more than ¾ of the world’s estimated reserves of Platinum-Group Metals and phosphate rock.

Ø  The Nile River is shared between 11 different countries.

Ø  There are 128 World Heritage Sites on the continent.

Ø  Between 2008 & 2010, sub-Saharan Africa lost $38 billion to trade mispricing, equivalent to 1.3 times the development aid it received.

Ø  The whole of Africa’s energy generation capacity in 2010 was similar to Germany’s.

Ø  Between 2003 & 2010 only around 5% of FDI in Africa was intra-African.

Ø  19 African countries have populations smaller than the city of Philadelphia (US).

Ø  20 African countries receive a credit-rating from at least 1 of the 3 leading rating agencies.

Ø  The total known value of African Sovereign Wealth Funds amount to $159 billion.

Ø  Diabetes cases in Africa will double to 24 million by 2030.

Ø  In the next decade, non-communicable diseases are projected to account for almost ½ of deaths in Africa.

Ø  The total share of Africa’s pharmaceutical industry is less than 1% of the global share.

Ø  With a population equivalent to less than 5% of Nigeria’s, New York’s energy generation capacity is more than 3 times Nigeria’s.

Ø  At least 200 African airlines are currently operating on the continent, of which only 38 meet global safety standards and almost 150 are featured on the EU blacklist.

Ø  The annual budget of UNPKO in Africa is more than $5 billion, equivalent to 1⁄5 of bilateral aid to sub-Saharan countries.

Ø  In 16 out of 51 African countries, executive leaders are still in power after more than 10 years of tenure.

 

Ø  68% of Twitter users in Africa rely on this platform as a primary source of information on national news.

Ø  In 2050, ½ of Africa’s population will be under 24 years old.

Ø  Out of the 120 executive elections held over the continent since 2000, 1⁄3 have led to a transfer of power.

Ø  By 2100, almost ½ of the world’s youth will be African.

Ø  The share of urban population living in slums in sub-Saharan Africa is the highest in the world, and almost twice the average share of developing regions.

Ø  Almost 11 million children are out of school in Nigeria, equivalent to the entire population of Tunisia.

Ø  26% of sub-Saharan African university students graduate in ‘Education, Humanity & Arts’, compared with 2% in ‘Agriculture’.

Ø  More than ½ the continent’s total population lives in only 7 countries.

Ø  In 2012, GDP growth rate has been -0.2% for EU-27 area and +4.8% for sub-Saharan Africa.

Ø  Between 2011 and 2012, bilateral aid to sub-Saharan Africa fell by 8% in real terms.

Ø  Only around 1⁄4 of the population in sub-Saharan Africa has access to electricity.

Ø  Almost 90% of Nigerian oil is exported to non-African countries.

Ø  South Africa, Namibia and Niger together account for 18% of the world’s estimated uranium resources.

Ø  Africa holds around 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land.

Ø  While around 40% of the EU budget is for the Common Agricultural Policy, public expenditure allocated to agriculture in Africa is on average less than 5%.

Ø  FDI inflows in Africa are now almost equivalent to aid flows (around $50 billion in 2012).

Ø  In DRC, the rebasing of GDP led the figures to increase by 66%.

Ø  Malaysia’s FDI stock in Africa is $19 billion.

Ø  Remittances sent to Africa, of over $60 billion in 2012, are higher than the Official Development Assistance (ODA) received.

Ø  Only 5% of Africa’s total hydropower potential is exploited.

Ø  By 2035 Africa will have a larger working age population than China.

Ø  By 2025, Ouagadougou, the fastest growing city in the world, will need to accommodate the equivalent of Namibia’s population.