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Africa could be home to nearly half the world's young people by 2100, new data shows
Christian Post ^ | 05/27/2026

Posted on 05/27/2026 9:21:11 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

Africa's population has grown more than sixfold since 1950 and is projected to keep expanding through the end of the century — even as growth slows across most of the world — according to a Pew Research Center analysis published last week.

Drawing on United Nations population data, the report finds that the continent currently holds 19% of the global population but is home to 28% of all people under 25. That share is expected to rise sharply in the decades ahead.

Africa's population stood at roughly 230 million in 1950. It has since grown by approximately 1.3 billion people. Under the U.N.'s middle-range projection, the continent's population will reach 3.8 billion by 2100 — though higher-fertility scenarios put that figure as high as 5.2 billion.

The continent's fertility rate of about 3.9 births per woman is currently the highest of any world region and the only one still above the global replacement level of around 2.1 births per woman, according to Pew. There is significant variation within the continent: Chad's rate stands at 5.8 births per woman, while Tunisia's is 1.8. Africa's rate is expected to decline to 2.8 by 2050 and to 2.0 by 2100 — down considerably from a peak of 6.7 births per woman recorded in 1972.

That falling fertility, combined with rising life expectancy, will reshape the continent's age profile over time. The median age in Africa is about 19 today. By 2100, Pew projects it will reach 35.

Despite that aging trend, Africa is on a trajectory to become the dominant home of the world's youth. By 2073, the continent is projected to surpass Asia — currently the largest home of young people — in its share of the global under-25 population. By the century's end, 46% of all people under 25 are expected to live in Africa, compared with 39% in Asia, the analysis found.

The demographic shift will also alter the map of the world's most populous nations. Nigeria, currently Africa's most populous country and the world's sixth-largest, is projected to become the fourth-most populous nation by 2100. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Tanzania are expected to rank fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively. Altogether, 12 of the world's 25 most populous countries are projected to be African by 2100, compared with six today.

Europe's representation on that list is expected to shrink considerably. Russia is projected to be the only European nation among the top 25 by 2100, dropping from ninth place today to 17th as its population declines. India and China are expected to remain the world's two most populous countries.

Within Africa itself, the proportion of residents under 25 — currently around 60% — is projected to fall to 35% by 2100. The share of adults ages 25 to 64 is expected to rise to 51%, while those 65 and older would grow from roughly 5% of the population today to 15%, according to Pew.

The analysis was published May 19 ahead of Africa Day on May 25, which marks the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity. It is based on the U.N.'s 2024 World Population Prospects, with figures from 2024 onward representing projections rather than recorded data.


This article was originally published by Christian Daily International.

Christian Daily International provides biblical, factual and personal news, stories and perspectives from every region, focusing on religious freedom, holistic mission and other issues relevant for the global Church today.



TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: africa; birthcontrol; demographics; ebola; population; youth
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1 posted on 05/27/2026 9:21:11 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

2 posted on 05/27/2026 9:27:44 PM PDT by MacNaughton
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To: SeekAndFind
Camp of the Saints

3 posted on 05/27/2026 9:34:48 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie ( O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is gracious, and his mercy endures forever. — Psalm 106)
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To: SeekAndFind

I’m seeing endless tribal wars and all manner of bloodbath throughout that continent. There will be little to inhibit their primative tendencies for destruction of what is unfamiliar. Not all Africans, but way too many.

Look at how the Medical Teams trying to save a few Africans from Ebola are being treated, as though all that medical technology is the work of Witches and Sorcerers. Maybe there should be monetary rewards offered for voluntary sterilization. $500. Dollars ,two Cows and 10 Laying Hens.


4 posted on 05/27/2026 9:35:16 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: SeekAndFind
Populations explode when there is lots of food available. Is that being generated on the African continent or shipped in from outside? What happens if the outside sources can't produce enough to export?
5 posted on 05/27/2026 9:46:57 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: SeekAndFind

Le Jihad approche.


6 posted on 05/27/2026 9:52:09 PM PDT by Az Joe (Iran is the Great Satan - Destroy it)
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To: SeekAndFind

While other places are experiencing very low fertility rates..

Even paying people to have kids.....


7 posted on 05/27/2026 10:03:40 PM PDT by birg
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To: SeekAndFind

Will they be miners?


8 posted on 05/27/2026 10:24:10 PM PDT by Vendome (I've Gotta Be Me https://youtu.be/wH-pk2vZG2M)
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To: SeekAndFind

With an average IQ of 75.


9 posted on 05/27/2026 10:24:45 PM PDT by FrankRizzo890
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To: lee martell

Harsh ecology creates R-Selected breeding strategy. ie pump and dump, with low parental involvement and high mortality. Western compassion ensures the survival of those who were never meant to. Every year there are more and more hungry little hands out for food. Nigeria will soon be home to a billion people who can’t feed themselves.


10 posted on 05/27/2026 10:54:30 PM PDT by Mr. Blond
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To: SeekAndFind

Wait. I thought everyone in Africa was dying because Trump cut off USAID.


11 posted on 05/27/2026 10:59:05 PM PDT by Texas Eagle (If it wasn't for double-standards, Liberals would have no standards at all. )
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To: Texas Eagle

Not to worry , Ebola will kill them all . Stick to the plan !


12 posted on 05/27/2026 11:10:34 PM PDT by Craftmore
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To: SeekAndFind

I keep thinking about Sam Kinnison’s routine about Sally Struthers and the starving African children.


13 posted on 05/28/2026 12:03:00 AM PDT by OrangeHoof (Talarico is Italian for "heretic".)
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To: MacNaughton

14 posted on 05/28/2026 2:02:09 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Myrddin
Populations explode when there is lots of food available.

Well, there's lots of food available in Europe, S. Korea, and Japan - but you ain't seein' any "population explosion" there!

Regards,

15 posted on 05/28/2026 2:24:23 AM PDT by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: SeekAndFind
Its hard to predict populations 70 years ahead with any accuracy.
Things change too fast and there are constantly wars and serious diseases in Africa. Look at Sudan.
16 posted on 05/28/2026 3:07:08 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Not just, “The Camp of the Saints,” but there is a book written in 1972 about basically the same thing called, “Fugue for a Darkening Island,” by Christopher Priest, that happens in Britain instead of France.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue_for_a_Darkening_Island

I just finished reading my copy. The protagonist is a Liberal, but gets mugged by reality and then becomes very conservative.

You can find it on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0575098201

I ordered a copy of “The Camp of the Saints” back on 21 April, but it’s back ordered until the 10 June.


17 posted on 05/28/2026 3:32:51 AM PDT by Tom Tetroxide (Psalm 146:3 "Do not trust in princes, in the Son of Man, who has no salvation.")
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To: FrankRizzo890

More like an average of 70. Some African countries are as low as 58.

But how long will their respective populations expand after all of the West’s aid money stops flowing to them?


18 posted on 05/28/2026 3:34:34 AM PDT by Tom Tetroxide (Psalm 146:3 "Do not trust in princes, in the Son of Man, who has no salvation.")
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To: SeekAndFind

They’ll just kill them off anyway or sell them into slavery.


19 posted on 05/28/2026 3:45:02 AM PDT by maddog55 (The only thing systemic in America is the left's hatred of it! I want lower taxes.)
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To: MacNaughton

More rampaging teens.


20 posted on 05/28/2026 4:43:16 AM PDT by Wilderness Conservative (Death to the DEATH TO AMERICA, Democrats.)
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