Sub-Saharan Africa is tapped to become the biggest source of new workers globally over the next 25 years, with more than 620m people expected to join the region’s working-age population by 2050, according to the World Bank.
The demographic shift will increasingly position Africa at the centre of the global labour market as populations age and workforces contract in several other regions.
The World Bank estimates that SSA’s population will expand from about 1.5bbn in 2024 to 2.5bn by 2050, with more than 600m additional people entering the working-age population.
But the continent’s demographic expansion comes with a major economic test, analysts say. Creating enough productive jobs to absorb millions of new workers each year remains a challenge.
The World Bank estimates that SSA will need to generate an average of 25m jobs annually through 2050 to keep pace with the expansion of its working-age population.
That requirement is particularly challenging because economic growth across the region has not generated jobs quickly enough to match the expansion of the labour force.
The institution has therefore urged African countries to pursue more productive, diversified and private-sector-led growth, supported by investment in infrastructure, skills and institutions that reduce the cost of doing business.
The World Bank has identified infrastructure and energy, agriculture and agribusiness, healthcare, tourism, and value-added manufacturing as areas with strong potential to generate jobs at scale.
Unlocking that potential will require more than government spending. Greater private-sector investment, improved infrastructure and a stronger business environment will be critical to enabling companies to expand production and employment, World Bank said.
Skills development will also become increasingly important as African economies integrate into changing global supply chains and new industries, it added.
For Nigeria, the demographic shift is particularly significant. As Africa’s most populous country, its rapidly expanding workforce could become a major source of economic growth if sufficient productive employment is created.
But without faster job creation, the same population growth could deepen unemployment, underemployment and pressure on household incomes.