Africa's population now 1 billion

  1. Posted on Tuesday 25 August 2009 - 08:56
    KingsleyKobo
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    Kingsley Kobo, AfricaNews reporter in Abidjan, Ivory Coast
    Africa's population is now one billion as reported by Population Reference Bureau, an American non-profit organization based in Washington. The report said the African population is growing at the rate of about 24 million per year, and that by 2050 Africa's population could reach two billion.
    africa
    According to the Pan African News Agency (PANA) in New York, the report was published over the weekend by the U.S. government aid agency, USAID.

    The report noted that population growth has slowed in North African countries like Egypt and Tunisia, but women in sub-Saharan Africa have more children than women elsewhere. While globally the average woman has 2.6 children, in sub-Saharan Africa, she has 5.3 children, which is down from 6.7 children in 1950 the world’s highest.

    The report also stated that worldwide, 62 per cent of married women of child-bearing age use contraception, but in Africa, the figure is 28 per cent.

    According to the report, sub-Saharan Africa has the world's most youthful population and it is projected to stay that way for decades.

    In 2050, the African continent is expected to have 349 million youths, or 29 per cent of the world's total, a notable rise from the nine per cent of the world’s youth in 1950.

    The report revealed that while less than 60 per cent of youth go to secondary school worldwide, that figure is less than 30 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.

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