As of Friday, February 2, 2024, according to the most recent projections from the United Nations, the current population of Africa is 1,480,668,471. Nearly 79% of this total identify as Black. The fact that 17.89% of the world’s population lives in Africa, nevertheless, is mind-boggling.
Because births exceed deaths four to one, Africa’s population is growing. Even though Africa has the world’s highest death rate, it has been falling for a number of decades, much like other continents. Fertility rates have dropped as well. The average number of children per African woman is 4.5 now, down from 6.5 and 5.5, respectively, forty and twenty years ago.
Rapid population increase in Africa is being driven by a mix of falling death rates and relatively high fertility rates. The United Nations medium scenario assumes falling fertility rates, but these trends alone will not slow or stop population increases soon. “Demographic inertia” is to blame.
The population would still rise for a few more decades, reaching 1.6 billion in 2050, even if fertility in Africa suddenly dropped to the level of Europe and China (1.6 children per woman), which is an extremely improbable scenario. This is because a large number of reproductive-age young adults are located in Africa (15-49). There would still be a lot of babies born, even if everyone had a small family.
Coronavirus was supposed to decimate the continent, yet higher-income and better-prepared nations did worse. The eight-million-person Sierra Leone on the Western African coast seems like a place miraculously saved from a pandemic. Pandemic mysteries include what occurred here and across most of sub-Saharan Africa.
Scientists in West and Central Africa and elsewhere disagree on the low number of coronavirus infections, hospitalizations, and fatalities. Have the ill and dead been overlooked? Why has Covid done less damage? How have we missed it if it was this vicious?
According to blood tests, two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africans have antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid. The antibodies are mostly from infection as only 14% of the population has been vaccinated against Covid.
Some have speculated about African youth. They average 19 years old, compared to 43 in Europe and 38 in the US. Nearly two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is under 25, while just 3% is 65. Fewer individuals have lived long enough to acquire cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory illness, and cancer, which may greatly raise COVID-19’s risk of severe disease and mortality. Coronavirus-infected youth are generally asymptomatic, which may explain the low case count.
There are many more theories. High temperatures and frequent outside activity may minimize the spread. Maybe exposure to coronaviruses and severe illnesses like Lassa fever and Ebola protected them.
This is a part of our new series – “Hidden Gems in Black History,” where we highlight uncommon facts throughout Black history. Join us every day during Black History Month for interesting facts about Black people and places you likely haven’t heard before!
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