Demography

Although Africa covers about one-fifth of the total world land surface, it has only about 12 percent of its population. In 1990 the total population of the continent was estimated at 642.1 million. The average density, some 21 persons per sq km (55 per sq mi), is far below the world average of 35 persons per sq km (91 per sq mi).

This figure includes the large areas, such as the Sahara and Kalahari deserts, which are virtually uninhabitable. When the population living on arable or productive land is calculated, the average density increases to some 162 persons per sq km (424 per sq mi). The most densely settled areas of the continent are those along the northern and western coasts; in the Nile, Niger, Congo, and Sénégal river basins; and in the eastern African plateau. Nigeria, with an estimated population of some 127 million, is the most populous nation in Africa.

The African birth rate is about 43 per 1000. By contrast, the birth rate in Europe is about 13 per 1000. The spread of medical services since World War II (1939-1945) is responsible for a sharp decrease in the death rate, which averages about 13 per 1000. The continent's population increases annually by about 2.9 percent, making it the fastest growing of all the continents. These statistics vary greatly, however, from country to country and from region to region. The age distribution is weighted heavily toward the young.

In most African countries, about half the population is 15 years of age or younger. It is estimated that Africa will contain nearly a quarter of the world's population by 2050.The African population remains predominantly rural, with only about a third of the population living in towns of more than 20,000 inhabitants. Northern Africa is the most urbanized region, but major cities are located in every part of the continent.

African cities that have populations of more than 1 million include Cairo, Alexandria, and Giza in Egypt; Algiers, Algeria; Casablanca, Morocco; Lagos, Nigeria; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa. The urban centers act as magnets, attracting large numbers of rural migrants who come either as permanent settlers or as short-term workers. Urban growth has been particularly rapid since the 1950s. A substantial international labor migration has also developed, particularly of Africans from central Africa to the mines and factories of Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa, and of North Africans to France and, more recently, to the countries belonging to the European Union. Civil wars in a number of countries have led to massive refugee migrations, as have droughts and famines.