World Bank: Africa to drive global workforce growth by 2050

Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to become the world’s largest source of new workers over the next 25 years, with more than 620 million people projected to join the region’s working-age population by 2050, according to the World Bank.

The demographic shift is expected to place Africa increasingly at the centre of the global labour market as populations age and workforces shrink across several other regions.

The World Bank estimates that Sub-Saharan Africa’s population will rise from about 1.5 billion in 2024 to 2.5 billion by 2050, with more than 600 million additional people entering working age.

However, the rapid population expansion presents a major economic challenge, particularly around job creation.

The World Bank estimates that the region will need to create an average of 25 million jobs every year through 2050 to keep pace with the growth of its working-age population.

That target remains difficult as economic growth across much of Sub-Saharan Africa has yet to generate employment at a pace sufficient to absorb the expanding labour force.

The institution has therefore called on African economies to pursue more productive, diversified and private-sector-led growth, supported by stronger infrastructure, skills development and institutions that lower the cost of doing business.

The World Bank identified infrastructure and energy, agriculture and agribusiness, healthcare, tourism and value-added manufacturing as sectors with significant potential to generate employment at scale.

According to the institution, unlocking that potential will require more than public spending, with greater private-sector investment, improved infrastructure and a more supportive business environment needed to encourage companies to expand production and employment.

Skills development will also become increasingly important as African economies integrate into evolving global supply chains and emerging industries.

For Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, the demographic shift could offer a major economic opportunity.

A rapidly expanding workforce could support stronger economic growth, boost consumption and deepen the country’s productive capacity if enough quality jobs are created.

However, failure to accelerate employment generation could worsen unemployment and underemployment while increasing pressure on household incomes and public services.

The scale of the challenge means that Africa’s demographic advantage will depend largely on whether governments can translate population growth into productive employment, higher incomes and stronger private-sector activity over the coming decades.