Demography and the development potential of sub-Saharan Africa

Population growth in Africa has laid the foundation for the eventual development of a prosperous region. Since the 1950s, sub-Saharan Africa has doubled its population twice over to become one of the most populous regions in the world. If sub-Saharan Africa succeeds in taking advantage of this population potential, the sub-continent could become a major player in the world economy. A major reason sub-Saharan Africa remains poor is the very high child-dependency arising from a very high tota...