Sub-Saharan Africa’s urban population is set to grow from 913 million in 2025 to 1.7 billion in 2050, offering a time-bound opportunity to create the roughly 15 million jobs the region needs each year. Urbanization is already paying off: households in cities have significantly higher spending per adult than equivalently educated rural households, and the premium rises with city size. But the region’s cities perform far below their potential. On average, they generate nearly 50 percent less economic activity, measured by nighttime lights, than cities of the same size on the global frontier.
The report identifies one core challenge for each type of urban area. Sub-Saharan African cities lack accessible jobs-rich clusters. Its urban peripheries, which are projected to absorb much of the growth as the area of cities expands by 90 percent by 2050, are inadequately prepared for expansion. Its towns are small, still partly rural, and overlooked. The report recommends targeted investment in foundational infrastructure, regulatory reform, and policies to promote private capital mobilization for each, supported by reforms to strengthen urban governance and finance.
Source: www.worldbank.org
