By 2075, one-third of the world's population—and of the working-age population—will be African. It is the only region where the workforce will grow continuously in the coming decades.
This gives Africa an enormous opportunity to drive economic growth and prosperity through investments in education, skills, and health.
Africa's Heads of State are gathering at the Africa Human Capital Heads of State Summit to discuss how to accelerate human capital accumulation, leverage the youth bulge, and create jobs to propel economic growth.
Young people on the continent have aspirations, energy, and ambition. This is the most connected generation of Africans in history, one that can turn the trajectory of their continent. The growing working-age population presents an enormous opportunity to super-charge economic growth and lead to greater prosperity for billions of people on the continent.

The population of young people aged 15-24 in Africa is projected to reach 500 million in 2080. The working age population of 25-64 will only peak after 2100 at about 1.5 billion people. If the people are healthy, educated, and skilled, this projected working-age population can be the long-awaited big push to accelerate the region's economic growth.

Africa is battling a learning crisis. Millions of children are out of school and most of those in school are falling behind on key learning indicators: reading, writing, and basic math. The percentage of 10-year-olds unable to understand a simple text is projected to be approaching 89% after the COVID pandemic.

The current education system is at capacity, and the demand will only increase. Africa will represent over 40% of the school-age population in low- and middle-income countries by 2050. The population growth presents significant fiscal pressure on governments including on public service delivery, early childhood development interventions, and sustained investment in accessible and quality education for all, especially for women and girls.