A total of 31 African cities will have more than five million inhabitants by 2040, says a new report by Mckinsey, the world’s leading global consultancy firm.
Based on the report, within the next two decades, Africa is anticipated to witness the migration of over 500 million individuals to its urban areas, establishing it as the continent with the highest urban population worldwide.
By the year 2040, Africa is expected to have a total of 12 metropolises, with populations surpassing ten million each. This will occur as ten additional cities join the ranks of Cairo and Lagos in terms of population size.
Additionally, there will be 19 cities in Africa with populations ranging from five to ten million, representing an increase of nine cities compared to the current figures.
According to the report, Africa will be home to the world’s largest working-age population by 2040, and urges that smart deployment of its labor force in highly productive jobs will spur economic growth.
"Africa will add 796 million people to the global workforce and be home to the largest and youngest population by 2050" – @McKinsey https://t.co/oUj7sb4sUO pic.twitter.com/CXHISMlM5B
— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) August 6, 2023
“By 2030, the services sector on its current trajectory will create at least 85 million net new jobs across the continent, enough to absorb half of new labor market entrants in highly productivity work.”- McKinsey Report
When considering a weighted average, the GDP of the 31 cities in the report experienced a growth rate of 4% in comparison to their respective national averages of 3.2% and the average for the entire continent, which stood at 3.3%, during the same period.
Below are the 31 cities expected to grow exponentially in the next 20 years:
1. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Average city GDP growth (2010 to 2019): 9.5%
Average country GDP growth (2010 to 2019): 9.1%
2. Kumasi, Ghana
Average city GDP growth: 8.0%
Average country GDP growth: 7.1%
3. Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Average city GDP growth: 7.9%
Average country GDP growth: 6.6%
4. Accra, Ghana
Average city GDP growth: 7.9%
Average country GDP growth: 7.1%
5. Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Average city GDP growth: 7.8%
Average country GDP growth: 5.7%
6. Khartoum, Sudan
Average city GDP growth: 7.3%
Average country GDP growth: 3.1%
7. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Average city GDP growth: 7.3%
Average country GDP growth: 6.5%
8. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average city GDP growth: 7.2%
Average country GDP growth: 6.1%
9. Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average city GDP growth: 6.8%
Average country GDP growth: 6.1%
10. Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average city GDP growth: 6.4%
Average country GDP growth: 6.1%
11. Lusaka, Zambia
Average city GDP growth: 6.0%
Average country GDP growth: 4.3%
12. Mogadishu, Somalia
Average city GDP growth: 5.7%
Average country GDP growth: 4.4%
13. Abuja, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 5.7%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%
14. Bamako, Mali
Average city GDP growth: 5.6%
Average country GDP growth: 6.9%
15. Kampala, Uganda
Average city GDP growth: 5.5%
Average country GDP growth: 5.3%
16. Yaoundé, Cameroon
Average city GDP growth: 5.4%
Average country GDP growth: 4.6%
17. Nairobi, Kenya
Average city GDP growth: 5.3%
Average country GDP growth: 5.1%
18. Douala, Cameroon
Average city GDP growth: 5.2%
Average country GDP growth: 4.6%
19. Casablanca, Morocco
Average city GDP growth: 4.8%
Average country GDP growth: 3.4%
20. Dakar, Senegal
Average city GDP growth: 4.7%
Average country GDP growth: 5.2%
21. Onitsha, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 4.6%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%
22. Antananarivo, Madagascar
Average city GDP growth: 4.4%
Average country GDP growth: 3.2%
23. Cairo, Egypt
Average city GDP growth: 4.0%
Average country GDP growth: 3.8%
24. Alexandria, Egypt
Average city GDP growth: 3.6%
Average country GDP growth: 3.8%
25. Lagos, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 3.1%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%
26. Ibadan, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 2.4%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%
27. Algiers, Algeria
Average city GDP growth: 2.3%
Average country GDP growth: 2.6%
28. Kano, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 2.2%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0%
29. Johannesburg, South Africa
Average city GDP growth: 2.0%
Average country GDP growth: 1.6%
30. Cape Town, South Africa
Average city GDP growth: 1.7%
Average country GDP growth: 1.6%
31. Luanda, Angola
Average city GDP growth: 1.3%
Average country GDP growth: 1.9%
On another note, the analysis indicates that Africa has fewer and often smaller second cities than other regions of the world. Among the largest cities on the continent, only 4 out of 14 have a second city bigger than half the size of their primary cities.
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