The number of working-age people in Africa is expected to grow to 450 million over the next couple of decades, but the continent’s engines of job creation aren’t keeping up.
If enough new positions aren’t created by 2035, Africa may be sailing towards a crisis of youth unemployment, a new report has warned.
According to the Africa Competitiveness Report 2017, released in Durban, South Africa, at the ongoing meeting of the World Economic Forum on Africa, the continent’s leaders have a choice. “They can either put into effect structural reforms that improve people’s livelihoods or allow current, not-quite-adequate constitutional policies to unravel towards inequality and civil unrest.”
The trend has shown the rise in the number of working-age Africans since the 1950s, with the soaring trend in sub-Saharan numbers over the next 30 years.
Analysts said it’s a dramatic demographic forecast. But what can Africa do to avoid it turning into disaster? Progress at raising competitiveness and productivity has been slow – yet without those two desirable traits, economies will struggle to provide more employment opportunities.
In fact, the report said that unless current policies change, there will only be a quarter of the required jobs by 2035.
The solution may lie in competitiveness, in pushing forward structural reforms that boost productivity, create jobs and determine how prosperous a country can become. This can be anything from affordable housing to clean water, better transport and sharper training initiatives – anything that helps people learn and connect and thrive.
Several countries could claim they are getting it right, but a list of the 10 best-performing African nations, as measured by the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Report shows Mauritius, South Africa and Rwanda on top.
These are followed in that order by Botswana, Morocco, Namibia, Algeria, Tunisia, Kenya and Cote d’Ivoire.
Although Mauritius ranks first among African countries, it is still only 45th in the global index, a sober nod towards Africa’s slowing productivity levels after a decade of sustained growth.
The Africa Competitiveness Report 2017 was prepared by a joint team of experts from the World Economic Forum, the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
Source PANA