Nearly half the world's under-25s will be African by 2100
Africa's share of the world's people under 25, 1950, 2026 and 2100. UN WPP 2024 medium variant.
- 1. By 2100, more than 1 in 3 people will be African
- 2. Nearly half the world's under-25s will be African by 2100
- 3. DR Congo is projected to outgrow the US by 2100
- 4. Kinshasa will soon be bigger than Paris and London combined
- 5. Two-thirds of the world's mobile money moves in Africa
- 6. Volcanic heat makes nearly 45% of the power Kenya generates
- 7. Africa's solar imports more than doubled since early 2024
- 8. DR Congo mines three-quarters of the world's cobalt
- 9. Nearly two in three people in Africa are still offline
- 10. Africa formally recycles less than 1% of its e-waste
- 11. Ethiopia added over a third of Africa's new renewable power
- 12. DR Congo now has more children than Brazil
- 13. Nigeria's cities now hold more people than Japan's
- 14. Sudan now has the world's most people displaced at home
- 15. Nigeria now has almost 25 million more people than Brazil
- 16. Six of the ten fastest-growing big cities are African
- 17. Africa now has more hungry people than Asia
- 18. Six in ten child deaths now happen in sub-Saharan Africa
- 19. Rwanda spread electricity faster than any country since 2014
Africa is projected to be home to 46% of the world's under-25s in 2100, Asia to 39%.
Today more than one in four of the world's young people live in Africa, up from 10% in 1950.
The year Africa is projected to pass Asia as home to the most young people.
the numbers & method
| Africa (%) | |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 10 |
| 2026 | 28 |
| 2100 | 46 |
Claim types Fact · Forecast
Read directly from the UN Data Portal (World Population Prospects 2024, indicator 70, ages 0-24, both sexes, median of the probabilistic projections = medium variant) on 4 Nov 2026. People under 25: Africa 138.1M of 1,324.6M worldwide in 1950 (10.4%, UN estimate); 922.8M of 3,294.6M in 2026 (28.0%); 1,323.2M of 2,866.3M in 2100 (46.2%). Asia 1,128.2M in 2100 (39.4%). Africa passes Asia in 2073 (1,338.2M vs 1,332.8M; in 2072 Asia still had 1,341.6M vs 1,335.9M). Shares are derived (Africa / World). WPP 2024 estimates run to 2023; 2026 onwards are projections. Corrected 4 Nov 2026: the source was a Pew Research Center summary of the same UN data; all numbers re-read on the UN's own data portal, none changed.
Published 3 Nov 2026
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