The African continent welcomed its one billionth inhabitant sometime during the end of 2009. The milestone culminated after decades of rapid population growth that saw Africa’s population rise nearly tenfold from just 110 million in 1850. Demographers, however, cannot pinpoint which country claims the one billionth African due to inherent difficulties in taking an accurate census among Africa’s 53 states.

Africa should remember the arrival of its billionth as an ultimate commitment to internal developmental cooperation and robust trade relationships. The occasion gives both optimists and pessimists a sound bite to offer predictions about the continent’s future. The Guardian offered, “Pessimists predict a human tide that will put an unbearable burden on food, jobs, schools, housing and healthcare. Yet optimists sense an opportunity to follow billion-strong China and India in pursuing economic growth.”

Will the billionth African grow up to scavenge for diamonds in Sierra Leone or lead an African-based business to global success? Will the billionth African travel to Europe or the United States for advanced education or will leading African universities nourish his or her mind with the skills the future demands? The only certainty remains that the life the billionth African will lead rests in the hands of states that often wobble in their commitment to education and training.

But our young African will require world class education and training to succeed in the continent’s increasingly urban megacities. The migration of millions of Africans from ancestral villages to dense urban areas entrenches poverty and violence in the proliferating shanties outside Johannesburg, Lagos, Nairobi, and other urban centers.

In order to keep the child out of Africa’s exploitive primary industries, African states must secure adequate food, water, healthcare, shelter and education. Economic and political systems must balance the public’s inalienable right to water and electricity with their inability to pay for service delivery. A growing population brings more opportunities and incentive for effective government, non-profit and private sector action.

“Africa must invest in quality citizens who add value to the continent’s prosperity,” James Shikwati of the Inter Region Economic Network said. Countries may begin to value their citizens as much as their natural resources as African economies and democratic institutions develop. Unfortunately, the increasing populations only exacerbate difficult education and political challenges.

The billionth African will certainly live on a continent with a population growing faster than any other. The United Nations estimates Africa’s population at nearly 2 billion by 2050. Like other regions of the world, the predicted impact of twenty-first century climate change will pose unprecedented tests in sub-Saharan Africa. African governments must prepare themselves to respond to falling agricultural yields, increasing water stress, more frequent droughts, expanding deserts and flash flooding. These risks put hundreds of millions at risk, including the billionth African.

African states must also foster new partnerships and pursue economic integration not only to meet the climate threat but to overcome poor communication and deteriorating infrastructure. Africa would be wise to emulate Asia’s strong intra-regional trade network which amounts of 50% of all Asian international trade. African countries can and should expand their trade relationships with the international community, but they will mutually strengthen each other if they invest in their own development.

The young African who unknowingly carries the distinction as the continent’s billionth does not enjoy reliable cell phone service or internet connectivity. While he or she is years away from using telecommunication systems, the host country should plan today for tomorrow’s needs. The contemporary world relies on constant linkage. Africa’s strained bandwidth capabilities and low capacity for expansion make real economic progress difficult.

While Africa’s gross domestic products expands – especially amidst the global downturn – per capita economic expansion evaporates due to population growth. The United Nations Population Fund reports, “Twenty years of almost 3% annual population growth has outpaced economic gains, leaving Africans, on average, 22% poorer than they were in the mid-1970s.”

This means that the billionth African enjoys fewer resources than his or her mother and grandmother. While the challenges today seem greater, the prospect for a breakthrough lies just around the corner.

The United States and Africa, for example, enjoy more non-stop air links today than since the glory days of Pan Am. Led largely by Delta, U.S. air carriers increasingly see new travel markets in South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, Senegal and Kenya. The direct air links offer the billionth African two choices: an escape or an opportunity.

African states must work to create the conditions where their youth possess the skills to meaningfully contribute to the political, economic, and social development of their motherlands. Rather than sending the billionth African abroad, perhaps he or she will succeed in the motherland.


Stanton Abramson is a College senior from Raleigh, N.C. He is president of the Young Democrats of Emory.