Infant mortality is also extremely high, and in Mali, it is reported that there are 102 deaths per 1,000 live births. However, in certain parts of the continent, there has been an increase in Asian and European settlers, which has also served to boost the population statistics as a whole. The population pyramid of China (below) from 1950 to 2050(expected) shows the impact of One-Child-only policy that was introduced in 1979 due to the extreme rise in population. The 2019 population density in South Africa is 48 people per Km2 (125 people per mi2), calculated on a total land area of 1,213,090 Km2 (468,376 sq. Most countries will at least triple in population as the region has very high fertility rates and very little family planning in most regions. "African countries are all growing fast ... because there is a large number of women who have no access to planning their families," she said. (life expectancy at birth, both sexes combined), © Copyright Worldometers.info - All rights reserved -, Countries in the world ranked by Life Expectancy, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of South Africa, World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision, World Urbanization Prospects - Population Division, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Nigeria encompasses an extensive savanna region, without the extreme aridity found in the northern countries, and a large delta and coastal plains. Formula: ([Population ages 0-15] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100, Elderly dependency ratio Definition: population ages 65-plus divided by the population ages 16-64.Formula: ([Population ages 65-plus] ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100, Total dependency ratio Definition: sum of the youth and old-age ratios. This has reduced considerably over the course of the last twenty years with a widespread HIV and AIDS epidemic taking much of the blame for that statistic. By comparison, the age structure of the global population has moved toward a more rectangular shape, describing a population that is only slowly expanding, with lower birth and death rates and more people living to old age. Two out of the three ancient trans-Saharan trade routes originating from North Africa and Arabia ended in Nigeria, which brought an influx of people to settle and trade. With little or no measures in place to address the issue, the 2.4 billion prediction for 2050 is entirely plausible. The map of population densities (above) shows higher population densities in Nigeria than in any other West African country. The boom in Africa's population will be in sub-Sahara, including growth in countries like Tanzania, which is one of the poorest countries on earth. Africa's Nigeria is currently one of the most populous countries on earth, and as China 's population shrinks and India plateaus, Nigeria will reach nearly 1 billion people by 2100 and come close to surpassing China. For comparison, the world population has increased less than three-fold during the same time period. In the arable regions, where soils are fertile and the climate is favorable for crop cultivation, higher population densities are found. The age structure of West Africa’s current population forms the shape of a pyramid with a wide base and concave sides, indicating a high birth rate and a relatively high death rate, resulting in rapid growth. Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Dynamics. Africa is home to 54 recognized sovereign states and countries, 9 territories and 2 de facto independent states with very little recognition. This is a five-fold increase in population since 1950, when 73 million people lived in the region, which makes West Africa the fastest growing of any of the world’s regions. In former British colonies, this can be seen extensively, and Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa are all good examples as to a growing set of diverse ethnicities. What might explain this noticeable difference between Nigeria and the rest of West Africa? The young age structure of the West African population — almost half of West Africans are 15 years old and younger — assures continued population growth into the near and medium future. Demographers use these simple graphs to evaluate the extent of development for a given population – usually an individual nation – and to make predictions about the types of services that population will need e.g. While civilizations flourished across the region in the 15th through 19th centuries, the high concentration of kingdoms, empires and particularly city states — such as Kano, Katsina, Oyo, Ife, Benin, Nri, Igbo and others— is unique to the territory that became modern Nigeria. but in Africa, the issue over family planning leads to the reverse effect. The UN Population Fund stated in 2009 that the population of Africa had hit the one billion mark and had therefore doubled in size over the course of 27 years. All three ratios are commonly multiplied by 100. It suggests a growing population. Indeed, almost half of West Africans are Nigerian, and with over 172 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in the entire African continent. Formula: (([Population ages 0-15] + [Population ages 65-plus]) ÷ [Population ages 16-64]) × 100. Not only has West Africa’s population been growing rapidly at an average annual rate of 2.75 percent, it has also become more urban, with some major cities recording mean annual growth rates of up to 9 percent. View live population, charts & trends: Population of South Africa, A Total Fertility Rate (TFR) of 2.1 represents the Replacement-Level Fertility: the average number of children per woman needed for each generation to exactly replace itself without needing international immigration.