The population of Africa has grown rapidly over the past centuryZinkina J., Korotayev A. Explosive Population Growth in Tropical Africa: Crucial Omission in Development Forecasts (Emerging Risks and Way Out). World Futures 70/2 (2014): 120–139. and consequently shows a large youth bulge, further reinforced by a low life expectancy of below 50 years in some African countries.See List of countries by life expectancy; according to the 2012 World Factbook, four of 53 countries show a life expectancy at birth below 50 years Total population as of 2024 is estimated at more than 1.5 billion, with a growth rate of more than 2.5% p.a. The most populous African country is Nigeria with 233 million inhabitants as of 2024 and a growth rate of 2.6% p.a.

Population growth

, the total population of Africa is estimated at 1.59 billion as of 2026, representing 22% of the world's population. According to UN estimates, the population of Africa may reach nearly 2.5 billion by 2050 (about 26% of the world's total) and 3.8 billion by 2100 (about 37% of the world's total).

The population of Africa first surpassed one billion in 2009, with a doubling time of 27 years (growth rate 2.6% p.a.)."World Population Prospects: The 2004 Revision" United Nations (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, population division)

Population growth has continued at almost the same pace, and total population is expected to surpass 2 billion by 2038 (doubling time 29 years, 2.4% p.a.).

The reason for the population growth since the mid 20th century is the decrease of infant mortality and general increase of life expectancy without a corresponding reduction in fertility rate, due to a very limited use of contraceptives. Uncontrolled population growth threatens to overwhelm infrastructure development and crippling economic development.Eliya Zulu, "How to defuse sub-Saharan Africa’s population bomb", New Scientist, 26 April 2012. Jeffrey Gutman and Nirav Patel, "Urban Africa: Avoiding the perfect storm", Foresight Africa, 26 January 2018. Kenya and Zambia are pursuing programs to promote family planning in an attempt to curb growth rates.Joseph J Bish, "Population growth in Africa: grasping the scale of the challenge", The Guardian, 11 January 2016. "African fertility has not fallen as expected. Precipitous declines in fertility in Asia and Latin America, from five children per woman in the 1970s to around 2.5 today, led many to believe Africa would follow a similar course. [...] Unfortunately, since the early 1990s, family planning programmes in Africa have not had the same attention [as in other parts of the world], resulting in slow, sometimes negligible, fertility declines. In a handful of countries, previous declines have stalled altogether and are reversing. [...] A few heroic efforts, such as Family Planning 2020, are attempting to stimulate family planning programmes across the continent, and there are some signs of success. Recent figures from Kenya and Zambia show substantial strengthening of contraceptive use among married women. In Kenya, 58% of married women now use modern contraception, and in Zambia this measure has risen from 33% to 45% in the last three years. In both cases, the catalysts for improvements were government commitment and commensurate budget financing. The virtuous circle may not be completely out of reach, but many more African governments must make haste and make substantial investments in contraceptive information and access for their people."

The extreme population growth in Africa is driven by East Africa, Middle Africa and West Africa, which regions are projected to more than quintuple their populations over the 21st century. The most extreme of these is Middle Africa, with an estimated population increase by 698%, from less than 100 million in 2000 to almost 800 million in 2100 (more than half of this figure is driven by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, projected to increase from 51 million in 2000 to 431 million in 2100). Projected population growth is less extreme in Southern Africa and North Africa, which are expected, respectively, to increase by 104% and 156% over the same period.

Population estimates by region (in billions): 2000 2050 (Projected) 2100 (Projected) Eastern Africa 0.26 0.86 (+231%, +2.4% p.a.) 1.38 (+431%, +1.7% p.a.) Middle Africa 0.099 0.41 (+314%, +2.9% p.a.) 0.79 (+698%, +2.1% p.a.) North Africa 0.18 0.37 (+106%, +1.4% p.a.) 0.46 (+156%, +0.9% p.a.) Southern Africa 0.054 0.092 (+70%, +1.1% p.a.) 0.11 (+104%, +0.7% p.a.) West Africa 0.24 0.73 (+204%, +2.2% p.a.) 1.07 (+346%, +1.5% p.a.) Africa 0.83 2.47 (+197%, +2.2% p.a.) 3.81 (+359%, +1.5% p.a.) World 6.17 9.66 (+57%, +0.9% p.a.) 10.18 (+65%, +0.5% p.a.)

Health

National healthcare systems National health systems vary between countries. In Ghana, most health care is provided by the government and largely administered by the Ministry of Health and Ghana Health Services. The healthcare system has five levels of providers: health posts which are first level primary care for rural areas, health centers and clinics, district hospitals, regional hospitals and tertiary hospitals. These programs are funded by the government of Ghana, financial credits, Internally Generated Fund, and Donors-pooled Health Fund.

A shortage of health professionals compounded by migration of health workers from sub-Saharan Africa to other parts of the world (namely English-speaking nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom) has negatively impacted productivity and efficacy of the region's health systems.

More than 85% of individuals in Africa use traditional medicine as an alternative to often expensive allopathic medical health care and costly pharmaceutical products. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) Heads of State and Government declared the 2000s decade as the African Decade on African Traditional Medicine in an effort to promote The WHO African Region's adopted resolution for institutionalizing traditional medicine in health care systems across the continent. Public policy makers in the region are challenged with consideration of the importance of traditional/indigenous health systems and whether their coexistence with the modern medical and health sub-sector would improve the equitability and accessibility of health care distribution, the health status of populations, and the social-economic development of nations within sub-Saharan Africa.

History of health care development in sub-Saharan Africa In September 1987, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee announced the launching of the Bamako Initiative— chartered in response to financial issues occurring in the region during the 1980s, and with the aim of increasing access to vital medications through community involvement in revolving drug funds. The 1987 Bamako Initiative conference, organized by the WHO was held in Bamako, the capital of Mali, and helped reshape the health policy of sub-Saharan Africa. The meeting was attended by African Ministers of Health who advocated for improvement of healthcare access through the revitalization of primary healthcare. The new strategy substantially increased accessibility through community-based healthcare reform, resulting in more efficient and equitable provision of services. The public health community within the region raised issues in response to the initiative, of which included: equity, access, affordability, integration issues, relative importance given to medications, management, dependency, logistics, and sustainability. As a result of these critiques, the Initiative later transformed to address the increase of accessibility of health services, the enhancement of quality of health services, and the overall improvement of health system management. A comprehensive approach strategy was extended to all areas of health care, with subsequent improvement in the health care indicators and improvement in health care efficiency and cost.

PeriodLife expectancy inYears1950–195537.461955–1960 39.951960–1965 42.321965–1970 44.421970–1975 46.511975–1980 48.661980–1985 50.451985–1990 51.721990–1995 51.711995–2000 52.332000–2005 53.672005–2010 56.972010–2015 60.23 Source: World Population Prospects

Major health challenges The sub-Saharan African region experiences disproportionate rates of infectious and chronic diseases in comparison to other global regions.

Diabetes Type 2 diabetes persists as an epidemic in the region posing a public health and socioeconomic crisis for sub-Saharan Africa. Scarcity of data for pathogenesis and subtypes for diabetes in sub-Saharan African communities has led to gaps in documenting epidemiology for the disease. High rates of undiagnosed diabetes in many countries leaves individuals at a high risk of chronic health complications, thus, posing a high risk of diabetes-related morbidity and mortality in the region.

HIV/AIDS

In 2011, sub-Saharan Africa was home to 69% of all people living with HIV/AIDS worldwide. In response, a number of initiatives have been launched to educate the public on HIV/AIDS. Among these are combination prevention programmes, considered to be the most effective initiative, the abstinence, be faithful, use a condom campaign, and the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation's outreach programs. According to a 2013 special report issued by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the number of HIV positive people in Africa receiving anti-retroviral treatment in 2012 was over seven times the number receiving treatment in 2005, with an almost 1 million added in the last year alone. The number of AIDS-related deaths in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 was 33 percent less than the number in 2005. The number of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa in 2011 was 25 percent less than the number in 2001.

Malaria Malaria is an endemic illness in sub-Saharan Africa, where the majority of malaria cases and deaths worldwide occur.

Maternal and infant mortality Studies show that more than half of the world's maternal deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. However, progress has been made in this area, as maternal mortality rates have decreased for multiple countries in the region by about half since 1990. Additionally, the African Union in July 2003 ratified the Maputo Protocol, which pledges to prohibit female genital mutilation(FGM).

The sub-Saharan African region alone accounts for about 45% of global infant and child mortalities. Studies have shown a relationship between infant survival and the education of mothers, as years of education positively correlate with infant survival rates. Geographic location is also a factor, as child mortality rates are higher in rural areas in comparison to urban regions.

Measles Routine immunization has been introduced to countries within sub-Saharan Africa in order to prevent measles outbreaks within the region.

Neglected tropical diseases Neglected tropical diseases such as hookworm infection encompass some of the most common health conditions which affect an estimated 500 million individuals in the sub-Saharan African region.

Non-communicable diseases

Results of Global Burden of Disease studies reveal that the age-standardized death rates of non-communicable diseases in at least four sub-Saharan countries including South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Ethiopia supersede that of identified high-income countries. Improvement in statistics systems and increase in epidemiological studies with in-depth analysis of disease risk factors could improve the understanding of non-communicable diseases (i.e.: diabetes, hypertension, cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, etc.) in sub-Saharan Africa as well as better inform decisions surrounding healthcare policy in the region.

Onchocerciasis