Population of African cities to triple

Population of African cities to triple

The population of African cities is set to triple over the next 40 years according to a report by UN-HABITAT.

Cairo is set to grow by 23% over the next 15 years with a projected figure of 13.5 million inhabitants by 2025. Lagos in Nigeria and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo rank in second and third place of Africa's highest urban agglomerations.

The population of Lagos is expected to nearly double in the next fifteen years with cities such as Dar es Salaam predicted to boost their population by just under 3 million people.

UN HABITAT have stated that by 2050, 60% of Africans will be living in cities. Joan Clos, the Executive Director of UN-HABITAT, said: "No African government can afford to ignore the ongoing rapid urban transition taking place across the continent. Cities must become priority areas for public policies, with hugely increased investments to build adequate governance capacities, equitable services delivery, affordable housing provision and better wealth distribution."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2010/nov/23/african-city-population-grows?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487