Africa to have six cities with over 10m by 2035

Amid a rapid population growth, Africa will count six cities with over 10 million people by 2035, the Economist Intelligence Unit said.

With the continent’s population boom, Angola’s capital, Luanda, and Tanzania’s commercial hub, Dar es Salaam, will join the metropolises of Cairo, Kinshasa, Lagos and Greater Johannesburg, it said.

Paid urbanization is also triggering demands for better conditions which may turn out violent, following the example of tax protests in Nairobi.

This fast-paced urbanization, which will result in more than half of Africans living in towns and cities by 2035, is expected to create wealth, dynamism, and business opportunities, the report says.

“Overcrowding, informal settlements, high unemployment, poor public services, stretched utility services and exposure to climate change are just some of the major challenges that city planners will have to grapple with,” the report said.

By 2035, on top of the six megacities, the continent will have 17 urban areas with more than 5 million people and about another 100 with more than 1 million.

The UN estimates that Africa’s population will almost double in the next 30 years, to 2.2 billion. About 70% of the population is under the age of 30.