Population | 1,186,178,000 (2015 est.) |
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Density | 39.1/sq km (2015 est.) |
Growth rate | 2.6% per annum (2015 est.) |
The population of Africa has grown rapidly over the past century, and consequently shows a large youth bulge, further reinforced by a low life expectancy of below 50 years in some African countries. The population doubled in the period 1982–2009 and quadrupled from 1955–2009, according to United Nations estimates. As of 2013, the total population of Africa is estimated at 1.1 billion, representing approximately 15% 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 nearly 4.4 billion by 2100 (about 39% of the world's total).
More than 40% of the population is below 15 years old in most sub-Saharan countries, as well as the Sudan but with the exception of South Africa, in Uganda as many as 50% (as compared to 20% in the USA). Infant mortality is high, with as many as 110 deaths per 1,000 live births in Niger, and between 25% and 50% malnourished in Tanzania, Kenya, Sudan, Mozambique, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola and other countries. Thirty-four out of fifty-three African countries are counted among the world's Least Developed Countries.
HIV/AIDS is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, with some 11% of adult population infected and an estimated 2 million deaths caused by AIDS in 2005.