Demographic situation and prospects in Africa.

Abstract

Summarizes recent trends and projections through the year 2000 of population size, population growth, fertility, mortality, and age structure in Africa. Fertility is very high, mortality is fairly high but gradually declining, the age distribution is heavily weighted toward children, and the population growth rate has been increasing--it is at 2.77% and may rise yet more. All of these characteristics vary from region to region. It is estimated that fertility will not decline much if at all in the next 20 years due to a number of sociological factors, and the population may increase from 132 million in 1980 to 246 million or more in 2000. Several graphs and data tables are appended.