PREDICTIONS FOR AFRICA IN THE NEXT 48 YEARS

Economist Carlos Lopes, executive secretary of the U.N.’s Economic Commission for Africa, peers into his crystal ball to make predictions about Africa.

He’s an author and educator from Guinea Bissau with a Ph.D. in history from the University of Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne and a research master from the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, according to Mail&Guardian.
From Mail&Guardian. Story by Charles Onyango-Obbo.

2025

Demand for entertainment content in Africa explodes thanks to universal coverage of Internet and TV in Africa in less than a decade.
If nothing is done to stop climate change, Africa’s doomsday scenario could happen within the next 10 years, with rising sea levels, 20 percent loss of biodiversity and chaotic city life.

2028

Africa wins its first World Cup. But this will depend on a clean-up of the corruption scandals that have plagued the game, so that the intrinsic beauty of the game returns.

2030

Nigeria’s Nollywood overtakes India’s Bollywood as the world’s biggest film industry by value, and extends its pan-African reach to include more diverse cast and story lines.
If malaria, HIV/Aids and tuberculosis are completely eliminated in the next 15 years, it could translate into $80 billion of savings by 2030. The population life expectancy will be 20 years higher, diminishing the fertility rates and balancing the demographic pressure.

2035

The continent-wide railway spanning the breadth of Africa from Djibouti to Dakar is launched, one of 16 such key regional infrastructure projects. It sparks a boom in intra-African trade, as logistical trade barriers come crashing down, and governments abolish visa requirements for other African countries.
Kenya surprises the world on innovation. It has become the lead country in the use digital money and makes Bitcoin irrelevant. And the last country to become fully cashless is Libya.

2040

Portuguese continues to grow, rather than disappearing in the five Lusophone countries – Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tome & Principe. It also increases in popularity in Senegal, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

2050

Nigeria is overtaken by Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo as Africa’s biggest economy. South Africa never regains its position at the top, but always manages to be among the top 10.
Diabetes becomes Africa’s biggest public health challenge, as the continent witnesses a shift towards processed food that is likely to be, like for urbanization, the fastest in human history.

2063

Africa represents 30 percent of the world’s wealth.