African city populations to triple by 2050, says UN

Nov 24, 2010, 12:59 GMT

Nairobi - African cities are facing disastrous overpopulation as urban populations across the continent continue to swell dramatically, the United Nations said Wednesday.

UN-Habitat's The State of African Cities 2010 report warned that African city populations will more than triple by 2050, when 60 per cent of an estimated 1.23 billion Africans are expected to live in urban centres.

The report said that Africa is the fastest urbanising continent in the world, with an urban growth rate of 3.41 per cent.

Yet, as the authors of the report point out, many African cities are already teeming with slums and increasing populations could lead to disaster.

'No African government can afford to ignore the ongoing rapid urban transition taking place across the continent,' Joan Clos, executive director of UN-Habitat, said.

'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.'

According to the report, Lagos in Nigeria will surpass Cairo as Africa's largest city by 2015, with 12.4 million inhabitants.

The same report also cautioned that millions of Africans living in coastal cities are at risk from rising sea levels brought on by climate change.

More than 25 per cent of Africa's current population of 1 billion lives within 100 kilometres of the coast, according to UN-Habitat.