Africa’s population in conditions of the world order transformation

Abstract

The article explores Africa’s role in the changing demographic picture of the world in the context of the global transformation of the world order, taking into account modern economic, social and military challenges. Basing on the analysis of current demographic trends, the author suggests that the center of global demographic growth has already largely shifted towards Sub-Saharan Africa, where population growth rates average at 2.5% per year. Despite certain discrepancies in sub-regional and national trends, it is the African continent that, starting from 2035, will shape the dominating demographic trends on the planet and, to a large extent, determine the quantitative and qualitative structure of the future of the global labor market. This, in turn, will fundamentally change the structure of the world economy, since the mass consumer of a significant share of goods and services will be located not in the countries of the Global North whose population will steadily decline, but in the Global South. The article reviews Africa’s main demographic indicators: birth rate, mortality, population growth rates, fertility, life expectancy, etc. The author analyzes main economic and social factors affecting the dynamics of these indicators against the background of similar changes in other countries and regions of our planet. As a result of the undertaken analysis the author posits that Russia should have developed a new system of foreign economic relations, focusing, among other things, on the rapidly growing market of goods, services and labor of the African continent. The humanitarian sphere should become the most important area of cooperation. Russia is able to make a significant contribution to improving the quality of Africa’s human capital through the promotion of its educational and scientific schools and broad cooperation in the technological sphere.