According to the most recent McKinsey report, 12 African cities will have populations over 10 million by 2040.
By 2040, 31 African cities will be home to more than five million people, according to a recent study by Mckinsey, the top global consulting firm.
According to the estimate, nearly 500 million people are expected to move to urban areas in Africa over the course of the next 20 years, making it the continent with the largest urban population worldwide.
There are predicted to be 12 metropolises in Africa by the year 2040, each with a population of more than 10 million. This will happen as ten more cities with comparable populations to Cairo and Lagos are added.
There will also be 19 cities in Africa with populations between five and 10 million, an increase of nine cities over the present estimates.
The paper asserts that Africa will have the largest working-age population in the world by 2040 and suggests that economic growth would be boosted by the wise placement of its labor force in highly productive jobs.
The following 31 cities are predicted to experience rapid growth during the following 20 years:
- Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Average city GDP growth (2010 to 2019): 9.5%
Average country GDP growth (2010 to 2019): 9.1% - Kumasi, Ghana
Average city GDP growth: 8.0%
Average country GDP growth: 7.1% - Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire
Average city GDP growth: 7.9%
Average country GDP growth: 6.6% - Accra, Ghana
Average city GDP growth: 7.9%
Average country GDP growth: 7.1% - Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Average city GDP growth: 7.8%
Average country GDP growth: 5.7% - Khartoum, Sudan
Average city GDP growth: 7.3%
Average country GDP growth: 3.1% - Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Average city GDP growth: 7.3%
Average country GDP growth: 6.5% - Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average city GDP growth: 7.2%
Average country GDP growth: 6.1% - Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average city GDP growth: 6.8%
Average country GDP growth: 6.1% - Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Average city GDP growth: 6.4%
Average country GDP growth: 6.1% - Lusaka, Zambia
Average city GDP growth: 6.0%
Average country GDP growth: 4.3% - Mogadishu, Somalia
Average city GDP growth: 5.7%
Average country GDP growth: 4.4% - Abuja, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 5.7%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0% - Bamako, Mali
Average city GDP growth: 5.6%
Average country GDP growth: 6.9% - Kampala, Uganda
Average city GDP growth: 5.5%
Average country GDP growth: 5.3% - Yaoundé, Cameroon
Average city GDP growth: 5.4%
Average country GDP growth: 4.6% - Nairobi, Kenya
Average city GDP growth: 5.3%
Average country GDP growth: 5.1% - Douala, Cameroon
Average city GDP growth: 5.2%
Average country GDP growth: 4.6% - Casablanca, Morocco
Average city GDP growth: 4.8%
Average country GDP growth: 3.4% - Dakar, Senegal
Average city GDP growth: 4.7%
Average country GDP growth: 5.2% - Onitsha, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 4.6%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0% - Antananarivo, Madagascar
Average city GDP growth: 4.4%
Average country GDP growth: 3.2% - Cairo, Egypt
Average city GDP growth: 4.0%
Average country GDP growth: 3.8% - Alexandria, Egypt
Average city GDP growth: 3.6%
Average country GDP growth: 3.8% - Lagos, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 3.1%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0% - Ibadan, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 2.4%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0% - Algiers, Algeria
Average city GDP growth: 2.3%
Average country GDP growth: 2.6% - Kano, Nigeria
Average city GDP growth: 2.2%
Average country GDP growth: 3.0% - Johannesburg, South Africa
Average city GDP growth: 2.0%
Average country GDP growth: 1.6% - Cape Town, South Africa
Average city GDP growth: 1.7%
Average country GDP growth: 1.6% - Luanda, Angola
Average city GDP growth: 1.3%
Average country GDP growth: 1.9%
On another note, the analysis indicates that Africa has fewer and often smaller second cities than other regions of the world. Among the largest cities on the continent, only 4 out of 14 have a second city bigger than half the size of their primary cities.
