Economic prospects for sub-Saharan-Africa and the role of urbanisation

Africa is the region with the 2^nd highest urbanisation rate in the world after Asia. However, (economic) development is not keeping pace with the influx of people into the cities. Thus, the positive aspects of urbanisation (e.g. creation of jobs in the industrial sector, higher productivity and growth) are outweighed by its negative consequences (e.g. formation of slums, overburdened infrastructure). At the same time, ushering in a sustainable urbanisation process is of utmost importance to Africa, given that the growth momentum has slowed significantly after the slump in commodity prices in 2014. To initiate a productive urbanisation process, merely expanding infrastructure is not enough. Rather, concerted efforts at the political level are required.

Economic prospects for sub-Saharan-Africa and the role of urbanisation(PDF, 303 KB, non-accessible)