Africa's population to double in four to five decades

Africa's population to double in four to five decades

The African Union (AU) said Monday the continent's population will double over the next four to five decades.

In a statement sent to international media in connection with this year's World Population Day, AU said population growth has tremendous impact on socioeconomic development and well-managed population growth can contribute to sustainable development.

The theme of this year's World Population Day, "Equality" between men and women, underlies the imperative that development should be based on social justice and equitable access to resources, including access to reproductive health, safe motherhood services as well as other essential facilities for better health, the statement said.

It said this year's World Population Day is being celebrated at a time when the AU Commission has revitalized the African Population Commission, expecting the latter to play effective leadership and advocacy roles in promoting the linkage between population and sustainable socioeconomic development in Africa.

Africa's population is growing rapidly because its birth rates are collectively the world's highest, about 6.5 children per woman.

According to UN estimates, in the coming decades, even taking into account the devastating AIDS epidemic, Africa's population is expected to more than double, reaching 2 billion by 2050.

Source: Xinhua