ABSTRACT
In the middle of 2008 the African population south of the Sahara desert was estimated to be about 809 million, distributed over forty-three countries, from Angola to Zimbabwe when arranged in alphabetical order. Around 42 per cent of this population is below the age of fifteen suggesting continued population growth in the foreseeable future as these young Africans reach maturity and enter their reproductive phase (Population Reference Bureau and African Population Research Centre 2008). Against this expected population growth concerns about poverty continue to be a real challenge. According to Moyo (2010), Africa south of the Sahara remains the poorest region in the world, with an average per capita income of roughly US$1 a day. She suggests that the extreme poverty conditions experienced by a significant African population is likely to be around for some time unless drastic measures are taken to include a rethink on aid donations. Drawing on United Nations Human Development forecasts, she points out that Africans south of the Sahara, will account for almost onethird of world poverty by 2015. The poor living conditions and political distress resulting from dictatorship and non-democratic rule means that some Africans are likely to continue to be tempted to migrate to the West in search of a better life. From some of these African countries, some people have migrated to the UK and the figures as per the 2001 census are recorded at 478,181 people. As a proportion of the overall African population, it is evident that this figure represents a very small, but nevertheless an important, UK minority group, because most of the Africans within this group originated from former British colonies.
