ABSTRACT
The current population of Africa is estimated at more than one billion with a rate of natural increase of 2.4 percent (Population Reference Bureau [PRB] 2011). Within the continent, the sub-Saharan region is playing a leading role in the prevailing rapid population growth rate in the world. This region comprises 84 percent of the population of Africa and is growing at 2.6 percent annually. The fastest-growing countries are all in the region. For example, Niger, Uganda, Burundi, and Burkina Faso each have a natural increase greater than 3 percent. In addition, Nigeria is at present the seventh most populous country and the only African country among the fi rst ten most populous countries in the world (Bongaarts 1997; Bloom and Humair 2010; PRB 2011). The fi rst ten, having between 45 percent and 50 percent under age 15, are all in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). They include Niger, Uganda, Mali, Angola, Zambia, Burundi, Congo Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Chad, and Burkina Faso (PRB 2011). On average, in 2009, SSA had 43 percent of its population between age zero and 14 years, while the average for all lowincome countries was 39 percent and the world average was 27 percent (Sippel et al. 2011; World Bank 2011).
