ABSTRACT
This chapter presents stylized facts about Africa’s growth trajectory and its paradoxes. It analyzes the gravity and the causes of poverty on the continent. The poor response of poverty to growth is aggravated further by lack of decent employment opportunities for the majority of people, especially the young, given that most African economies depend on production and exportation of primary commodities, with very little value added. The chapter shows the profile of poverty in Africa by focusing on both income and non-income poverty indicators, including inequalities across gender and age dimensions. The principal causes of poverty include conflict, environmental factor, such as drought and climate change, low productivity agriculture, and population growth. There have been a variety of initiatives to address the problem of poverty at different levels: institutional, global, regional, and country. Mobilization of the people and effective leadership are critical ingredients to address poverty.
