The world is shifting its axis.
Africa will help write what comes next.

Between 2024 and 2050, Africa is expected to grow from about 1.50 to 2.45 billion people. Over the same period, its urban population could double to reach 1.4 billion. These shifts increase needs for housing, mobility, education, health, water, energy and work, while multiplying the possible paths through life.

This transformation concerns the large metropolises, but also intermediate cities and the areas around them. Choices made today on land, infrastructure, services and training will shape the lives of several generations. Demographics represent both an organisational challenge and an immense human potential waiting to be unlocked.

AI is a general-purpose technology, with effects comparable to those of the great industrial revolutions. It is transforming research, design, creation and innovation; combined with robotics, it also affects production, logistics and services. Source: OECD, 2026 ↗

The ILO estimates that about one job in four worldwide is exposed to generative AI. Only 3.3% of jobs, however, fall into the highest exposure category: most occupations will be transformed rather than eliminated. Clerical jobs are the most affected, and women more than men. Exposure reaches 34% of jobs in high-income countries, against 11% in low-income countries. For Africa, the challenge is therefore twofold: preparing for this transformation and gaining access to the benefits it can bring. Beyond occupations and skills, this shift raises questions about the role of work, time, learning and the value of each contribution. It may alter organisations and social relations, as well as our relationship to autonomy, creativity, recognition and psychological well-being. How can its gains be shared without widening inequalities? Source: ILO, 2025 ↗

Actual usage shows how this divide takes shape, task by task. Eleven of a computer programmer’s 17 tasks already appear in conversations with an AI assistant, most often delegated to it; for a tutor, 10 of 19, mostly done with it. For a farmer, a nurse or a carpenter, only one to three tasks out of around thirty appear. In the United States, about 30% of workers do not yet have a single task concerned. AI is first transforming office, writing and analytical work; occupations based on manual work and human contact remain, for now, far less affected. Source: Anthropic Economic Index, 2026 ↗ Source: Anthropic, March 2026 ↗

Its effects will also depend on collective choices. Access to electricity, networks, computing power, skills, representative data and tools adapted to local languages all determine the capacity to act. Who designs these systems and sets their rules? Who can challenge their decisions and benefit from the value created? For Africa, technological sovereignty is one dimension of this revolution, alongside its economic and human consequences. Source: African Union, 2024 ↗

Climate change is already apparent in heatwaves, droughts, extreme rainfall and rising seas. In Africa, it affects access to water, food production, health, ecosystems and economic activity, even though the continent is among the smallest contributors to the emissions that cause it. Source: IPCC, Africa chapter ↗

These risks are compounded by population growth and rapid urbanisation. Coastal populations, precarious housing and climate-dependent activities are particularly exposed. The consequences also reach rural areas and may deepen inequalities and displacement.

The buildings, networks and cities built over the coming decades will shape places for a long time. Where they are sited and how they are designed will weigh on resource consumption, exposure to risk and the capacity to adapt. Living differently thus becomes a necessity, well beyond a mere response to crises.

The African Development Bank estimates the continent’s real GDP growth at 4.4% in 2025. This momentum nonetheless conceals very different national situations. On its own, it does not say how many people gain a stable income, reliable services or the means to start a business.

According to the OECD, about 82% of African workers are in informal employment. The World Bank estimates that 10 to 12 million young people enter the labour market each year, while about 3 million formal jobs are created. The challenge is therefore to turn demographic energy into skills, local production and more evenly shared incomes, while recognising the value created outside conventional forms of employment. Source: World Bank, 2026 ↗

Living conditions are also reflected in practical access to housing, health and learning, and in the possibility of starting a business and taking part in decisions. The gap between measured growth and everyday experience raises a central question: how do its benefits translate into each person’s path?