This commentary is the first article in a new column in the Africa Program called “The Disolele Brief,” which connects the dots between seemingly disparate events and developments in Africa. A version of this essay was originally published in African Youth Survey in August 2024.
Africa is young and has many women. Despite the dominant Western discourse focusing on the continent’s vast natural resources, from rare earth minerals to rivers and forests, Africa’s most important resource is its population of 1.4 billion people. The median age is 19 years, and 70 percent of Africans are under 30 years of age, and youth is a fundamental characteristic of this population.
These statistics make Africa the world’s youngest continent due to high birth rates and declining infant mortality rates. The same statistics predict that by 2050, 20 years from now, more than one in four people will be African. The continent’s demographics, combined with its natural and mineral resources, ensure that Africa is essential to the world’s future.
To be sure, the continent’s important role is not new. No major revolution has occurred in the past 500 years without African contributions. Whether we are discussing the spice trade revolution, the subsequent exploration and exploitation of the New World, the industrial revolution, the nuclear war revolution, or the digital revolution, Africa has always played a key role.
Africa is not a country. In Botswana, Kenya, and Angola, the median age is 23, 19, and 16 years, respectively. Take a look at other references from the United States, China, and the European Union. The median age in the US and China is 38 years. In Germany, the epitome of Europe’s socio-economic progress, the median age is 45 years. In 2023, the median age in the European Union was 44 years. These numbers reflect an average gap of 25 to 30 years between Africans and their European neighbors.
Africa thus has much to offer the world, and it is time for European policymakers to rethink their relationship with Africa.
Germany and its European compatriots cannot afford to pursue their current policies toward Africa because their populations are aging. For example, to stem the influx of Africans, Europe militarized immigration attitudes and approaches. Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard, has effectively moved Europe’s southern borders to the Sahel.
For Africans living in migrant frontline communities, the first contact with European migration policy is through the Guardia Civil and Policía Nacional in Spain or the Carabinieri in Italy. That interaction is often adversarial. The community views these security organizations as neo-colonial and abusing their freedom of movement as citizens of the Economic Organization of West African States. Furthermore, obtaining a visa to the Schengen Area, European countries that have abolished passport controls at their borders, or to the United States is a painful experience, regardless of socio-economic class, even for boda-boda motorcycle taxi drivers. A mining engineer in Nairobi or Kolwezi. As a result of this policy, many Africans cross into Latin America through the dangerous Darien Gorge and then make their way to the United States. After all, neither Europe nor America is isolated from Africa’s demographic dynamics. Immigration policy failures are being exposed on all sides of the Atlantic.
Meanwhile, some of Frontex’s target countries, including Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, have severed security cooperation with the European Union, exposing the limits of the militarized approach. It has always been clear to informed analysts and Africa watchers that the militarization of migration is counterproductive. It gives Europeans a false sense of security and creates resentment among Africans.
It’s time to find a Pareto-optimal solution to bridge the supply and demand pressures between Europe and Africa. The European Union’s aging population requires a steady influx of workers to replenish its workforce. With world dynamics constantly changing, there is no doubt that the European Union will need security in many forms, including labor, food, defense and technology. Europeans also need to preserve their culture, and this requires an infusion of creativity and talent in science, technology, and art. Given its young demographics, Africa is, at least in principle, well placed to meet Europe’s needs.
France is an interesting case. The rise of the political far right in the 2024 parliamentary elections reflects long-standing public discontent. Some sections of French society are dissatisfied with the government’s failure to meet the people’s socio-economic expectations. Partisans on the political right blame this failure on African immigration and fear that African culture will disappear.
But the irony of the argument from France’s political right is that in today’s dynamic global climate, French culture owes its survival in no small part to Africans. More than half of the world’s 300 million French speakers are African, living in 24 African countries. Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is the largest French-speaking city in the world, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the largest French-speaking country in the world. Without African attachment to the language that is the bedrock of French culture, the influence of the French language would decline precipitously. This is evident through the strong presence of young Africans, immigrants, or first-generation French-born people in academia, sport, music, the military, and other fields across France. This is a direct result of years of steady legal and illegal immigration. Simply put, the future of France and Europe is inextricably linked to Africa.
Beyond political and nationalist discourse, it is clear that the world economic system that has let down disaffected French and other Europeans has also let down African youth. Various waves of African youth have been at the forefront of change for decades. Young people rallied against colonization and dictatorship. They opposed the unfair policies of the Bretton Woods institutions, such as structural adjustment programs, and fought for improved governance at home and abroad. They have rejected the anti-constitutional ambitions of would-be dictators.
Long gone are the days when we doubted whether Africa’s youth would be serious and committed to change. As youth movements blossom across the continent, their demands for change are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. The long catalog of these protests testifies to the vibrant state of youth participation across the continent. These include #RejectFinanceBill2024 in Kenya, #EndBadGovernance in Nigeria, Y’en a Marre in Senegal, Balai Citoyen in Burkina Faso, LUCHA in the Democratic Republic of Congo, #ThisFlag in Zimbabwe, and #FeesMustFall in South Africa.
Youth, civic and political engagement are important parts of Africa’s socio-economic and political development. As digital technology expands across Africa, young people will continue to seek better and more effective ways to voice their demands for fair governance at home and abroad. They will continue to hold their leaders and foreign donors accountable, and they do not need permission to assert their rights. Leaders will ignore them at their own peril.
Policy-wise, this reality means that Europe needs to start looking at Africa differently.
European policymakers, MEPs and politicians need to view African youth through a new lens, rather than one that strengthens the walls around ‘Fortress Europe’. They should consider African youth as their own constituents and not see them as a threat. This shift in thinking will require both pragmatism and creativity.
For example, partnerships between the EU and African countries (e.g. through schools, specialized institutions, etc.) provide thousands of qualified African youth with two- to three-year visas to study agricultural trades in Spain. A selective apprenticeship program could be established to provide Examples include the German automobile industry and the Finnish telecommunications industry. After the apprenticeship, you can gain further professional experience by getting a job with a corresponding company in Africa, or you can be financially supported through a special fund to start your own business in your home country. In the early stages of the program, it should be expected that some winners will disappear into Europe and not return home. But if the program is successful, the benefits of well-paid jobs and dignity at home will outweigh the risks and embarrassment of living illegally and secretly in Europe.
Two truths must be recognized. Migration is a natural desire, and at the same time, the default attitude of humans is to stay where they are and improve their conditions. Currently, migration occurs primarily within Africa. Most migrants move within Africa. This data point should serve as the baseline for mutually beneficial immigration policies.
Mbemba Phezo Dizorele is a senior fellow and director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.
