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Economy

Infrastructure

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Twenty-five per cent of West Africa’s nearly 2 000 urban agglomerations can be described as satellite towns. These 461 towns have a combined population of 14.4 million or 11% of the total urban population of West Africa. Nigeria is the country with the greatest number of satellite towns (367). Satellite towns are, by definition, modest in size with an average of 31 000 inhabitants. Read on

30 Nov 2016

Levels of urbanisation

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Regional integration

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Irreversible urbanisation: Africa is the least urbanised continent in the world, but an irreversible urban transition is very much underway. In West Africa, the number of urban agglomerations increased from 152 in 1950 to almost 2 000 in 2010. Read on

30 Nov 2016

Urban agglomerations with more than 10 000 inhabitants

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More and bigger cities: Beyond the megacities, a dense network of small and medium-sized cities is growing. This is helping to shape national urban networks and to increasingly connect urban and rural populations. Read on

30 Nov 2016

Rural density and urban networks

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Regional integration

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A dense network of small and medium-sized agglomerations Read on

30 Nov 2016

Rural and urban populations in West Africa - figure

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The rural population continues to grow but the urban population is catching up. Read on

30 Nov 2016

Urbanisation and fertility

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Culture & Society

Gender

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The city as an accelerator of demographic transition: Urbanisation is a powerful force for lowering fertility. It promotes the education of girls and facilitates access to healthcare; it offers more employment opportunities for women; access to information and dissemination of ideas and attitudes happens faster than in rural areas; and housing is more expensive and is, therefore, less spacious. Read on

30 Nov 2016

West African population, 1950-2050

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Demographic trends in numbers: Over the past three decades, the population of West Africa has more than doubled. Every year, ten million children are born and another ten million children are of age to attend school. Education, health, access to drinking water, food, jobs and the environment are all challenges made even more difficult by high population growth. In 2015, the population of West Africa exceeded 370 million people. Read on

30 Nov 2016

Birth and death rates in West Africa

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Health

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Population policies: Since the 1960s, mortality has declined steadily due to advances in medicine, immunisation and improved access to basic services like drinking water. Population policies should have resulted in a decline in natality greater than mortality to accelerate the demographic transition. However, this was not the case. Such policies suffer from a lack of political support and from strong socio-cultural restrictions. Read on

30 Nov 2016

Rural and urban populations in West Africa

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