Paris [France], Improving access and quality of skills development will help Africa harness the growth potential of a rapidly growing and increasingly skilled African youth workforce, according to the 2024 edition of Africa's Development Dynamics: Skills, Jobs and Productivity, published today by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Eighty-five percent of the total projected increase in the world's working-age population by 2050 will occur in Africa. The working-age population (15 to 64 years) will almost double in Africa by that year, from 849 million in 2024 to 1.56 billion in 2050.
New entrants to labor markets will be more educated than previous generations, as the total number of young Africans completing secondary or tertiary education will more than double, from 103 million to 240 million, between 2020 and 2040. They will seek work in dynamic economies; Africa's GDP growth is projected to increase from 3.2 percent in 2023 to 3.5 percent in 2024 and reach an average rate of 4.0 percent in 2025, surpassing Latin America and the Caribbean (2, 5 percent) and very close to developing countries in Asia (4.8 percent). percent), compared to 3.2 percent worldwide.
According to the report, many African economies face a double challenge: workers lack the specific skills required by existing jobs, while there are not enough quality jobs available to give workers an incentive to continue developing their skills. More than 80 percent of young Africans who attend school aspire to work in high-skilled occupations, but only 8 percent find those jobs.
Skills shortages – especially in sectors such as agri-food, renewable energy and mining – hold back private investment. Ultimately, a cycle of insufficient supply of skilled workers and low demand for skills created by new jobs keeps economies largely informal. An estimated 82 percent of all workers in Africa are employed in informal activities (mostly low-paid, low-quality and low-protection), compared to 56 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean and 73 percent in developing Asia.
Africa's Development Dynamics 2024 reveals that the quality and quantity of education in Africa remains low compared to other regions of the world. In 2021, on average, African governments allocated 3.7 percent of their GDP to education, or 14.5 percent of their total public spending.
These are slightly below international benchmarks of at least 4 percent of GDP and 15 percent of total public spending. Sixteen of the 42 African countries with data available for 2020-23 did not meet these international benchmarks.
Skills development, along with better jobs, will increase the productivity of millions of workers. The report indicates that each additional year of education can increase the earnings of African students by up to 11.4 percent, the highest return to education than in any other region.
The report also analyzes strategic areas where Africa's five regions have the greatest potential to increase productivity thanks to a better-skilled workforce: mining in Central and Southern Africa, digital in East Africa, renewable energy in North Africa and agri-food in Africa Western.
Eighty-five percent of the total projected increase in the world's working-age population by 2050 will occur in Africa. The working-age population (15 to 64 years) will almost double in Africa by that year, from 849 million in 2024 to 1.56 billion in 2050.
New entrants to labor markets will be more educated than previous generations, as the total number of young Africans completing secondary or tertiary education will more than double, from 103 million to 240 million, between 2020 and 2040. They will seek work in dynamic economies; Africa's GDP growth is projected to increase from 3.2 percent in 2023 to 3.5 percent in 2024 and reach an average rate of 4.0 percent in 2025, surpassing Latin America and the Caribbean (2, 5 percent) and very close to developing countries in Asia (4.8 percent). percent), compared to 3.2 percent worldwide.
According to the report, many African economies face a double challenge: workers lack the specific skills required by existing jobs, while there are not enough quality jobs available to give workers an incentive to continue developing their skills. More than 80 percent of young Africans who attend school aspire to work in high-skilled occupations, but only 8 percent find those jobs.
Skills shortages – especially in sectors such as agri-food, renewable energy and mining – hold back private investment. Ultimately, a cycle of insufficient supply of skilled workers and low demand for skills created by new jobs keeps economies largely informal. An estimated 82 percent of all workers in Africa are employed in informal activities (mostly low-paid, low-quality and low-protection), compared to 56 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean and 73 percent in developing Asia.
Africa's Development Dynamics 2024 reveals that the quality and quantity of education in Africa remains low compared to other regions of the world. In 2021, on average, African governments allocated 3.7 percent of their GDP to education, or 14.5 percent of their total public spending.
These are slightly below international benchmarks of at least 4 percent of GDP and 15 percent of total public spending. Sixteen of the 42 African countries with data available for 2020-23 did not meet these international benchmarks.
Skills development, along with better jobs, will increase the productivity of millions of workers. The report indicates that each additional year of education can increase the earnings of African students by up to 11.4 percent, the highest return to education than in any other region.
The report also analyzes strategic areas where Africa's five regions have the greatest potential to increase productivity thanks to a better-skilled workforce: mining in Central and Southern Africa, digital in East Africa, renewable energy in North Africa and agri-food in Africa Western.
