UN: Africa's population to reach 2.5 billion by 2025

The population of Africa will reach 2.5 billion people by 2050, with the main growth occurring in cities, stated UN Deputy Secretary-General and Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group Amina Mohammed at the event "Deal Room Investors Session under the Affordable Housing Initiative in Africa" within the framework of WUF13 in Baku, Report informs.

According to her, today more than 1.1 billion people worldwide live in slums and informal settlements, while around 300 million have no housing at all.

She emphasized that Africa bears a disproportionately large share of this burden, yet at the same time possesses significant potential to address the housing crisis: "Africa's urbanization is one of the largest long-term investment opportunities of our time. It is not only about housing construction and infrastructure, but also about climate resilience, logistics, job creation, technology, and innovation."

Amina Mohammed stressed that the African Union has placed urbanization and housing issues at the center of Agenda 2063, calling for all residents of the continent to be provided with access to decent and affordable housing in a safe, clean, and well-planned environment.

According to her, Africa receives less than 3% of global housing financing, despite the continent accounting for nearly 20% of the world's population.