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As the world grays,
Africa blooms with youth.


By 2050, 1 in 4 people on the planet will be African, and early tremors of this seismic change are already registering arou nd the world. Birthrates are tumbling in richer nations, creating anxiety about how to care for their older societies. But Africa’s baby boom continues apace, fueling the youngest, fastest growing population on earth.

The median age on the African continent is 19. In India, the world’s most populous country, it is 28. In China and the U.S. it is 38. The next quarter-century will not only transform many African countries but also radically reshape their relationship with the rest of the world. Africa will be pushed to the fore of the most pressing concerns of our age, like climate change, the energy transition and migration.

But African countries have a vital resource that aging societies are losing: a youthful population brimming with energy, ideas and creativity - that will shape their future, and the world's.
Read the full story, by Declan Walsh >>


This series was named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Feature Photography in 2024.

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