Size and Quality of Labour in Africa compared with China and India

The document analyzes Africa's labour force relative to China and India, noting that while Africa has a rapidly growing and youthful workforce that could attract labour-intensive industries, it lags significantly in education, health, and overall labour productivity. Forecasts suggest that without substantial improvements in human capital, the productivity gap between Africa and its Asian counterparts will widen by 2043.

• Africa's labour force is growing rapidly and is expected to surpass China's by 2034 and exceed 1 billion people by 2043.
• Africa significantly trails China and India in adult education levels. In 2023, the mean years of education for African adults was 6.8 years, compared to 7.6 in India and 8.9 in China. This gap is forecast to widen by 2043 on the 'Current Path' scenario.
• Health outcomes in Africa are poorer than in China and India, as measured by disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). In 2023, Africa's burden of ill health was nearly double that of China, with 392,000 DALYs per million people compared to China's 209,000.
• African labour productivity is substantially lower than that of China and India and is forecast to decline further in relative terms. By 2043, African labour productivity is projected to be less than half of India's and only about 13% of China's.

APA

Cilliers, J., & Chipanda, B. (2026). Size and Quality of Labour in Africa compared with China and India. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=13-work-jobs&topic=04-size-and-quality-of-labour

Chicago

Cilliers, Jakkie, and Blessing Chipanda. Size and Quality of Labour in Africa compared with China and India. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=13-work-jobs&topic=04-size-and-quality-of-labour.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cilliers |first1=Jakkie |last2=Chipanda |first2=Blessing |title=Size and Quality of Labour in Africa compared with China and India |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=4 May 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=13-work-jobs&topic=04-size-and-quality-of-labour |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cilliers2026size, author = {Cilliers, Jakkie and Chipanda, Blessing}, title = {{Size and Quality of Labour in Africa compared with China and India}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = may, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=13-work-jobs&topic=04-size-and-quality-of-labour}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }