AFRICA CURRENT PATH: THEMATIC FUTURES

The report finds that while the percentage of Africans living in extreme poverty has declined since the 1990s, the absolute number of poor people continues to rise due to rapid population growth. Africa is projected to miss the 2030 SDG goal of eliminating extreme poverty, with several countries likely to maintain poverty rates above 50% by that date. The document attributes these challenges to high inequality, over-reliance on natural resources, and bad governance, noting that Sub-Saharan Africa carries the largest global burden of extreme poverty.

• While the proportion of the African population in extreme poverty has decreased since the early 1990s, the absolute number of people affected has steadily increased since 1960 and is expected to continue rising for several years. This trend is driven by rapid population growth, modest economic growth, and high inequality.
• Africa is projected to fail to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of reducing the extreme poverty rate to below 3% by 2030. By 2030, seven countries—Mozambique, Madagascar, Malawi, the Central African Republic, Burundi, the DR Congo, and Lesotho—are expected to have more than 50% of their populations living in extreme poverty based on the US$2.15 threshold.
• Using the US$2.15 monetary threshold, 29% of Africa's population was extremely poor in 2023. This ratio is forecast to drop to 26% by 2030 and 18% by 2043. However, due to population growth, the absolute number of extremely poor Africans will only decrease slightly from 437 million in 2023 to 409 million in 2043, contrasting sharply with the rest of the world where extreme poverty is projected to fall from 292 million to 174 million in the same period.
• Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest global burden of extreme poverty, as North Africa has effectively eliminated it. Within Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Africa had the highest extreme poverty rate in 2023 (49%), while Eastern Africa had the lowest (33%). In 2023, Madagascar had the highest rate at 78%, with South Sudan, Burundi, Malawi, and Mozambique all exceeding 70%.
• The inability to reduce extreme poverty is linked to factors including corruption, bad governance, high-income inequality, low asset ownership, restricted access to public services, and an over-reliance on natural resources. Additionally, high fertility rates limit the per capita income increases resulting from economic growth.

APA

Cilliers, J. (2026). AFRICA CURRENT PATH: THEMATIC FUTURES. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=01-africas-current-path&topic=04-poverty

Chicago

Cilliers, Jakkie. AFRICA CURRENT PATH: THEMATIC FUTURES. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=01-africas-current-path&topic=04-poverty.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cilliers |first1=Jakkie |title=AFRICA CURRENT PATH: THEMATIC FUTURES |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=29 March 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=01-africas-current-path&topic=04-poverty |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cilliers2026africa, author = {Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{AFRICA CURRENT PATH: THEMATIC FUTURES}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=01-africas-current-path&topic=04-poverty}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }