When some hear the name Africa, civil wars, droughts, diseases, epidemics, malnutrition, global warming and illiteracy come to mind. Corruption is another definition of some African countries whereby people have to bribe their way to get services from civil offices and even in hospitals. Although these are some of the things that are quite common in Africa, it is a continent of contrasts that has proved things will not be the same in a century to come. Africa in the 21st century is set to have improved in a significant way considering the amount of cultivable land, the natural resources available, the percentage of secondary school enrollment and an energetic population. Although the growth of the continent has stagnated for a few decades, it has had rapid growth before and statistics show that the growths have eventually started. With this in mind, the continent is set to grow faster than Asia.

Things that will have changed in Africa in the 21st century 

It is clear that living standards of many will have improved according to the current reports. This is mainly attributed to the rise of the middle class where more than 60 percent of the countries will be middle income. Due to the increased trade with the east, private investments and businesses will also be on the rise. This will have a significant impact on the economy of most countries since most families will be able to put food on their tables. Poverty levels will also have gone down.

Education in Africa is being revolutionized and that is one reason in the Africa in the 21st century, the illiteracy levels will be very low. Over 80 percent of the population will have been enrolled in primary and secondary schools. In universities, distance learning is already been practised and this has seen many more people enrol especially those that cannot attend classes.

Besides human development, one of the other challenges of most African countries is infrastructure. Modern cities and malls out of the main towns are being constructed. This can clearly be seen in Kenya where there is a huge increase in shopping malls and the standard gauge railway that started operating recently. In the 21st century, the intra-African trade will be a level higher since, with various infrastructure projects across the 54 countries, people and goods will move with ease.

Africa’s revenue from oil will be over 200 billion dollars. This is because it is a continent that has undiscovered sources of oil. Currently, only less than 30 percent of the oil has been discovered. The discovery will transform the economy of many countries. As oil discovery continues, Africa in the 21st century will become a big producer and exporter of natural gas.

Africa is embracing technology in a huge way. As the economies are growing, there is a significant rise of service industries. The highest percentage will own mobile devices and more people will have access to the internet. This will also improve how people get services in Africa in the 21st century.