More than one in three Africans have entered the
middle class in the past decade, and their
numbers are set to increase thanks to rapid
economic growth, a study showed Monday.
At least 370 million Africans, or 34 percent of
the continent’s 1.1 billion people, are described
as members of the middle class, according to a
survey by the African Development Bank.
In turn, the bulging middle class will help drive
further economic growth and development, the
Tunis-based AfDB said.
By 2060 the group should represent 42 percent
of the population, according to the study
launched in Johannesburg nearly 20 years ago.
“There is a stable middle class and it is
growing,” said Mthuli Ncube, the AfDB’s chief
economist and a senior research fellow with
Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of
Government.
“It is a big driver for investment in Africa,” he
added at a news conference in Johannesburg.
The International Monetary Fund forecasts that
Africa’s economic growth, boosted by rising
investment in natural resources and
infrastructure, will reach 5.1 percent this year, up
from 4.7 percent in 2013.
It should climb to 5.8 percent next year, the IMF
predicts.
The study, which defined the middle class as
having a purchasing power parity of between
$2.20 and $20 (15 euros) a day, found that the
middle class is strongest in countries with a
robust and growing private sector.
North Africa leads the pack with at least 77
percent of its population counted among the
middle class, surprisingly followed by the central
African region at 36 percent of its people falling
in that category — though many are considered
to be vulnerable.
The southern African region, home to the
continent’s most developed economy, South
Africa, is in third place, level with west Africa
with around 34 percent of their people classified
as middle class.
East African countries are at the bottom of the
ranking, having just a quarter of their nationals in
the middle class.
Consumption and ownership of items such as a
television set, car and refrigerator, and the type
of flooring in dwellings were among the
yardsticks used to define the class.
Other measurements included access to
electricity, sources of drinking water and types
of toilets.
Based on a survey of 37 African countries, the
study polled nearly 800,000 households and
concluded that most of the countries saw a rise
in the size of the middle class over the past
decade.
source= www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/one-three-africans-entered-middle-class-study/