Despite AIDS Scourge, African Working-Age Population Is Growing

On Wednesday in Washington, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that despite the toll of HIV/AIDS, sub-Saharan Africa's working-age population is growing and should continue to do so during the coming 40 years.

After falling from 5.4 percent in 2004 to 4.8 percent this year, the region's economic growth should climb to 5.9 percent in 2006. If that increase is achieved, it "would be the strongest economic expansion in sub-Saharan Africa since the early 1970s," the IMF said.

Africa's fight against the effects of poverty and natural disasters could be helped by positive demographic changes that are defying the epidemic. "The share of the working-age population in sub-Saharan Africa is starting to rise and is projected to increase substantially over the next 40-50 years despite the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has taken a terrible toll on human life in the region," the report said.

The proportion of working-age people in the region has risen from 50 percent in 1990 to almost 55 percent today and should climb to 65 percent by 2050, the IMF said.

However, the IMF cautioned, in order to take advantage of this trend, sub-Saharan Africa needs a "vibrant private sector-based" economy founded on open trade and administrative transparency.

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