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Africa’s population hits one billion

Africa’s population hits one billion

It’s official: the UN says the number of people in Africa has passed the one-billion mark, which means the continent's population doubled in the last 27 years. The world body puts part of this growth down to the fact that many women cannot plan their families – both for cultural reasons and the lack of modern facilities. Nigeria’s and Uganda’s populations are growing the fastest. The latter country was ravaged by HIV/Aids until an effective programme brought the infection rate down. It appears that a large young population within a large population is an African phenomenon. The UN report says the world's population currently stands at about 6.8 billion, with Africa's people estimated to reach 1.9 billion by 2050. Read more: BBC, AFP

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