By the end of the century 12 of the world’s most populous countries will be African, and South Africa will be among them.

This is according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center, a non-partisan American think tank.

According to Pew, in 1950, there were only two African countries in the 25 most populous countries in the world. These were Nigeria, at 14th, and Egypt, at 20th. By 2026, there were six African countries in the top 25: Nigeria at 6th; Ethiopia at 10th; Egypt at 13th; the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) at 15th; Tanzania at 21st; and South Africa at 24th.

By 2100, 12 of the world’s most populous countries will be African. These will be Nigeria (4th-most populous); DRC (5th); Ethiopia (7th); Tanzania (9th); Egypt (11th); Angola (13th); Sudan (14th); Uganda (18th); Kenya (21st); Mozambique (22nd); Côte d’Ivoire (23rd); and South Africa (25th).

In 2100, the three most populous countries in the world are expected to be India, China, and Pakistan.

Africa is one of the only world regions where the population is growing. In most of the world, women now have too few babies to maintain current population levels. But this is not the case in Africa.

The current fertility rate in Africa (the average number of children a woman will have in her lifetime) is 3.9, with the population of Africa reaching 3.8 billion by 2100. The global population will be just over 10 billion in that year, according to projections. Africa currently has 1.6 billion people.

However, Africa’s fertility rate has been declining over the past few decades. In the early 1970s, Africa’s fertility rate was 6.7, and is projected to decline to 2.8 by 2050, and to 2.0 by the end of the century (for a population to remain stable the fertility rate must be 2.1).

Most of the world’s young people will also be living in Africa by 2100. In 2026, about a quarter of the world’s young people (people younger than 25) are living in Africa; by 2100 this will have grown to 46%.

Africa is poised to see rapid economic development this century, with a growing population and large proportion of increasingly better-educated young people. Africa is also one of the world’s fastest-growing regions economically, making it well placed to harness this demographic dividend.

Research conducted by The Common Sense shows that over the past two decades the share of African children who have completed primary school increased from about 50% to nearer 70%, while the higher education enrolment rate has doubled in the past 20 years, from 4% to 9%, although this is still far behind the global average of close to 40%.

Urbanisation is another factor that could contribute to Africa’s development. In 1900, just 10% of Africa’s population lived in urban areas. By 2000, that had risen to just under 40%. The figure now stands at just under 50%. Over the next 75 years or so, up until 2100, some 80% of Africa’s population growth will likely be absorbed in the continent’s cities, The Common Sense research shows, making for the world’s fastest-growing urban consumer market.