Today nearly three-quarters of Africans live in either an urban or semiurban setting, according to new UN methodology that applies a consistent global definition. Some 42% live in cities. There are 88 African cities with more than 1mn people, according to the UN, 17 in Nigeria alone.
In 1950, there were 228mn people living in Africa, with about 33mn in cities. Today there are 1.6bn Africans, 19% of the world’s total, of whom 670mn live in cities. Almost unnoticed, Africa has become an urban story, explains the FT’s David Pilling.
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