Africa, along with Asia, is the epicenter of global urbanization. It is undergoing a rapid urban transition and is set to be the fastest urbanizing region in the coming decades. In 1990 only a third of Africa’s population was urban (31 per cent)—by 2035, the figure is projected to reach 49 per cent. This shift has profound implications for achieving the continental and global targets for inclusive growth and transformation, including Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. Theory and global experience show that urbanization and structural transformation are closely linked—but less so in Africa, which has largely followed its own urbanizing path weakly tied to structural transformation, including industrialization. It has thus lost many opportunities for enhanced growth and productivity, for poverty reduction and for social development. 

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