Although many of the continent’s problems persist, social, economic and political improvements since the end of the cold war are gathering pace
the gap between success and failure, between finishing high school or dropping out, requires a lot of determination and the cost of a cow. Jack Oyugi grew up as the oldest of 14 children to parents tilling an acre of ground in western Kenya. Their crops usually gave them enough to eat—neighbours would feed them if food ran short—but they had little cash. When Mr Oyugi went to secondary school his father sold his only cow to pay the fees. “The neighbours laughed at him,” he says.
In 1885, when the colonial powers carved up Africa, it had fewer than 100m people, or about one-third the number in Europe. Today there are almost two Africans for every European. Some outsiders see this rapidly growing population as a recipe for disaster. Although the poverty rate is falling, about a third of children are still malnourished. This leaves many of them with stunted bodies and diminished mental capacities. Every month about one million Africans enter the job market.
The continent has disappointed before. Thabo Mbeki, at his inauguration as president of South Africa in 1999, spoke of entering “the African century”. Even after the global financial crisis, rapid growth in Africa gave hope of sustained progress, albeit from a low base.
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