English for Diplomacy: Africa - challenges and opportunities

In 2025, Africa faces challenges including low GDP levels, poverty, hunger malnutrition, high debt distress, youth unemployment, and poor foundational learning outcomes, even as the continent experiences resilient economic growth projected to be between 3.7% and 4.1%. Other significant issues include political unrest, terrorism, cybersecurity threats, and climate change impacts, alongside the need to improve the quality and accessibility of education and the need to create sufficient jobs for a young population.

Economic challenges

In 2025, Africa accounts for approximately 18.8% of the global population, while its share of global trade is significantly lower, estimated at around 2-3%. This disparity highlights the large and growing population on the continent compared to its relatively small contribution to global trade. Africa is, likewise, projected to account for only 2.46% of the world's nominal GDP in 2025 and 5.64% of the global GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

AfCFTA: While the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) aims to boost regional integration, its full implementation is necessary to help address other key challenges like energy access, food security, and industrialization.

Intra-Africa trade remains low in 2025, largely due to persistent challenges like weak infrastructure and the slow pace of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) implementation, though progress is being made. Despite historical low rates (around 18% in 2022), the AfCFTA offers a framework for growth by aiming to unite the continent's economies. Key issues holding back trade include infrastructure deficits, geopolitical instability, and the need for more formalized cross-border transactions, even as initiatives like the Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) work to accelerate progress.

See https://mcbgroup.com/think/article/trade-report-2025-intra-trade

https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/africa-population/

Debt: The number of sub-Saharan African countries in or at high risk of debt distress nearly tripled from 2014 to 2025, with external debt service costs rising significantly.

Unemployment: Despite economic growth, the pace is insufficient to create enough quality jobs for a rapidly growing young workforce, contributing to high unemployment and underemployment rates.

Inflation: While double-digit inflation has fallen sharply, it remains a concern, and external factors like global trade policy uncertainty and declining investor appetite pose risks.

Social and environmental challenges

Education: A major challenge is the low level of foundational learning, with only 10.8% of children achieving the minimum proficiency in reading and math by the end of primary school.

Peace and Security: The continent faces ongoing security crises, including increased political unrest and terrorism, especially in the Central Sahel region.

Climate Change: Climate change is a major risk, particularly for the agriculture and forestry sectors.

Inequality: Income inequality remains a challenge, with wealth concentrated in the hands of a few.

Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity is identified as the top risk area by businesses in 2025, with 64% of respondents listing it among their top risks.

Institutional and governance challenges

Weak Institutions: Weak institutions continue to hinder development across the continent.

https://www.afsic.net/challenges-faced-by-african-countries-today/

https://www.jaynevytours.com/why-africa-is-still-poor.html?srsltid=AfmBOopMTGA__b6tuHv76fRnGWsguQiHV9ENTOkCmPi8mq_2NjA8mK69

https://acleddata.com/update/africa-overview-september-2025

https://africarelief.org/blogs/current-issues-in-africa

https://we.hse.ru/mirror/pubs/share/998626243.pdf

https://www.ispionline.it/en/research/africa

Poverty (both extreme and moderate) affects some regions much more than others. In fact, in 2024, while the extreme poverty rate for Sub-Saharan Africa reached 46.0 per cent, it was under 1 per cent for Europe and Central Asia and North America. Using the higher poverty line of $8.3 per day, in 2024, the vast majority of people in Sub-Saharan Africa (89.0 per cent) lived in poverty.

Indeed, while Sub-Saharan Africa constituted in 2024 only 15.9 per cent of the world’s population, it was home to 70.7 per cent of the world’s extremely poor population, and 30.5 per cent of the world’s population living on less than $8.3 per day.

From https://ilostat.ilo.org/those-left-behind-the-forgotten-in-the-fight-against-global-poverty/

https://www.dw.com/en/un-warns-of-rising-hunger-across-africa/a-73454420

https://www.who.int/news/item/28-07-2025-global-hunger-declines-but-rises-in-africa-and-western-asia-un-report

https://www.unicef.org/esa/press-releases/13-million-children-malnourished-eastern-and-southern-africa-2025

https://www.humanium.org/en/millions-of-children-at-risk-of-missing-school-as-the-2025-academic-year-begins/

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/06/16/africa-insufficient-domestic-funding-hinders-education-progress

https://www.unicef.org/wca/press-releases/education-under-crisis-school-closures-nearly-double-five-years-west-and-central

https://www.ecofinagency.com/news-services/2710-49873-africa-s-youth-jobless-rate-beats-europe-s-but-most-jobs-remain-precarious

https://www.africanleadershipmagazine.co.uk/africas-brain-drain-the-true-cost-of-talent-migration/?q=merck-foundation-chief-executive-officer-ceo-together-with-african-first-ladies-africa-mark-world-health-day-2025-by-providing-over-2250-scholarships-to-doctors-across-africa-and-beyond&pr=337112&lang=fr

https://accessh.org/opinions/the-future-of-healthcare-in-africa-challenges-and-opportunities/

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2025/10/africa-after-usaid-who-will-pay-health-bill

https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/75b7a7306a5eb1adb3fc93683ffe55b9-0360012024/original/Challenges-and-0Opportunities-in-Africas-Health-Sector-090424-jp.pdf