Sub-Saharan Africa's Urban Awakening: Catalyzing Economic Growth and Job Creation

By Elaine Ding, Amanda Devercelli, Magdalena Bendini

Over the next 25 years, Sub-Saharan Africa will add 748 million people to its urban areas, by which time nearly 80 percent of its population will be urban. The key question which this report addresses is how can Sub-Saharan Africa's national and local policymakers best leverage this rapid urbanization to generate both transformative economic growth and new jobs for its young and rapidly expanding workforce? The report focuses on practical and innovative policy solutions to the region's most urgent urban challenges. These solutions aim to deliver quick results, while working within the limits that policymakers face, including weak institutions and scarce resources.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1464817413
• ISBN13: 9781464817410
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: World Bank Publications
• Length: 200 Pages