Introduction: Why Europe Needs Africa (and Africa Needs Europe)

In 2017, Africa’s population under twenty-five years old surpassed the total population of Europe. By 2050, Africa will have added 796 million people to the workforce, while Europe’s working-age population (aged sixteen to sixty-four) will decline by 156 million.1 Europe is aging while Africa’s youth population booms. This demographic transformation is perhaps the defining shift that could recast the fortunes of the two continents, which are separated, at the closest point between Morocco and Spain, by just 14 kilometers (less than 9 miles).2 Labor shortages and pension costs are already impacting the credit ratings of European countries,3 while the massive demand for employment in the African continent will have significant implications—positive and negative—in terms of migration, stability, future market potential, and economic dynamism.