The Demography of Sub-Saharan Africa from the 1950s to the 2000s: a Survey of Change and a Statistical Assessment
Author(s)
Tabutin, Dominique; Schoumaker, Bruno
Abstract
Sub-Saharan Africa (48 states, 50 countries(‘), 700 million people in 2004, and close to 22 million sq. km.) was long considered by demographers to be a relatively homogeneous region that withstood the sociodemographic changes that had been occurring in a large part of the world since the 1950s or the 1960s. During the 1970s, African demography or the population of Tropical Africa was characterized overall by early and universal marriage, high fertility and excessive mortality, and finally rapid growth. Since then, however, the situation has changed, and Africa is no longer an exception. For the most part, it has entered the demographic transition process.
