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[QUOTE]Originally posted by Firewall: [QB] Newer news Africa's Blossoming Middle Class Published on Tuesday, 05 July 2011 Africa is often painted as a continent of misery, despair, and hopelessness. On a daily basis, news and pictures are presented by the media which perpetuate this image. Although media like newspapers cannot be faulted for presenting the public newsworthy events, they often paint a partial, biased picture of the continent. The result is distorted perceptions of African countries and circumstances, fuelled by stereotypes. This CAI paper highlights Africa's burgeoning middle class as key to the African Renaissance. Earlier this year, the African Development Bank (AfDB) released a report entitled "The Middle of the Pyramid: Dynamics of the Middle Class in Africa." The report shows that Africa's middle class has tripled over the last three decades to 313 million, or approximately 34% of Africa's population. It states that the rapid increase in the number of middle class citizens can be attributed to strong economic growth and a shift towards a stable, salaried job culture as well as entrepreneurial activity, as opposed to traditional agricultural activities. The continent is clearly developing itself and this paper serves to promote the fact. The AfDB report emphasizes the rapid increase in middle class citizens, which has occurred since 2000. In 1980, there were approximately 111 million middle class citizens: 26% of Africa's population. In 1990, the number had risen to 151.4 million (27%), and in 2000, to 196 million (27.2%). By 2010, the number stood at 313 million (34%).(5) The North African countries of Tunisia (90%), Morocco (85%) and Egypt (80%) had the highest percentage of middle class citizens. It is therefore not surprising that both Tunisia and Egypt toppled their oppressive governments.Botswana, Cape Verde, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, and South Africa also have a high percentage of middle class citizens. Vijay Mahajan, author of Africa Rising, terms Africa's middle class "Africa 2s" and notes that Africa's middle class collectively is approximately the same size of the middle class of India or China.Vijay uses different criteria than the AfDB to measure Africa's middle class and estimates that between 300 and 500 million of Africa's population of 1 billion can be defined as middle class. The general media has highlighted the AfDB's report. It is generally held in democratic theory that a burgeoning middle class indicates a blossoming society, and that a powerful middle class which is collectively wealthier than the elite and more numerous than the poor invariably leads to a healthy, functional, and truly democratic society which is both accountable and responsive to the needs of its citizens and centered upon ensuring the welfare of all of its citizens, which often results in greater economic growth. For example, BBC News recently highlighted the technology revolution occurring in Africa by drawing attention to Kenya's increasingly sophisticated mobile phone market, ShopAfrica53 in Ghana, and the SKA (Square Kilometre Array) in South Africa - a deep space telescope project. Africa's burgeoning middle class is a promising sign of a more prosperous Africa in the future. A burgeoning middle class is, most importantly, a sign of strong economic growth, which implies that (at least parts of) Africa have been creating the conditions that facilitate the rise of a powerful middle class. "Africa's middle class is not only crucial for economic growth but it is essential for the growth of democracy… The middle class in Africa, like everywhere else, supports democratic governments that function well and that are accountable... Africa's middle class support states that provide public services like education, health, electricity and water… Africa's middle class is strongest in countries that have robust and growing private sectors,"Vijaya Ramachandran, author of Africa's Private Sector. Although the AfDB noted that Africa's burgeoning middle class is far from becoming a powerful, established middle class and still faces the danger of slipping into poverty again, we must focus on the fact that development in Africa is occurring all the time. Africans are taking the initiative and taking important steps towards a brighter future, despite what is often portrayed by the media. The next century might just be Africa's. http://www.africagoodnews.com/africa...dle-class.html __________________________________________________________ older news Africa’s middle class: striving to develop a continent 50 years after Africa's independence boom, middle class drives economic growth, democracy. Andrew MeldrumMay 19, 2010 05:33 BOSTON — An investment analyst in Ghana who avoided life as a subsistence farmer by winning a college scholarship. [IMG] http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gp3_small_article/photos/12/Africa-Middle-Class.jpg [/IMG] A real estate agent in South Africa who sells homes to "black diamonds," as the country's upwardly mobile blacks are known. An assistant to a senator in Liberia who has a generator to provide her home with electric power. These are the faces of Africa's entrepreneurs and professionals who are driving the continent’s economic growth. They give crucial support to democracy and political stability. They are members of Africa's middle class. Fifty years after the phenomenon of African independence brought an end to colonial rule, the African middle class has taken advantage of educational and professional opportunities to improve their status and to seek better futures for their families. The continent's middle class does not often make international headlines nor is it much studied by academics, but the group is key to the continent’s progress, according to economists and political scientists. As the World Cup kicks off in Johannesburg on June 11, Africans around the world are celebrating that their continent is hosting the world’s biggest sports tournament for the first time. But more than that, from the Congo to Cape Town, Africans are reveling in the sign that the continent has come of age and is offering more opportunities to its people. Since 1960, when 17 African countries achieved independence from French and British colonial rule, the continent has struggled to find its way forward. International headlines have often portrayed Africa in harsh terms of violence, dictatorships, famine and disaster. With this series on Africa’s middle class, GlobalPost is focusing on the millions of unheralded Africans who make up the center of the continent’s economic and social pyramid. The middle class is widely acknowledged to be Africa's future, the group that is crucial to the continent's economic and political development. But it is difficult to define exactly who is in the key group and even harder still to establish how many middle class there are in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Bank estimates that Africa's middle class is small but will grow to reach 43 million by 2030. Other experts say the middle class is much larger, at 300 million, representing the population that is between the masses of Africa's poorest and the continent's elite few. Africa's middle class is not the same as the middle class in the U.S. or Europe. They have escaped the poverty and hunger of many Africans. They want their own homes, cars and televisions. “Africa’s middle class is the great economic engine that will drive development across the continent,” said Vijay Mahajan, whose book, “Africa Rising,” describes the social phenomenon. “The growth of Africa’s middle class greatly accelerated after the independence of African nations in the 1960s.” He describes the “Africa 1s” as the elite wealthy class and the “Africa 3s” are the very poor, existing on less than $1 dollar a day. In the middle are the “Africa 2s,” who, Mahajan explains, “want to do better, who are optimistic and forward-thinking. These are the nurses, teachers, small business people, civil servants, workers in the hospitality industry.” Between 300 million and 500 million of Africa’s 1 billion people are defined as "Africa 2s" by Mahajan. “The Africa 2s are driving the economic growth of the continent. They are building modern Africa,” said Mahajan. “They are the ones who send their kids to schools and count on education to improve their lives. And this emerging African middle class, made up of all nationalities taken together, is roughly the size of the middle class in India or China. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/a...elop-continent [/QB][/QUOTE]
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