Editor's note: This column is part of an ongoing series that explores the opportunities and risks provided by Africa's expected population boom in the coming decades. In the first part, we outline the factors that will indicate countries' preparedness and capacity to positively adapt to their demographic growth, which we'll then use to analyze the impacts on specific sub-Saharan nations in future parts of this series. At a time when many countries around the world are grappling with demographic declines , Africa remains poised for rapid population growth. According to the United Nations' 2022 World Population Prospect report, countries in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to ''contribute more than half of the global population increase anticipated through 2050.'' Sub-Saharan Africa's population is currently growing at 2.7% per year, more than twice as fast as South Asia (1.2%) and Latin America (0.9%).