EU-27 and Africa: selected indicators, comparisons and trends 2009-2010

This publication compares EU27 and Africa based on selected indicators. Africa’s population growth has far outstripped that of Europe and projections suggest it will continue to do so. Africa is expected to represent 15% of the world population by 2050 compared with 10.8% in 1980. At the same time, the share of EU-27 in the world population is forecast to fall from 10.3% to 7.3%.

The EU-27 deficit in trade with Africa is due to imports of mineral fuels, crude oil and natural gas. South Africa and the North African countries were key African markets for EU-27 exports. The mobile-phone market has risen strongly in both the EU-27 and Africa since 2002, with a tenfold rise in Africa. In 2009, 43.9% of the African population owned a mobile phone compared with 4.3% in 2002.