The economic gap between Africa and the rest of the world is growing

In many ways, there has never been a better time to be born African. Since 1960, average life expectancy has risen by more than half, from 41 years to 64. The share of children dying before their fifth birthday has fallen by three-quarters. The proportion of young Africans attending university has risen nine-fold since 1970. African culture is being recognised worldwide; in the 2020s African authors have won the Booker prize, the Prix Goncourt and the Nobel prize for literature. This year the g20 will hold its first summit on the continent, in South Africa. All of this progress augurs well for the world’s youngest and liveliest continent.