Africa: key energy supplier and major market for the EU

Africa’s population growth has far outstripped that of Europe. And according to new projections by Eurostat,  it will continue to do so.

The large continent 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%.

Key export markets
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.

Mobile Phones
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.

Read full report EU-27 and Africa: selected indicators, comparisons and trends >>