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AFRICAPOLIS: Urbanization study in West Africa (1950-2020)

The AFRICAPOLIS study provides an important knowledge update on urbanization in West Africa. It is supported by AFD (Africa department) and coordinated by SEDET (Developing Societies in Space and Time) teams (CNRS/ Université Paris Diderot).

The project is innovative and ambitious. It crosses demographic data, lists of cities, satellite pictures, identifies inhabited areas and integrates West Africa into a global cities database (e-Geopolis). Maps and results from this geostatistical approach make a marked improvement on the way African urbanization is usually interpreted, such as can be seen with UN statistics. They highlight modes of urbanization that development partners need to know about: from a “metropolization from the top”, urban sprawl in major cities, to an “urbanization from the bottom”, which results from the gradual slowing down of the rural exodus against a backdrop of strong demographic pressure. Summary of main results.

The Africapolis report is widely illustrated with maps and photos and includes:

Full report

Country sheets

Atlas

Executive summary

Agence Française de Développement

AFRICAPOLIS: Urbanization study in West Africa (1950-2020)