In April 2011, AfDB published an interesting new research report on Africa's class structure, with particular reference to a burgeoning Middle Class. All key observers of the African continent -- which, suddenly, is no longer 'Dark' but resource-rich -- are, it seems, captivated by this rapidly visible class, and intrigued by what it all means for the future prosperity of a troubled Global Village.
The typical model of a class structure is a pyramid. Only in developed countries such as the US is it a diamond. Trends in Africa suggest that the diamond motif is soon to reveal itself. Not only that: the size of Africa's Middle Class, as defined, threatens to surpass in the near future, if it has not done so already, the entire population of Western Europe (or EU) -- not to mention the US itself. And it is practically neck-and-neck with China's.
There'll still be debate, of course, about real purchasing power and relative baskets of goods, but when did all that social change sneak in? How is it even possible? [Click here to read the report]
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