Opinion | Does Africa need to be more than an afterthought? – The Washington Post

Another day, another coup somewhere in Africa — or at least that’s how it sometimes seems. Africa typically makes headlines only when there is a military coup against an elected government. An expanse of the continent, stretching from Guinea in the west to Sudan in the east, has earned the unfortunate sobriquet “the coup belt.” But how accurate is that characterization?
Soldiers in Niger overthrew President Mohamed Bazoum in July , precipitating a crisis with the United States, which had a drone base in the country, and soldiers in Gabon staged a coup against newly reelected President Ali Bongo in August. Those were the only two coups of 2023. (An attempted coup in Guinea-Bissau in late November failed.)
Yet the relative absence of coups is only so impressive.
The global “year of elections” also extends to Africa. Though not all of them might be considered truly competitive — and there might not be changes of power as we saw most recently in South Africa — the majority are expected to return long-serving incumbents to power, some of whom have held office for years, giving Africa its reputation for having entrenched “big men” rulers.
Once again, the picture is more complex than stereotype might suggest. The longest serving African leader, 82-year-old Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, has ruled since staging a coup in 1979, then being elected president in 1982 as the only candidate on the ballot. Cameroonian leader Paul Biya, 91, is runner up, being named president in 1982. Rulers in Uganda, Eswatini, Eritrea, Lesotho, Republic of Congo, Djibouti and Morocco round out the list.
But only a relative handful of African nations have such long-entrenched leaders.
Africa’s often troubled political landscape hasn’t always stopped its economic growth. The International Monetary Fund predicts that, of the 20 countries with the world’s fastest 2024 growth rates, nine will be in Africa, making the continent the world’s second-fastest growing after Asia.
Despite its political turmoil and sanctions, Niger surprisingly is expected to be the third-fastest-growing economy in the world at more than 11 percent, and the fastest-growing in Africa. Why? It has massive oil deposits, and a pipeline to Benin has just been completed.
The continent’s fast growing economy is also helped by its relatively young workforce and growing population, coming as many developed countries experience worryingly low birth rates.
Africa already accounts for nearly 18 percent of the world population; the continent is expected to boast 2.5 billion people by 2050 — only 26 years from now. Asia, with 5.2 billion people, should still be larger, but Asia’s population will start to quickly fall after 2050.
So, Africa as a whole is growing more important economically, as the world’s largest source of global growth and as a region with a rapidly expanding population of millions of new, young consumers. Is the United States ready to take advantage of this expanding market?
U.S. two-way trade with the Netherlands last year was roughly $120 billion. U.S. trade with France was $107 billion. But U.S. trade with Africa amounted to just $67.5 billion.
Various U.S. officials, from President Biden on down, have said they recognize Africa’s growing importance and want to increase trade and investment to the continent. The main vehicle discussed is the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the landmark 2000 law aimed at promoting trade and development and reducing poverty on the continent by opening U.S. markets to over 6,000 African goods. In its 24 years, AGOA has boosted trade between the United States and Africa, but only a handful of countries have benefited, mainly South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Lesotho and Madagascar. The U.S. Senate is considering extending the program.
The trade numbers show that, for now, Africa remains more of an economic afterthought. The African Century — sometimes called a “youthquake” is coming. It has the potential to reshape the world economic order, whether the United States likes it or not. America had better get ready.
An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly identified the Republic of Congo as the Democratic Republic of Congo. This version has been updated.

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