Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
population now lives in cities, while in some countries of Southern, Western and Central
Africa the percentage of population living in urban areas is between 33 and 37%. East
Africa is the least urbanized sub-region with 23% of the population living in urban areas.
(UN Population Division 1997).
At the time of colonial occupation in much of Sub-Saharan Africa, urban population
settlements emerged as administrative and trading centers, not only on domestic trade
routes but also in international trade. Urban centers further developed due to the
establishment of infrastructure, especially railways, which have been developed to
connect ports to their hinterlands. This legacy was followed after the independence of
most of the African countries, which influenced the pattern of urban settlements, the
Table 3.1. Urban population growths in the South
African region.
Country
Population in
1995 (Millions)
Urban population
(%)
Urban population
growth (%)
Total
population
growth (%)
1980
1987
1995
1980
1987
1995
Angola
10.8
21.0
26.0
32.2
6.0
5.7
5.7
3.1
Botswana
1.5
15.1
21.7
30.8
8.5
8.6
7.2
2.9
Lesotho
2.0
13.3
17.4
23.1
6.6
6.7
6.0
2.3
Malawi
9.8
9.1
11.0
13.5
6.7
5.9
5.6
3.0
Mozambique
16.2
13.1
22.4
34.2
11.6
9.7
7.8
1.9
Namibia
1.5
22.8
28.8
37.4
4.7
5.9
6.0
2.7
South Africa
41.5
48.1
48.7
50.8
2.6
2.6
2.8
2.2
Tanzania
29.6
14.8
18.9
24.4
11.0
6.9
6.3
3.1
Zambia
9.0
39.8
41.3
43.1
6.0
4.2
3.7
2.7
Zimbabwe
11.0
22.3
26.5
32.1
5.5
5.9
5.1
2.7
Source: World Bank (1997)
nature of urban built up, and the process by which urban development was administered.
Recent patterns and trends in the urban population growth rate of some African countries
are given in Table 3.1.
In Zimbabwe, urban growth has been very rapid since the 1970's following the
relaxation of pre-independence population influx control. In recent years, urban areas
accommodate about 30% of the total population and are growing at the rate of 5.4% per
annum. Most of the larger urban areas in Zimbabwe show the characteristic manifestation
of rapid urbanization in the third world, such as chronic unemployment levels, acute
housing shortages and inadequate municipal service infrastructure. The result has been a
tremendous pressure on municipal councils to provide adequate service, such as housing
amenities and waste management (Drakakis-Smith & Kirell 1990)
