Thoughts about Africa can fall into cliches.

There's the romanticized image of endless natural beauty,

waterfalls, rainforests, golden savannas dotted by elephants and lions.

And then there's this idea of Africa as a perpetual humanitarian tragedy,

famine, epidemics, violent coups, and bitter tribal conflicts.

Yes, Africa has all of these.

But the problem with cliches is that they often make you miss the real story.

And the real story is that the world itself is becoming more African. Fast.

Projections show that by 2050 Africa's current population of 1.4 billion will double. That means that one out of

every four people on earth might be African just 30 years from now. Throughout

this vast continent country after country is undergoing an enormous youth bulge.

In several, more than half the population would not be old enough to buy alcohol in the United

States.

In Uganda, the median age is 15.

Some see a future in which this massive youthful population propels African nations onto the global stage in a way that could mirror the rise of China.

But other experts say that without massive new job opportunities,

this rapid growth is a recipe for poverty, radicalization,

and violent conflict. I'm Gabriel Sierra and this is why it matters.

Today the world's African future.

Africa's population is growing fast.

This population will be dominated by one continent, Africa.

While the boom in numbers brings opportunities there are also many challenges like all those

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