Why Western and Middle Eastern powers should pay their Swahili coast debts now
Growing African demographics and rising global acknowledgment of slavery are intensifying calls for reparations as global power shifts toward a younger, more populous Africa.
The trend of either apologising for slavery or acknowledging the need for reparations, from Western leaders to the Pope, is slowly growing louder. Some of it is genuine enlightenment. Much of it is cold calculation, shaped by a looming world where Africa is the most populous continent, with the youngest people, while Europe and Asia age and shrink.
Demographics tell the story. By 2050, Africa will hold more than a quarter of humanity, rising to nearly 40 percent by 2100. Europe and East Asia’s median age will hover above 45; Africa’s will remain at 19. The workers, consumers, and innovators of the future will overwhelmingly be African.
