Under pressure Tanzania struggles to cope with rapid population growth

Rush hour in Mbagala, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, throws the quarter into a frenzy. Buses spill over with commuters and crowds fill the streets. A line of vendors, under gazebos bunched up side by side, sell clothes, fruit and vegetables, shoes and grilled chicken.

- Caroline Kimeu

Mbagala is a hotspot for small traders. But even as they reap the benefits of the crowds of commuters passing through the neighbourhood each day, vendors say the area is facing growing congestion, rising petty crime and increased environmental waste.

As the global population reaches 8 billion today, the effects of Tanzania's rapid growth are evident. The population has increased by 37% over the past 10 years to about 63 million according to the latest UN figures, and is expected to grow between 2% and 3% a year until 2050.

Tanzania will be one of eight countries, including five in Africa, responsible for more than half the increase in global population over the next three decades. According to UN projections, sub-Saharan Africa's population will nearly double to more than 2 billion by the middle of the century. The region is growing three times faster than the global average and, by 2070, it will become the most populous place globally, surpassing Asia.

Africa has the youngest population of any continent, which experts suggest could be a boon or worsen poverty, depending how countries leverage this age group for economic growth.

Dar es Salaam, the former Tanzanian capital, is one of the world's fastest-growing cities, and is expected to double its population by 2050 to more than 10 million, ranking it alongside such megacities as Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lagos in Nigeria and Cairo in Egypt.