CHINESE WORKER PRESENCE IN AFRICA HITS RECORD LOW

The number of Chinese workers across Africa has dropped significantly to its lowest level in more than a decade, Voice of America reported, citing data from China's National Bureau of Statistics.

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Earlier in 2015, 263,696 workers were recorded on the continent, which drastically declined to 88,371 in 2022.

The China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University analysed data from 2009 to 2022 and attributed the drop in numbers partially to the pandemic, as Chinese workers left during that period and the country only reopened in early 2023.

However, the drop in numbers is also due to a variety of other factors, according to the experts, including oil prices and the downscaling of Chinese leader Xi Jinping's global Belt and Road Initiative, which initially saw thousands of Chinese sent out across the continent to work on large infrastructure projects.