Identifying the Middle Classes: Diversity, Specificities and Consumption Practices Under Pressure
The international viewpoint on the African continent has profoundly changed in the last decade. Images advertised by the media drifted from afro-pessimism - the sad fate of Africa (wars and poverty) - to afro-optimism - a brighter future for the continent.
Today's economic achievements foster a global but limited enrichment of people in Africa, and the number of households benefitting from a discretionary income is likely to increase from 50% in the next 10 years to reach 128 million. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has published a report claiming that 300 million Africans now belong to the middle class; that is 1 person out of 3 on the continent. This declaration has been followed by a real infatuation for these so-called "African middle classes" [1]. They have become a classic reference of investment consultancy firms, economic and financial magazines, international organisations of development. They seem to foresee in the emergence of these middle classes the premises of a virtuous cycle of growth and development.
[1]. African Development Bank (AfDB), The Middle of the Pyramid: Dynamics of the Middle Class in Africa, avril 2011.
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Identifying the Middle Classes: Diversity, Specificities and Consumption Practices Under Pressure
Author(s)
Clélie NALLET
Ancienne Chercheur au Centre Afrique Subsaharienne de l'Ifri
