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12 Misconceptions About Africa’s Middle Class

12 Misconceptions About Africa’s Middle Class

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Across the world middle class citizens are mainly categorized on the basis of income and lifestyle. It is the socio-economic cadre of people between upper class (wealthy) and the working class.

In Africa, 18 million people are considered to be in the Middle class. This is 3.3 percent of the continent’s total population. About 4.5 million of the middle class lives in South Africa, which is one of the most developed nations on the continent.

Below are 12 misconceptions about the middle class in Africa.

Sources; Business Insider, New African, CNN Money, Quartz Africa, The World Bank, The Economist, News Day, Mail & Guardian Africa, Deutsche Welle, BBC

Image: un.org
Image: un.org

It’s not as big as once thought

Leading corporate organizations in the world have been considerably shedding their workforce on the continent. Others have completely pulled out. Global banking institution, Barclays Plc is exiting Africa after putting up its 62.3 percent shares on sale. Food giant, Nestle sent 15 percent of its workforce home in 21 countries. These decisions are a proof that the market base, which is predominantly middle class is not as big as once thought. The class is not growing as once perceived and is also small.

AfDB holds a tech innovation weekend in Cote d'Ivoire. Photo: ihub.co.ke
AfDB holds a tech innovation weekend in Cote d’Ivoire. Photo: ihub.co.ke

AfDB bloated the figures

In 2011, African Development Bank (AfDB) released a report that showed about 350 million Africans were middle class citizens. Subsequent researches have painted grim pictures. In 2015, Credit Suisse, a Swiss bank classified about 18 million to belong to this socio-economic demographic group. Standard Bank, a leading banking institution on the continent, only 15 million households in the 11 biggest African economies are middle class citizens.

thenewage.co.za
thenewage.co.za

Most African countries have low wages

Most African countries such as Ethiopia have low wages, cheap power and a huge human workforce. The availability of abundant cheap labor has drawn international companies into the continent.

Mariah Carey sings for Red Cross Angola (Image: VOA)
Mariah Carey sings for Red Cross Angola (Image: VOA)

Economic growth is in few hands

Out of the 10 fastest growing economies in the world in 2015, three were in Africa. These are Ethiopia, Rwanda and Angola. They are all led by authoritarian regimes. This economic growth in these countries is not representative of the well-being of the entire nation. Much of the economic power is concentrated in the hands of the political elite and their cronies. Corruption and poverty are endemic. The rest of the citizens still struggle to make ends meet.

poverty
Healthpovertyaction.org

There has been an increase in poverty levels

The growth of Africa’s middle class starkly contradicts a ballooning rise in poverty levels. In the 1990s, about 284 million Africans lived in poverty. The number has drastically grown over the years. Currently, at least 340 million people live in poverty which asks questions on why the purported growth of middle class has not translated to a reduction in the continent’s poverty circle. The economic rise in Africa has not led to a fall in poverty.

Angola's oil slump
Angolan kids play football in an abandoned house in a poor neighborhood outside Tundavala Stadium, Angola. Photo: Gianluigi Guercia/Getty

The cost of living has increased, Wages haven’t

Middle class citizens are considered to spend at least $10 per day. The increased cost of living means that even people living in informal settlements like slums must spend this amount to meet basic needs on a daily basis. Spending more than $10 day is driven by demands rather than the ability to freely spend it. It is the line between death and survival and no longer definition of middle class in Africa.

Shoppers at the Nairobi's Garden  (Photo: Kevin Mwanza)
Shoppers at the Nairobi’s Garden (Photo: Kevin Mwanza)

Most Africans in cities live beyond their means

In South Africa, where about a quarter of the continent’s middle class is found, the lifestyle is not so rosy. Nearly half of the middle class (about 4.5 million people) lives beyond their monthly means.

Bob and Don Manonga. Photo: Dstv.com
Bob and Don Manonga. Photo: Dstv.com

Middle class growth is not evenly spread

The middle class population is about 18 million. About 78 percent of them (14.1 million) live in six nations; South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Nigeria. The rest live in 48 countries. The growth of middle class is not evenly spread across the continent and there are huge disparities, especially between the big economies and the smaller rising ones.

ThinkStockPhotos
ThinkStockPhotos

Unaffordable luxuries

Middle class citizens are regarded to have access to trappings such as good and healthy diets and television sets. That’s not the case in Africa. For example, in Gambia only one in every four people in the middle class owns a television set.

From Huffing Post
From Huffing Post

Ambiguity in definition

Africa’s middle class is not well-defined. A class of people whose daily expenditure is between $2-$10 raises more questions than answers. The affordability of basic needs in developed world is not a measure of belonging to the middle class, while it is the case in Africa.

sajobs

Most have uncertain future

A popular belief is that middle class citizens enjoy life due to possession of good housing, cars and other luxuries. In Africa, most of them have uncertain futures. They live from salary to salary in the hope that no family member or relative falls sick or faces a tragedy. A tragedy, retirement or sudden job loss means the start of hard economic times and a fast slump into poverty.

Countries In Africa That Score Highest For Giving
Globalvoices.org/Poverty in Luanda, Angola

African countries are still the poorest

According to a report by Global Finance Magazine in 2015, 19 of the world’s 23 poorest nations are found in Africa. This contradicts the popular belief that middle class is on the rise in Africa, where 330 million people live below the poverty line. This is nearly one third of African population. The continent has about a third of her 1.1 billion people living in poverty.