Africa’s fastest growing city is Lagos, in Nigeria with 77 people increasing per hour according to the United Nations

The population surge is from high birth rates, Nigerians living abroad returning home and majorly by the rural poor going to the city due to its strong economic growth and oil boom.

2. Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) follows closely with an addition of 61 people to its population in Kinshasa.

3. Egypt’s Cairo comes third with a record of 44 people per hour

4. The capital of Angola, Luanda, reports are record of 34 people per hour

5. Burkina Faso’s Ouagadougou has a growth of 23 people per hour in its population matrix.

6. Kenya’s Nairobi welcomes a whole 22 people per hour

7. Following closely is Khartoum in Sudan which as a growth of 21 people per hour, together with (8)Cote d’Ivoire’s Abidjan and (9) South Africa’s Johannesburg which records 21 people per hour as well.

10. Bamako, Mali comes in at the tenth place with 19 people per hour

The figures are calculated using actual population figures for 2010 and forecasts for the likely populations in 2030, taken from 2014’s UN World Urbanization Prospects report.

Africa’s population of roughly 1.1 billion is expected to double by 2050. More than 80% of that growth will occur in cities, especially slums according to World Economic Forum. According to the UN two-thirds of Africans are expected to live in cities by 2050

Some believe that Africa’s cities are the new frontier: sustained population growth will drive economic development, with Africa becoming the world’s manufacturing powerhouse. However, others are concerned that the continent’s cities could become over-stressed through rapid, unplanned urbanization, generating political, economic and environmental upheaval, and overwhelming countries and possibly regions reports WEF.

“We need to invest in building economic opportunities, especially those of women, of which 92 per cent work in the informal sector. Cities and towns have a key role to play in that process, but only if Governments take bold policy action,” said Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, Director of the Regional Bureau for Africa at UNDP.