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Children
on the Move
in Southern
Africa
The Southern Africa region
continues to experience a
significant rise in mixed and
irregular migration flows.
These flows originate from
as far as the Horn of Africa
and consist of refugees,
asylum-seekers, economic
migrants, unaccompanied
migrant children and victims
of trafficking.
South Africa is a source, transit,
and destination country for
men, women, and children
subjected to forced labour
and sex trafficking. South
African citizens and foreign
nationals are subjected to
human trafficking within
the country
Rate of urbanisation
Climate change will affect population
movements within and across African borders.
This is the result of increasing intensity of extreme
weather events – especially droughts –,
sea-level rise and acceleration of
environmental degradation.8
The lack of data on the
numbers of children on the
move in Southern Africa is a
barrier to responding effectively.
Our strong ambition is to bridge
the gap in future by helping
to establish systems that can
generate better DATA
In the developing world,
Africa has experienced
the highest urban growth
during the last two
decades at 3.5% per
year and this rate of
growth is expected to hold
into 2050.3
It is projected that 1.1 billion children under
18 will be living in Africa by 2100, accounting
for almost half (47 per cent) of the world population
of children at that time.2
In 2050, around 41 per cent of the
world’s births, 40 per cent of all underfives, 37 per cent of all children under
18 and 35 per cent of all adolescents
will be African.1
Rural-urban migration and natural
population growth rates in cities are the
major causes of the increasing rate of urban
growth and slum proliferation in Africa.
In addition, climate change will have
adverse consequences for livelihoods,
public health, food security, and water
availability. This in turn will impact on human
mobility, likely leading to a substantial rise in
the scale of migration and displacement in
different parts of Africa. 9
By late 2030s, Africa is
set to become a continent
with more population
living in urban than in
rural areas.5
Generally, it can be expected that elevated
migration pressure induced by climate change
might mainly come from rural areas, as people’s
livelihoods there are generally more sensitive to
climate change.10
By 2050, 2.5 billion
people will have been
added to the world’s urban
population, with nearly 90%
of the increase concentrated
in Africa and Asia
30%
30% of all migrants in Africa currently are
under the age of 19. 11
and how this might impact children
and migration specifically
On current trends, by midcentury almost 60 per cent
of Africa’s population will live
in cities.6
90%
In 2006 Mozambique hosted 6,900 registered
refugees and asylum seekers. The
most recent development is the movement of
Zimbabweans into Mozambique due to the
deepening economic crisis in Zimbabwe,
although they are not recognized as refugees.7
UNICEF Generation 2030-Africa Division of Data, Research, and Policy 2014
African Development Bank, (2012) Championing inclusive growth across Africa :Urbanization in Africa
7
Makhema M (2009) Social Protection for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)
8 - 10
Kaloga, A ; Kreft, S; & Mohamoud. A (2014): Climate change, development, and migration:
an African Diaspora perspective Publisher: Germanwatch
11
Source: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/pdf/migration/Factsheet%20
Children%20and%20Adolescent%20Migrants%2009062013.pdf
1-2
3-6
DESIGN & ILLUSTRATION: WWW.PRINSDESIGN.CO.ZA
KEY FACTS
Climate change as projected
for southern Africa