The full potential of many of the 3.7 billion people living in low- and lower-middle-income countries is unrealised. High levels of poverty and inequality—exacerbated by conflict, debt, underinvestment, poor governance, and global power asymmetries—limit the ability of many people to flourish. As a result, they are unable to realise and use their full talents to improve their families, communities, countries, and the world. Nowhere is that more true than in Africa, the world’s least developed region.
This untapped potential affects us all. An untold number of innovations aren’t invented, life-saving drugs remain undiscovered, songs go unsung, poems languish unwritten, start-ups sit unstarted, and inspiration goes unignited. As a result, the human experience is less rich and the world less prosperous.
Untapped potential is the single most significant difference between someone living in a high vs. a lower-income country.
To illustrate, let’s compare the number of R&D researchers in Uganda and Denmark. The global average for R&D researchers—the people involved in conceiving or creating new knowledge, products, or innovation—is 1,420 per million people. For context, Europe’s average is 3,935, North America’s exceeds 4,800. Denmark’s? 8,736.
In contrast, the average number of researchers per 1 million people in low-income countries is 176. In Uganda, it’s 12. TWELVE.
Here’s what that means in practice: Denmark has over 51,000 researchers. Uganda, with a population eight times larger, has fewer than 700. That has obvious implications for the ability of Uganda—or dozens of other countries with relatively few researchers—to discover and develop new innovations, advance their economies, and help people escape poverty. Factors like poverty, poor education, and a lack of electricity, amongst others, limit opportunities for individuals to become researchers and innovators.
The disparity between rich and lower-income countries starts at an early age. In most high-income countries, less than 1% of children aged 6-11 are out of school. The average across low-income countries is 21%. In Nigeria—Africa’s most populous country—nearly 1 in 4 children are out of school.
That means that millions of children around the world are not learning the knowledge and skills needed to reach their full potential.
Unequal access to primary education impacts higher education levels. Just 8% of Africans over the age of 25 have a bachelor's degree. That’s half the global average and four times lower than in high-income countries.
That translates into fewer skilled workers ready and able to step into skilled jobs, jumpstart Africa’s industrialisation, and spur economic growth.
Having fewer university graduates results in fewer people with technical expertise. Take IT, for instance. Africa has just four IT professionals per 10,000 people. That’s 10 times below the global average, and 30 times less than high-income countries.
The low number of IT professionals will make it difficult—if not impossible—for African countries to compete in a world in which AI and computer technology dominate. It also significantly diminishes the opportunity for new technology discoveries and tech start-ups. Who knows how many inventions or Apples, Googles, Nvidias, or OpenAIs will fail to be launched as a result?
Weak education systems and high poverty rates are exacerbating a health crisis across Africa. Despite having the world’s 2nd highest disease burden, Africa is the region with the fewest doctors.
That worsens the availability of quality healthcare. Poorer health makes people less productive, less likely to attend school, and less likely to hold jobs. That perpetuates the same educational and economic inequalities that make health services harder to access in the first place.
Disparities in opportunity have implications for everyone, everywhere. Because everyone misses out when someone misses out on their potential.
Poverty and inequality are imposing a tax on humanity.
And we are all paying.