Global population will soar to 11.2bn by 2100 - with Africa accounting for much of the growth, says UN forecast

Africa will account for much of the explosive growth in the world’s population this century, which is expected to rise from the 7.3bn people on earth today to 11.2bn by 2100, according to the latest UN forecasts.

Fertility rates – the average number of children born per woman – have declined globally but they are not decreasing as fast in Africa as on other continents, said John Wilmoth, director of the UN Population Division in New York.

In countries such as Nigeri