Fourthly, Africa's external debts are estimated to have increased by 3.2 percent to reach 312.2 billion dollars by the end of 1994. Though Africa's debts, estimated at 16 percent of the developing countries total, are less important in volume terms, it is the heaviest in percent capita terms. African countries will use more than 20 percent of their export revenue to debt servicing. The deteriorating social situation in Africa has restricted the development of its economy. Africa's rapid population growth has exerted intolerable pressure on already over-stretched infrastructures, especially housng, water and sanitation, health and education facilities, growing unemployment and underemployment, and the rapid environmental degradation The unemployment rate in urban areas has increased without abatement over the past two decades and it is projected to reach 30 percent by the year 2000.
Youth unemployment is already a critical problem in many African countries.
The rapid spread of aids has brought untold havoc in the African health landscape in recent years. The World Health Organization estimated in 1994 that there were over 10 million cases of HIV infection in Africa and the figure would reach a staggering 14 million by the year 2000. Today, the numher of refugees in Africa, is in excess of seven million, approximately one-third of the world's total. Africa's adult illiteracy rate is the highest in the world. It also has constraints of low productivity, inefficient management, as well as the failure to diversify the narrow production and export base.