Global Journal of Human Social Science, F: Political Science, Volume 22 Issue 5

II. T he I mpact of R ussia’s U kraine W ar on H unger in A frica For decades, Africa shows the highest population growth and the largest famine troubles in the world. Its population surpassed one billion in 2009, with a doubling time of 27 years (growth rate of 2.6 % p.a.). At the same time, average agricultural productivity was the lowest worldwide. Moreover, Africa is likely to suffer substantially from climate change ( Grotel, et al, 2021). Source: worldometers, 2019 1 Graph 3: Africa’s population growth, 1955 – 2020 Therefore, African countries are particularly vulnerable because they rely heavily on Russia and Ukraine for their wheat imports. The top African wheat import partners of Russia wer e Egypt, Sudan and Nigeria (s. Graph 4). In Egypt, a total of US$ 3.02 bn of wheat was imported in 2019, US$ 1.44 bn came from Russia, and US$ 773.4 m from Ukraine. I n Ethiopia, where a total of US$ 458.42 m of wheat was imported in 2019, $ 142.01 m came from Ukraine and $ 64.77 m from Russia (Leiva, 2022). Source: Leiva, 2022 Graph 4: Russia’s top export partners of wheat and maize Top ten countries based on total value of exports, 2016-2020 Most African countries are Least developed countries (LDCs) that will suffer the hardest in the aftermath of Putin's war in Ukraine, in particular the African poor . 1 1 "Population of Africa (2019) – Worldometers". www.worldometers. info.; reprinted in ‘ They had already to bear the Demographics of Africa’ , en.wikipedia consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis. The spill-over effects of the Russian aggression in Ukraine will increase hunger and poverty even further (Kappel, 2022). Higher energy and food prices, reduced tourism, and potential difficulty accessing international capital markets will increase vulnerability notably in African countries that have © 2022 Global Journals Volume XXII Issue V Version I 3 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2022 F Will Putin’s Ukraine War Provoke Famine and Upheaval in Africa ?