The Bright Future of Dar es Salaam, an Unlikely African Megacity

In 1957, in the waning years of British colonial rule, the then-unremarkable port city of Dar es Salaam sat on the coast of present-day Tanzania. It boasted a meager population of 128,000. Its humidity was relentless. Africa's independence era was getting underway, and many of Dar's neighboring cities had far glitzier exteriors with more modern infrastructure. Maputo, the capital of Mozambique to the south, would become known as "The Pearl of the Indian Ocean." Nairobi, 560 miles north in Kenya, would be referred to as "The London of Africa." Dar es Salaam, meanwhile, struggled to shake the English translation of its name—"the residence of peace." Tranquil, yet stagnant.

But recent years have brought unimaginable growth and change to Dar es Salaam. In terms of annual population growth, it's on pace to be Africa's fastest growing urban center. Its total population—currently about 4.1 million people—is expected to expand by more than 85 percent through 2025, according to the African Development Bank, and could reach 21.4 million people by 2052. It's likely to achieve 'megacity' status—10 million residents or more—by the early 2030s.