This report presents compelling evidence - from 2 600 cities across 34 countries - that urbanisation in Africa contributes to better economic outcomes and higher standards of living. It shows that in most socio‑economic dimensions, Africa’s cities significantly outperform the countries in which they are located, and that the gap between the performance of African cities and the national averages is larger than in many other parts of the world. One of the most underappreciated achievements of African cities over the last 30 years has been that, despite growing by 500 million people, they have maintained their economic performance, providing several hundred million people with better jobs and improved access to services and infrastructure. Positive spillovers from urbanisation are also spreading to rural areas, which benefit from proximity to cities.