Abstract: The paper demonstrates how demographic factors affect the structure and level of employment and how the level of employment affects the level of welfare of the people of sub-Saharan Africa. After analyzing the different factors, the paper concludes that the continued underdevelopment in the Africa region is determined, in a major sense, by its ability to effectively utilize its human resources. It recommends that the war against economic and social backwardness be fought simultaneously on several fronts. Firstly, steps have to be taken without further delay to reduce the rate of population growth by launching effective programs to reduce the level of fertility. Secondly, a secular process of modernizing production systems must start without further delay to increase productivity in the major sectors of the economy. Thirdly, there is a need for improving the capacity of citizens to be more productive.