Market Trends of Africa Riot Control Equipment Industry
This section covers the major market trends shaping the Africa Riot Control Equipment Market according to our research experts:
The Law Enforcement Segment is Expected to Witness Significant Growth during the Forecast Period
By end user, the law enforcement segment is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The growing uncertainties in various African regions owing to the high living costs, growing violence against women, and rising fuel and food prices, among others, are the main reasons for the increasing number of riot control equipment in Africa.
In August 2022, Sierra Leone, a country in Western Africa, witnessed increased clashes between protesters and security forces over rising fuel and food prices. This led to a growth in fatalities, which led to the government imposing a nationwide curfew.
In addition, countries such as Ghana and Ecuador have also been witnessing an increase in the number of clashes between protestors and law enforcement agencies over increasing inflation rates. Moreover, rising economic hardships in various countries in Africa, such as Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Uganda, among others, have led to an increase in the number of violent clashes, and this will lead to a rise in the demand for riot control equipment for law enforcement agencies in various African nations and propel the growth in the market during the forecast period.
South Africa is Expected to Witness Significant Growth During the Forecast Period
South Africa is expected to witness growth in the riot control equipment market during the forecast period. South Africa has been named the protest capital of the world, with the country witnessing some of the highest rates of public protests globally. The growing number of unrests in South Africa, coupled with the growth in the number of clashes among the public and law enforcement agencies, will be the main reason for the increase in the demand for riot control equipment in the coming years.
The 2021 South African unrest, named the Zuma Unrest, was the wave of unrest in Gauteng province in South Africa owing to the imprisonment of former President Jacob Zuma. The resulting protests triggered wider riots in the region. They were supported mainly by people who did not favor the governmental policies of job layoffs and worsening economic inequality due to COVID-19 policies. Moreover, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a growth in the number of riots in the South African region. In addition, the pandemic also exposed socioeconomic weaknesses in the region, which resulted from poor policy implementation and a fundamental failure of political leadership.
Thus, in the current scenario, South Africa has increased its spending on development and procurement of advanced riot control equipment for law enforcement to tackle the ever-increasing number of protests which have plagued the country, and this will lead to the growth of riot control equipment market in South Africa during the forecast period.
