Attaining Sustainable Development Goals in African Cities: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

ABSTRACT African cities are increasingly central to the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), yet evidence on how SDGs are being implemented in urban Africa remains fragmented. This study systematically reviews peer‐reviewed literature on SDG implementation in African cities published between 2017 and 2025. Using PRISMA procedures, 1786 records were identified from Scopus, Web of Science and Google Scholar, of which 31 articles met the inclusion criteria. The findings show modest but growing scholarship, concentrated in Southern, West and East Africa, with limited evidence from Central and North Africa. Seven thematic domains dominate the literature: governance and localisation, urban resilience and environmental sustainability, informality and inclusion, infrastructure and services, partnerships and knowledge co‐production, sanitation and health and smart cities and digitalisation. The review finds that SDG implementation is constrained by weak institutional coordination, uneven service delivery, limited local capacity, inadequate monitoring systems and persistent socio‐economic inequalities across African cities.