It is now half a century since training of statisticians for Africa started. Several training institutions were set up to meet the demand for statisticians in Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone Africa. Yet, to-date statistical offices in many African countries are still unmanned and are still in need of more qualified statisticians. What has happened to the training programmes over time: have they succeeded or met insurmountable challenges. The paper will evaluate efforts of various stakeholders to satisfy this demand over the period and critically assess the past and present constraints of the programmes and propose the way forward.

Keywords: Statistical Training; Africa

Biography: James Ntozi is a Professor in the School of Statistics and Applied Economics, Makerere University, Uganda.