africa: political and economic geography

Metropolitan University PragueMartin Kolmhofer

AFRICA

Facts: 30 million square kilometers, 1 billion people

Africa as the cradle of humanity? Most anthropologists agree that the apelike ancestor of humans emerged in Africa, probably 10 to 11 million years ago. 

Africa as the cradle of civilization? The Ancient Egyptians had one of the earliest and  longest lasting civilizations in world history. (3000 BC and c. 1000 BC)

From the end of the 15th century until around 1870 British, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch traders shipped between 12 and 20 million slaves across the Atlantic to work the New World’s tobacco, sugar and cotton plantations.

At the Berlin Conference of 1884–85, most of Africa was split into colonies. France and Britain got the biggest parts, with Germany, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Belgium picking up bits and pieces. Liberia and Ethiopia were the only African countries that never have been colonized.

The present day borders of the countries in Africa were drawn with the specific purpose of exploiting the resource potential and assuring colonial control (not to serve the interests of the people in those countries for future development). Also, when the borders were drawn, there was no consideration concerning ethnic and cultural similarities and differences.  So today there are African nations with populations that contain different ethnic and tribal groups that have long histories of conflict.  These ethnic conflicts continue today, causing many African nations to become politically unstable and difficult to govern.

Another consequence of colonial borders: Lack of a consistent and effective economic infrastructure. Railways and Roads were designed to link the interior with ports, not African neighbors with one another. Plus: Africa has 15 landlocked countries that face specific challenges in trade.

Africa has a large quantity of natural resources including oil, diamonds, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum and cocoa beans, but also woods and tropical fruits.

Clear Borders: Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Strait of Gibraltar, Suez Canal (built from 1859 to 1869), Bab el Mandeb strait

Different climate zones cause big cultural and economic differences: Mediterranean climate in the north and south - warm to high temperatures with rainfall in the autumn and winter months.

Desert - High temperatures throughout the year with very little rainfall. Sahara: Largest desert in the world (8 million km2); it covers one-quarter of Africa.

Savanna (bright green) and Steppe (orange):This region has very high temperatures all year and rain during the summer season only.Rainforest (dark green) - This region is characterized by very high temperatures and high rainfall throughout the year.

Examples of different climate zones in one country: Nigeria, Sudan

There are over 2100 and by some counts over 3000 languages spoken natively in Africa in several major language families:

Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger–Congo, Bantu, Khoe

There are three religious systems in Africa. Traditional African religions, Islam and Christianity. (Islam-Christian North-South religious divide )

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the average life expectancy in Africa is 52 years of age, while the Global average is 66. (Canada, Europe and Japan have the highest average life expectancy).

South Africa is the largest economy in Africa – it accounts for 1/3 of south-Saharan Africa’s GDP. (Mining, Industry, Service Sector, good Transport Infrastructure)

Cities with > 2 million inhabitants

The urbanization of most of Africa is moving fast forward, especially south of the Sahara.

Africa now has the fastest-growing middle class in the world. Some 313 million people, 34% of Africa’s population, spend USD 2-20 a day, according to the African Development Bank. 

Top FDI destinations in Africa: Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Congo, Algeria(2013 World Investment Report, UN Conference on Trade and Development)

Mobile development has enabled Africans to ‘bypass' poor landline infrastructure, which has been a brake on progress. Many Africans get their first internet experience on a mobile rather than a desktop computer, using services that revolutionize commerce, farming and healthcare. Almost 18 million Kenyans use their mobiles as a bank account to deposit or transfer money and pay their accounts. 

Concerns about Africa – China Economic Relationship: * With fast-growing population, Africa's priority is jobs* China provided infrastructure but brought own workforce* China's focus on raw materials provides few good jobs* Cheap manufacturing imports stifle African industry

In 2008, COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) agreed to an expanded free-trade zone including members of two other African trade blocs, the East African Community(EAC) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).

Africa's free trade zone is expected to be operational by the end of 2017.

Video: Chinese Infrastructure Investment in Africa

China has an interest in developing Africa’s infrastructure - it sees its future economy closely tied to Africa. In exchange for access to African resources, China underwrites major infrastructure projects. 

HISTORY OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC THOUGHT

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