Population Geography of Africa

Worldwide Population Distribution Eastern

Hemisphere

Population

Distribution

in Africa

Population Data 1999

Africa Total 770 million • Sub-Saharan Africa 630 million

• Compare: – Asia 3,600 million (3.6

billion)– Europe 730 million– S. America 510 million– N. America 300 million

Most Populous Countries in Africa

Nigeria 121 millionEgypt 66Ethiopia 59Congo 49So.Africa 49Tanzania 31Sudan 29Kenya 28

Growth Rate vs. Population Size

• In spite of rapidly growing populations, the majority of African countries have national populations of less than 25 million people.

Least Populous Countries in Africa

Cape Verde 0.4 millionComoros 0.5Djibouti 0.7Seychelles 0.1Guinea-Bissau 1.1Swaziland 1Gabon 1.2Botswana 1.4

Population Density

• Numerical density: number of persons per total land area

• Physiological density: number of persons per arable land area– Agricultural density: ratio of farm

population to the arable land

Population & Land in SSA

Population DensitiesNumerical Physiological

(per square mile)Sub-Saharan Africa 63 922

Ghana 191 1621Namibia 5 625Nigeria 279 811Rwanda 805 1736South Africa 87 810

Population Distribution in Europe 72% is Urban

Africa: Regional Population (in Millions)

and Urban Percentage

0

50

100

150

200

250

SOUTHern

CENTRAL

EAST

WEST

NORTH

World Population Rates

• Although population rates are declining on a global scale as well as on the African Continent…

• Africa has the highest average population growth rate among the various world regions.

World Population Boom

0.7%

-0.2%

2.8%

1%

2%

2.3%

1%

1.4%

Average Annual Growth Rate

Population Growth & Fertility

• Population growth or decline is based on fertility rates in a country.

• Fertility rates indicate the average number of babies born to each woman of childbearing age in a country, and are usually calculated as annual rates.

Cultural Factors in Fertility

• Lineage continuation and expansion– What are “patrilineal and matrilineal”

• Children as “wealth” and assets• Agricultural work is labor (human)

intensive• Male-dominant decision making• Polygyny• Child fosterage

Direct or “Proximate” Factors in Fertility

• Early marriage• Postpartum and peri-partum

practices• Natural and pathological sterility• High infant mortality rates• High maternal mortality rates

Programs and Policies to Manage Population Growth

in Africa

Family Planning Programs• Information and

communication are being uesd to promote family planning and birth control.

• This is an education poster in Kenya, East Africa, printed in the local language:

• It says, “This mother needs Family Planning”

Kenya: Nutrition & Health Care Clinics Aim to Decrease Infant Mortality Rate

Maternal Deaths by

World Region1990

(although still high, Africa’s maternal death rates are

lower than in Asia)

Source: PRB

Programs and Policies to Manage Population Growth

• Governments in Africa recognize that improvement in the quality of life of their people is an effective means of managing population growth.

• The following chart relates educational levels of females in several countries to fertility levels.

Effect of Female Education on Fertility Rates

Population Issues

• Rapid growth rate • Rate more critical than absolute

numbers• Fertility rate inversely related to quality

of life/economic development. Why?• Cultural factors: ‘wealth’ of human

capital• Economic factors: rural/agricultural

labor requirements