Cheat sheet: General economic and geographical characteristics of African countries. Socio-geographical and economic-geographical characteristics of Africa
North Africa
1) Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan.
2) Access to the Mediterranean, Red Sea.
3) The population is concentrated in the cities: Algiers, Tripoli, Rabat, Casablanca. (approximately from 1 to 5 million people.). Mostly Arab peoples.
4) This sub-region is located in the tropical zone. In the zone of semi-deserts and deserts, occasionally hard-leaved evergreen forests and shrubs. Iron ores, oil, phosphorites, natural gas, polymetallic ores, gold.
5) Pastures with pockets of cultivated land, in the far north - cultivated land and oases. Manufacture of machines, devices, equipment, wood and timber products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, oil products.
6) a large area of underutilized land, the development of gas and oil fields.
West Africa
1) Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Ghana.
2) access to the Atlantic Ocean
3) The population is concentrated in cities and rural settlements: Dakar, Conakry, Monrovia, Abidjan, Ouagadougou. Mostly peoples: Akan, Yoruba, Hausa, Fulbe and Arab.
4) This region is located in the tropical, subequatorial and equatorial belt. In the zone of deserts, savannahs and woodlands, variable-moist forests. Iron ores, Phosphorites, gold, aluminum ores, manganese ores, diamonds.
5) Pastures with pockets of cultivated land, forests with pockets of cultivated land, cultivated lands and oases. Production of wood and timber products, meat products, cocoa and banana distribution area.
6) a large area of underutilized land, the absence of any large-scale production, the potential for the development of the timber industry.
Central:
1) Nigeria, Niger, Chal, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea.
2) access to the Atlantic Ocean.
3) The population is concentrated in cities and rural settlements: Malabo, Yaounde, Brazzaville, Kinshasa and others. Mostly peoples: Tubu, Azande, Hausa.
4) This region is located in the subequatorial and equatorial belt. In the zone of savannas and light forests, variable-moist forests, areas of altitudinal zonation, permanently humid forests. Oil, Manganese ores, Aluminum ores, Uranium ores.
5) Forests with pockets of cultivated land, pastures. Manufacture of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, oil products, wood and timber products. The area of distribution of rubber-bearing, cotton and bananas.
6) potential for the development of uranium ores and oil production, problems: soil erosion, poaching, undrinkable water.
East Africa
1) Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia.
2) access to the Indian Ocean.
3) The population is concentrated evenly in cities and towns, there is no urbanization. Mostly peoples: Amhara, Somalis.
4) This region is located in the subequatorial zone, the equatorial zone. In the zone of savannahs and light forests, altitudinal zonation, semi-deserts. Gold, Phosphorites, Diamonds, Titanium ores.
5) Pastures with pockets of cultivated land. Leather production. Banana distribution area, coffee, date palm. Breeding of camels and cattle.
6) Problems: overgrazing, desertification, widespread poaching. Potential for breeding camels, cattle and for the production of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
South
1) South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia.
2) access to the Atlantic, Indian Ocean.
3) The population is concentrated in cities: Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, Lusaka, Harare. Mostly peoples: Bantu, Bushmen, Afrikaners, Gotentots.
4) This region is located in the subequatorial, tropical, subtropical zone. In the zone of savannahs and light forests, altitudinal zonation, semi-deserts and deserts. Manganese ores, Diamonds, Polymatal ores, Gold, Copper ores, Cobalt ores, Chrome ores, Asbestos, Coal, Iron ores.
5) Grassland with pockets of cultivated land, cultivated land and oases. Manufacture of machines, equipment, devices, ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Distribution area: cotton. Breeding: sheep, cattle.
6) Problems: limited stocks drinking water, deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution, excessive use of pastures. The potential for the production of meat products, the development of hydroelectric power stations and nuclear power plants (there are deposits of uranium).
Estimation of the GWP of Africa. Conclusion: the economic and geographical position and its change over time (position aside, and then at the intersection of transport routes) generally contributes to the development of the region's economy. No. EGP features. Evaluation for the development of the economy. 1. Connection with Eurasia by the Isthmus of Suez. Proximity to the markets of raw materials and sales of products. 2. The coastal position of the countries of the continent. The possibility of trade with the countries of the world across two oceans and the Mediterranean Sea, the development of maritime transport. 3. Position at the intersection of the main sea transport routes from Europe to Asia and America (Suez Canal). Positive impact on the development of trade and economic relations. 4. Inland position of 15 countries (including at a distance of more than 1.5 thousand km). It negatively affects the socio-economic development of these countries.
Slide 8 from the presentation "General economic and geographical characteristics of Africa: territory, resources, population"Dimensions: 720 x 540 pixels, format: .jpg. To download a slide for free to use in a lesson, right-click on the image and click "Save Image As...". You can download the entire presentation "General economic and geographical characteristics of Africa: territory, resources, population.pptx" in a 1714 KB zip archive.
"Test Africa" - The largest island off the coast of Africa: Currency in Morocco: Egypt. Cape Agulhas Cape Almadi Cape Ben Secca. Metical naira dirhal. Mali. Addis - Ababa Kinshasa Luanda. South Africa Ethiopia Nigeria. South Africa. What race are Algerians, Moroccans, Egyptians? Malagasy are residents. Ethiopian capital: Rovenala Lekanora Ceiba.
"Journey to Africa" - When traveling, you must use two maps on which the route is laid. Fill in the table: natural areas Africa. In the “Step by Step” section, we get acquainted with the rules for traveling on the mainland (p. 106 of the textbook). Lagos. The second map shows the countries and occupations of the population. The trunk of a palm tree serves as an excellent building material (very valuable in the desert).
"Characteristics of Africa" - Morocco. Population problems. Africa today. African countries have the highest birth rate and natural increase. Political system. Natural resource potential. A significant predominance of young people is associated with a high birth rate. The region ranks first in terms of reserves of most types of mineral raw materials.
"Countries of Africa" - In general, there are disproportions in industrial development: A. between mining and processing and B. between light / food and heavy. Africa is experiencing a shortage of dairy products. 90% of livestock imports are dairy products. GDP structure of Tropical Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa) (in %). Climate.
"Africa in the Middle Ages" - Monomotapa "Sovereign of the conquered lands." Mosque of Ibn Tulun in Cairo. West crossroads of caravan roads. Monomotapa. Ghana, Mali, Songhai - medieval kingdoms, along the southern edge of the Sahara. North Africa. Church of Saint George in Lalibela. Timbuktu is the largest city in Mali. Mamluks are warriors of the Egyptian Sultanate from mercenaries and freed slaves.
"Continent Africa" - Africa is the hottest continent in the world. vegetable and animal world Tropical and South Africa is extremely rich and varied, many waters are endemic. Africa is usually divided into three parts: North, or Arab, Tropical (sub-Saharan, located south of the Sahara desert) and South. Each region has its own unique natural and climatic characteristics, cultural and national characteristics, a level that is different from others economic development.
African population
3 presentations about the people of Africa
>>Geography: We give a general description of Africa
We give a general description of Africa
Africa covers an area of 30.3 million km 2 with a population of 905 million people (2005). There is no other continent in the world that would suffer as much from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa. By the beginning of the twentieth century. the whole of Africa turned into a colonial continent, and this largely predetermined its backwardness.
After the Second World War, the colonial system was eliminated step by step, and now on political map continent 54 sovereign states (with islands). Almost all of them belong to the developing ones. The Republic of South Africa belongs to the type of economically developed states.
In key indicators of economic and social development, Africa lags markedly behind other major regions, and in some countries the gap is even widening.
1. Territory, borders, position: great internal differences, political system.
The territory of Africa extends from north to south for 8 thousand km, and from west to east for a maximum of 7.5 thousand km. African countries are generally larger than European countries.
Example. The largest country in Africa is Cydan (2.5 million km 2). It is 4.5 times larger than the largest European country, France. Algeria, DR Congo, Libya, Angola, Ethiopia, South Africa also surpass France in area by two to three times.
To estimate the GWP of African countries, one can use different criteria. One of the most important is the presence or absence of access to the sea. No other continent has such a number of countries - 15, located far from the seas (sometimes at a distance of 1.5 thousand km), as in Africa. Most of the inland countries are among the most backward.
In terms of the state system, African countries differ much less: only three of them (see Table 2 in the "Appendices") retain a monarchical form of government, the rest are republics, and almost all of them are presidential. However, under the republican form of government, military, dictatorial political regimes are often hidden here.
Coups d'etat are also very frequent here. .
Africa is another region widespread territorial disputes and border conflicts. In most cases, they arose in connection with the borders inherited by the countries of this continent from their colonial past. Acute conflicts of this kind exist between Ethiopia and Somalia, Morocco and Western Sahara, Chad and Libya, and others. Along with this, Africa is also characterized by internal political conflicts, which have repeatedly led to lengthy civil wars.
Example. For several decades, the civil war in Angola continued, where the opposition group (UNITA) opposed the government political group. Hundreds of thousands of people died in this war.
To help strengthen the unity and cooperation of the states of the continent, preserve their integrity and independence, counteract neo-colonialism, the Organization of African Unity 1 was created, which was transformed in 2002 into the African Union . (Exercise 1.)
2. Natural conditions andresources : the most important factor in the development of African countries.
Africa is exceptionally rich in a variety of minerals. Among other continents, it ranks first in the reserves of ores of manganese, chromites, bauxites, gold, platinoids, cobalt, diamonds, and phosphorites. In addition, minerals are different high quality, and it is mined hourly open way.
Example. The richest country in Africa is South Africa. Its subsoil contains almost the entire known set of fossil resources, with the exception of oil, natural gas, and bauxite. The reserves of gold, platinum, and diamonds are especially large. .
But there are countries in Africa that are poor minerals and this hinders their development. (Task 2.)
African land resources are significant. There is more cultivated land per inhabitant than in Southeast Asia or Latin America. In addition, so far only about 1/5 of the land suitable for agricultural production is being cultivated on the continent. However, land degradation in Africa has also taken on a particularly large scale. As early as the 1930s, the Belgian geographer Jean-Paul Gappya wrote a book about land degradation in Africa called Africa a Dying Land. Since then, the situation has deteriorated significantly. Africa accounts for 1/3 of all drylands in the world. Almost 2/5 of its territory is at risk of desertification.
1 The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was established in 1963. It included 51 African countries. The headquarters of the OAU was in Addis Ababa. In 2001-2002 The OAU, following the model of the European Union, was transformed into the African Union (AU), within the framework of which it is planned to create an all-African parliament, a single bank, a currency fund and other supranational structures.
Africa's agro-climatic resources cannot be unambiguously assessed. You know that Africa is the hottest continent on Earth, so it is fully provided with heat supplies. But water resources are distributed over its territory extremely unevenly. This has a negative impact on agriculture, and on the whole life of people. So the catchphrase "Water is life!" refers to Africa, probably in the first place. For its arid parts, artificial irrigation is of great importance (so far only 3% of the land is irrigated). And in the equatorial belt, on the contrary, the main difficulties for life and economic activity are created by excessive moisture. The Congo Basin also accounts for about 1/2 of Africa's hydropower potential. .
In terms of total forest area, Africa is second only to Latin America and Russia. But its average forest cover is much lower. In addition, as a result of deforestation, which exceeds natural growth, deforestation has assumed alarming proportions. (Task 3.)
3. Population: features of reproduction, composition and distribution.
As you already know, Africa stands out worldwide with the highest rate of population reproduction. This is largely due to the long tradition of having many children. In Africa they say: “Not having money is a disaster. But not having children means being doubly poor.” In addition, most countries of the continent do not pursue an active demographic policy, and birth rates here remain extremely high.
Example. In Niger, Chad, Angola, Somalia, and Mali, the birth rate reaches 4,550 babies per 1,000 inhabitants, i.e., it is four to five times higher than in Europe, and more than 2 times higher than the world average. In Ethiopia, Mali, Uganda, Benin, there are 7 or more children per woman.
Accordingly, African countries are also leading in terms of natural population growth (see Table 13 in the "Appendices").
That is why, despite the fact that Africa is still the region of the highest mortality, its population is growing very rapidly. Consequently, Africa is still in the second phase of its demographic transition. This means maintaining a very high proportion of children's ages, further aggravation of the problems of employment, education, and health care. In addition, the quality of the population in Africa is the lowest: over 1/3 of adults are illiterate, more and more people are getting AIDS. . The average life expectancy for men is 51 years, for women - 52 years.
Many problems are connected with the ethnic composition of the population of Africa, which is very diverse. Scientists ethnographers distinguish 300-500 ethnic groups and more on the continent.
Some of them, especially in North Africa, have already formed into large nations, but most are still at the level of nationalities; remnants of the tribal system are also preserved.
Like foreign Asia, Africa is a region of numerous ethnic, more precisely, ethno-political conflicts, which flare up with the greatest severity from time to time in Sudan, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Chad, Angola, Rwanda, Liberia. Often they take on the character of a real genocide 1 .
Example 1 As a result of the civil war in Liberia, which began in the late 80s, in a country with a population of 2.7 million people, 150 thousand people died, more than 500 thousand were forced to leave their habitats and another 800 thousand people fled to neighboring countries.
Example 2 In 1994, an acute conflict arose between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes in Rwanda. As a result, 1 million people died, the number of refugees within the country ranged from 500 thousand to 2 million people, and another 2 million people were forced to flee to neighboring countries.
In general, Africa accounts for about half of all refugees and displaced persons in the world, and in the vast majority these are “ethnic refugees”. Such forced migrations always lead to outbreaks of famine, epidemics, and increase infant and general mortality.
It is also a legacy of the past that the official (official) languages of most African countries are still the languages of the former metropolises - English, French, Portuguese. .
The cultural heritage of Africa is very great. It's oral folk art- folklore is a monumental architecture that originated in ancient Egypt, it is an arts and crafts that preserves the traditions of ancient rock art. Almost every people in Africa has its own musical culture, retains the features of singing and dancing, musical instruments. Since ancient times, there have been theatrical rites, rituals, ritual masks, etc. In Africa, 109 World Heritage Sites have been identified (see Table 10 in the "Appendices"). Among them, objects of cultural heritage prevail, but there are also many natural objects. .
The average population density in Africa (30 people per 1 km 2) is several times less than in foreign Europe and Asia. As in Asia, it is characterized by very sharp contrasts in settlement. The Sahara contains the largest uninhabited territories in the world. Rare population and in the zone of tropical rainforests. But there are also quite significant clumps of population, especially on the coasts. Even sharper contrasts are characteristic of individual countries.
1 Genocide (from Greek glIos - clan, tribe and Latin cado - I kill) the extermination of entire population groups along racial, national, ethnic or religious grounds.
Example. Egypt is, one might say, classic example of this kind. In fact, almost all of its population (about 80 million people) lives on the territory of the Nile delta and valley, which is only 4% of its total area (1 million km 2). This means that there are about 2,000 people per 1 km 2 here, and less than 1 person in the desert.
In terms of urbanization, Africa still lags far behind other regions. This applies both to the share of the urban population, and to the number of large cities and cities with a population of millions. In Africa, the formation of urban agglomerations is just beginning. However, the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world: the population of some cities doubles every 10 years.
This can be seen in the growth of millionaire cities. The first such city in the late 20s. 20th century became Cairo. In 1950 there were only two of them, but already in 1980 there were 8, in 1990 - 27, and the number of inhabitants in them increased from 3.5 million to 16 and 60 million people, respectively. At the beginning of the XXI century. In Africa, there were already 40 agglomerations with a population of more than 1 million people, which concentrated 1/3 of the urban population. Two of these agglomerations (Lagos and Cairo) with a population of over 10 million people have already entered the category of "super-cities". But such a manifestation of the "urban explosion" has a number of negative consequences. After all, it is mainly capital cities and "economic capitals" that are growing, and growing thanks to a constant influx of rural residents who have no means of subsistence and huddle in the outlying slums.
Example. Recently, Lagos in Nigeria has become the second most populated city in Africa after Cairo. Back in 1950, its population was not even 300 thousand people, and now (within the agglomeration) it has exceeded 10 million! However, the living conditions in this overpopulated city (besides, founded at one time by the Portuguese on a small island) are so unfavorable that in 1992 the country's capital was transferred from here to another city - Abuja.
Of the individual subregions of the continent, North and South Africa stand out in terms of urbanization. In Tropical Africa, this level is lower. But in terms of the exaggeratedly high proportion of capital cities in the urban population, some of the countries of Tropical Africa are unmatched. .
Despite the scale of the "urban explosion", 2/3 of Africans still live in the countryside. (Task 4.)
4. Economy: sectoral and territorial structure, Africa's place in the world.
After gaining independence, African countries began to make efforts to overcome centuries of backwardness. Of particular importance were the nationalization of natural resources, the implementation agrarian reform, economic planning, training of national personnel. As a result, the pace of development accelerated. The restructuring of the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy began.
In the sectoral structure, the share of industry and non-production spheres increased. Nevertheless, in most countries the colonial type of sectoral structure of the economy is still preserved. Its distinguishing features are: 1) the predominance of low-commodity, low-productive agriculture, 2) the weak development of the manufacturing industry, 3) the strong backlog of transport, 4) the limitation of the non-productive sphere, mainly trade and services. The colonial type of sectoral structure is also characterized by one-sided economic development. In many countries, this one-sidedness has reached the level of monoculture.
Monocultural (mono-commodity) specialization - a narrow specialization of the country's economy in the production of one, as a rule, raw material or food product, intended mainly for export.
Monoculture is not only a natural phenomenon, but also a historical and social one. It was imposed on African countries during the colonial period. And now, as a result of such narrow international specialization, the whole life of dozens of countries is dependent on world demand for one or two exported goods - coffee, cocoa, cotton, peanuts, oil palm fruits, sugar, livestock, etc. Monoculture countries are striving to create a diversified economy, but so far only a few have been successful along this path.
That is why the place of Africa in the world economy is determined mainly by two groups of industries. The first of these is the mining industry. Today, in the extraction of many types of minerals, Africa has an important, and sometimes monopoly place in the world (see table 8). Since the main part of the extracted fuel and raw materials is exported to the world market, it is the extractive industry that primarily determines the place of Africa in the international geographic division of labor. The second sector of the economy that determines Africa's place in the world economy is tropical and subtropical agriculture (see Table 8). It also has a pronounced export orientation. (Task 5.)
There have also been some changes in the territorial structure of the African economy. Along with areas of high-value crop production and extensive pasture cattle breeding, several rather large areas of the mining industry have already formed the axis. However, the role of the manufacturing industry, largely handicraft, in creating the geographical pattern of its economy is still small. Transport infrastructure also lags behind.
In general, in terms of the level of its social and economic development, Africa ranks last among the major regions of the world. Sub-Saharan Africa's share of the world GDP is only 1.2%.
In the 80s. The socio-economic situation in Africa has deteriorated especially, turning into a deep crisis. The pace of development has slowed down. The gap between food production (annual growth of about 2%) and the needs of the population (an increase of 3%) has widened: as a result, grain imports have increased. In addition, Africa suffered an unprecedented drought that affected more than half of the countries of the continent and directly affected 200 million people. Africa has also found itself in the grip of indebtedness to Western countries. That is why it has been increasingly referred to as the "calamity continent".
Africa covers an area of 29.2 million km2. Africa, the second largest of the seven continents of the planet. As part of the world (including adjacent islands) it has an area of approximately 30 million km, that is, approximately 22% of the entire earth's surface area. About a billion people live in Africa - 14.9% of the total population of the Earth.
Economic-geographical position and political map of Africa
The length of the mainland from north to south is 8 thousand km, from west to east in the northern part - 7.5 thousand km. A feature of the economic and geographical position of many countries in the region is the lack of access to the sea. The countries facing the ocean have a slightly indented coastline and this limits the possibility of using the benefits of physical and geographical position. The construction of ports in these conditions requires increased costs. The most advantageous position is occupied by North Africa, open to Europe. For the development of the sub-region, the possibility of communication with France, whose colonies were Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco (countries called the countries of the Maghreb), is of particular importance. Openness to the Indian Ocean is currently facilitating the penetration of Chinese and South Korean capital into the economy of East Asia.
There are 56 states in Africa, of which three are monarchies - Morocco, Swaziland and Lesotho. Two countries are federations - Nigeria and since 1984 - Ethiopia. Regarding South Africa, there is no consensus in the sources. In some works it is called a federation, in others - a regional autonomy, that is, the form of its state structure is similar to Spain. The rest of the countries are republics, mostly presidential ones.
South Africa is the only economically developed country in the region and is among the countries of resettlement capital, which differ dual structure of the economy. The duality lies in the fact that, while developing the tertiary sector and modern sectors of the economy, they retain remnants of the colonial past: the primary sector plays a significant role in the structure of their economy (mining industry, agriculture and other sectors related to the agrarian sector). The share of primary sector products is large and export structure. In particular. in South Africa, the share of mineral raw materials significantly exceeds the total share of the manufacturing industry and the service sector. This country accounts for about half of the region's WWR.
In Africa, only one country - Egypt - belongs to the socio-economic group of "key countries". Libya, Algeria, Nigeria are oil exporting countries. There is a significant group of enclave economies with a mineral-raw or agrarian-raw material specialization. The group of least developed countries is the most significant in terms of numbers. Of the 43 countries in this group, 30 are in Africa. These include most countries with a continental economic and geographical position. Africa is the region with the most acute social problems. 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. Functionally illiterate people predominate among the adult population. Approximately 86 percent of the employed have no professional training. Continental Tropical Africa is a zone of famine, the spread of AIDS, declining life expectancy, acute environmental problems - desertification, deforestation, lack of pure water rapidly increasing soil erosion. About 5 million people are environmental refugees leaving the desert regions of the Sahel for more southern regions. Their desire to settle in other countries due to the scarcity and low fertility of soils suitable for agriculture causes protest among the resident population. This leads to conflicts, often taking on the character of armed clashes.
Natural conditions and natural resources
Africa is distinguished by the contrast of natural conditions and, accordingly, the distribution of the population and the level of economic development. Within the continent, two sub-regions are distinguished: North Africa with a predominantly Caucasoid population, represented by Arabs and nomadic peoples - Tuareg and Bedouins.
The entire territory located south of the Sahara belongs to the region of Tropical Africa or it is called Sub-Saharan Africa (SSAS). It surpasses North Africa both in terms of territory and population, but its role in the economy and social complex does not correspond to either territorial or demographic potential. The extensive development of the region is one of the consequences of the colonial past, which left behind medieval forms of land ownership, backward agricultural techniques for cultivating consumer crops and a system of social relations. Based on the racial composition of the population, the region is sometimes referred to as "Black Africa". Even in South Africa, where the modern foundations of the economy were laid by white colonizers - first by the Netherlands (Boers or Afrikaners), and then by the Anglo-Africans who seized key economic and political positions in the country, the Negroid population prevails.
Africa is exceptionally rich in natural resources. Especially large are the reserves of mineral raw materials, including ores of manganese, chromites, bauxites, etc. Enormous reserves of cobalt and copper ores are concentrated in Zambia and the People's Republic of the Congo; manganese ores are mined in South Africa and Zimbabwe; platinum, iron ores and gold - in South Africa. Primary energy sources are represented mainly by oil and gas. Oil is produced in North and West Africa (Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Libya). Uranium is mined in Niger, Namibia. Diamonds are mined in Congo, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Ghana, phosphorites are mined in Morocco, Tunisia;
Africa has fairly significant land resources, but soil erosion as a result of desertification has become catastrophic due to overexploitation and improper cultivation. Water resources are also significant, but they are distributed extremely unevenly across Africa. Therefore, such great importance is attached to transit rivers, that is, rivers flowing through the territory of several countries. Along their course, zones of irrigated agriculture have been created, and a significant population is concentrated. The most famous and largest oasis in Africa is the Nile Valley. Irrigated agriculture originated here in ancient times. Soil fertility was supported by sediments of silt brought from the upper reaches of the river to floods. The construction of the Aswan Dam to a certain extent solved the energy problem of the country, but the regulation of the flow deprived the Nile arable land of its annual replenishment. The problem of yield reduction is solved by applying mineral fertilizers. This causes chemical intoxication of soils and agricultural products. A geopolitical role is played by Libya's water intake from an artesian reservoir in the middle reaches of the river. Over time, this will cause a decrease in inflow ground water in the period between spills, an increase in the shortage of irrigation water. Nevertheless, the Nile Valley retains the glory of the main agricultural region of North Africa. Walks and cruises on the Nile constantly attract tourists.
Forests occupy about 8% of the territory, but as a result of predatory destruction, their area is rapidly declining. This contributes to the impoverishment of the species composition of the flora and fauna of forests. Valuable tree species are disappearing as they are the first to be cut down. Unlike the forests of the northern zone, there are no forestry techniques for regeneration for them in Africa. Along with the disappearance of forests, the habitats of "forest ghosts", as the pygmy tribes are called in Africa, are shrinking. Deforestation contributes to the further spread of desertification.
African population
The population of Africa in the 21st century has surpassed the one billion mark. This is obviously a reliable figure, as Africa continues to have the highest rate of natural population growth in the world. In many countries it exceeds 30 people per 1,000 inhabitants per year. This significantly outpaces the growth gross product, and the growth rate of food production. The problem of hunger is still one of the most pressing social problems continent. The population growth and poverty of countries is one of the reasons for the high proportion of the illiterate population. Illiteracy of the population, in turn, is one of the reasons for the low investment attractiveness of most African countries. Here it is appropriate to paraphrase Dan, an outstanding Russian scientist of the early 20th century, “the formula for a closed cycle of poverty”: “Countries are poor because they are poor.” As nowhere else in the world, the proportion of children is high (50%) and the proportion of people of the older generation is low (about 5%). In the 1960s and 1970s, thanks to social changes and international health assistance, child mortality began to decline in Africa and life expectancy began to increase. However, food shortages and the spread of AIDS have caused a reversal in this regard, and in many countries these figures have returned to the levels of the early 1960s.
Since the 1960s, the vectors of external migrations have changed in Africa. After the liberation of countries from colonial dependence in the region, there was an outflow of the European population - officials, plantation owners, skilled workers and engineers working at production facilities, working under the contract of education and medical workers. Subsequently, the flow of labor migrants from Africa, mainly to European countries, began to grow. At first, it was formed at the expense of the population of the former North African French colonies, for which the former metropolis retained a single passport regime. Later, the flow of migrants from West Africa. Departure from here is directed to France and Great Britain. More recent labor migrants have taken jobs in the European labor market that were originally owned by North Africans. These are street sweepers, subway cleaners, couriers, etc. By this time, the settlers of the first wave had already occupied semi-skilled and skilled jobs. The assessment of the role of labor migration is ambiguous. On the one hand, they attract the most literate and active population from the countries of departure, on the other hand, while working in the metropolis, most of them acquire some kind of profession and, returning home, contribute to the formation of a more qualified labor force. In addition, migrant families have a higher standard of living, children from these families have the opportunity to study and receive vocational training. Working abroad reduces the unemployment rate in the countries of origin. People from Arab countries often travel to the oil-producing countries of the Persian Gulf. In this regard, Egypt stands out. The Egyptians work not only in oil production, but also in agriculture, the hotel and tourism business, education, and medicine. Internal migration is directed to large cities, where it is more likely to find work. The unregulated flow of migrants is the reason for the development of "false" or "slum" urbanization. The quarters of the migrants from the countryside were called "bidonvili", because the main building material is tin sheets, cardboard and film materials.
Yu.D. Dmitrievsky once noted that many cities in Tropical Africa are characterized by a division into native, business and European parts. They are extremely crowded. The most striking example of this kind is Lagos, which, according to this indicator (about 70 thousand people per 1 km²), occupies one of the first places in the world.
As in the rest of the developing world, the urban explosion in Africa is dominated by the growth of large cities. Their number increased from 80 in 1960 to 170 in 1980 and more than doubled thereafter. The number of cities with a population of 500,000 to 1,000,000 has also noticeably increased.
But this is especially clear distinguishing feature African urban explosion can be illustrated by the growth in the number of million-plus cities. The first such city in the late 20s of the last century was Cairo. According to the UN, at the end of the 1990s, there were already 33 agglomerations in Africa with a population of more than 1 million people, which concentrated 1/3 of the entire urban population of the region. Two of these agglomerations (Lagos and Cairo) with a population of more than 10 million people have already entered the category of super-cities. Approximately half of all millionaire agglomerations are now located in Tropical Africa. In 2001, there were already 43 millionaire agglomerations.
For the most part, African cities have not become engines of economic growth and structural transformation in the economy. On the contrary, in many cases they began to act as the main centers of the socio-economic crisis, becoming the focus of acute social contradictions and contrasts, such as unemployment, housing crisis, crime, etc. The complexity of the situation is aggravated by the fact that cities, especially large ones, continue to to attract the poorest rural residents, who are constantly replenishing the stratum of the marginalized population. Statistics show that the top ten cities in the world with the lowest quality of life are nine African cities: Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, Khartoum, Bangui, Luanda, Ouagadougou, Kinshasa, Bamako and Niamey.
The ethnic composition of the population is very complex. The most numerous people are the Arabs of North Africa. There are more than 200 peoples in the Tropical African region. During the colonial development of the mainland, many state borders were drawn without taking into account ethnic characteristics, which still leads to interethnic conflicts. The average population density in Africa is 22 people/km², which is significantly less than in Europe and Asia. In terms of urbanization (less than 30%), Africa lags behind other regions, but the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world.
Almost all African countries were colonies. After the Second World War, African countries gained independence. However, the former metropolises retained their economic influence, and during the years of colonial existence, a certain cultural unity developed between the metropolises and colonies.
Most of the former colonies are kept as state language metropolises. This makes it possible to receive a European education and avoid ethnic complications that arose in multi-ethnic countries when one of the local languages was introduced as the state language. Often the unity of monetary units is also preserved, so, along with national currencies, the former French colonies - (Benin, Burkina Faso, Gabon, Cameroon, Congo, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Chad, etc.) - formed the franc zone. The policy of the former metropolises and other states, aimed at maintaining economic influence on the countries that have received sovereignty, is called neo-colonialism.
general characteristics farms
The economy of most African countries has an agrarian-raw material structure. It is characterized by the following features:
Focus on the export of minerals and agricultural products; - extensive nature of the development of the agricultural sector;
The lack of qualified and simply competent labor resources, which hinders the introduction of new technologies.
Clanism and significant corruption in the economy. For example, the richest natural resources Nigeria confidently holds the first place in corruption in the world. All attempts by the US and the IMF to modernize the economy of this country crashed against a powerful wall of corruption and fraud. Paradoxically, Nigeria, being the 13th largest oil producer in the world, is experiencing a chronic shortage of petroleum products in its country.
- for tropical Africa characterized by a large external debt. For every African, including children, there is $350 of external debt. The region's debts amount to more than $200 billion, which is equal to 80% of GDP (in the Congo and Mozambique - 300%). African countries owe 60% of the total foreign debt to various states on a bilateral basis, 23% to international banks, and the rest is owed to private creditors.
- low inflow of investments. Africa is still out of the main financial flows. The current decade has seen a significant increase in foreign direct investment in developing countries, but it has only slightly affected the states of the "black" continent, which find it difficult to create favorable conditions for attracting foreign investors. According to UNCTAD, of all foreign direct investment in developing countries, only 5% is in African countries.
- decrease in international aid. Along with low volumes of investment inflows, there is a significant decrease in financial assistance to African countries. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (UNCTAD), official development assistance for sub-Saharan African countries dropped to $10.7 billion in 1996, compared with $14 billion in 1990. dollars. The downward trend in aid volumes has continued to the present.
- the threat of extinction. According to CNN, the AIDS epidemic has reduced the average life expectancy in the region to the level of the 50s. Life expectancy in some countries is now 39 years, up from the previous 60-65 years before the AIDS epidemic. Mortality rates are particularly high among children and young people, which will no doubt affect other demographics on the African continent.
Foreign relations of African countries
In the world value of foreign trade, the share of Africa barely reaches 1%. Exports from African countries are predominantly raw materials. Mineral, energy raw materials and agricultural products account for 69% of regional exports. The most important import items are machinery and equipment (40%), foodstuffs (12%), fuel (14%), and other manufactured goods (27%). The main trading partners are developed countries. They account for 65% of regional exports and over 70% of imports. Developing countries account for 26% of regional exports, including 10% for African countries.
In the global capital market, African countries act as net importers. The largest foreign investment partners in the region are South Africa and oil exporting countries. The total external debt of the region corresponds to approximately 47% of regional GDP. The amount of international assistance per capita is about $43 per year, in last years it is decreasing. External economic ties have a predominantly European vector, although the role of the United States has increased in the second half of the 20th century. Their interests are concentrated in countries that have a deficit for the United States and Western Europe raw materials manganese, cobalt, uranium ores, ores of heavy non-ferrous metals, bauxites, iron ores. The US industry is especially dependent on the supply of diamonds from South Africa. Guinea is the main supplier of bauxite for the aluminum industry of the Russian Federation.
In the future, the positions of European countries and the United States will push China and the Republic of Korea. The Chinese government intends to provide low-interest loans to African states for three years. “We will help Africa build financial capacity. We will provide $10 billion in concessional loans to the countries of the continent,” said Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of China, opening the fourth ministerial meeting of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, which was held in Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh.
In addition to new loans, the prime minister promised to write off multimillion-dollar debts owed to China to a number of Africa's poorest countries. Chinese cash it is supposed to be used to develop the infrastructure of African countries and finance programs in the social sphere. According to the premier, China is ready to continue to provide assistance to African countries not only in the construction of large facilities, but also in the areas of agriculture, education, health care, poverty alleviation, and drinking water purification. China promises to transfer modern clean energy technologies to African countries, contribute to the fight against climate change, and train African technicians and managers.
The Chinese authorities promise to encourage the country's financial institutions operating in African markets to provide and expand the access of African goods to the huge Chinese market. At the same time, China agreed to write off the debts of 31 African countries. The growing volume of Chinese investment in African economies confirms that Beijing is fulfilling its obligations.
Companies from China invest mainly in the development of oil fields in Africa, as well as in a number of projects related to the extraction of other minerals. According to official Chinese statistics, the volume of direct investment in Africa in 2008 amounted to $7.8 billion compared to $491 million in 2003. Thus, in six years this figure has grown almost 16 times. The trade turnover between China and African states is also growing rapidly. Since 2000, trade between China and Africa has increased by 45%, to $107 billion in 2008. Last year, China exported $51 billion worth of goods to Africa and imported $57 billion, mainly from oil-producing countries - Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo and Sudan. China is forced to buy more and more raw materials from Africa to support the growth of its increasingly energy-intensive economy. The new loans are also expected to further boost bilateral trade.
Until the end of the 1980s, the USSR actively developed external relations with this region, many countries had large debt obligations to the USSR. Imports included mineral raw materials, especially bauxite, products of tropical agriculture, textile raw materials. Exports were dominated by finished products and equipment. Currently, the volume of external relations has decreased, bauxites are of the greatest interest. Russian aluminum companies have a stake in bauxite mining. Alros bought an aluminum plant in Ghana.
Enclave economies are countries that specialize in the export of products from the primary sectors of the economy, mainly in the mining industry and/or plantation agriculture. They are focused on the external market and have very little impact on the development of other regions. They constitute, as it were, a separate "island of the world economy" in the structure of the national economy. Over time, as the relevant manufacturing industries develop in the country, their isolation may be broken, as happened in India with the development of textile and other industries.
General overview, geographical location
The mainland occupies 1/5 of the earth's land mass. In size (30.3 million km 2) of all parts of the world it is second only to Asia. The region includes 55 countries.
Almost all African countries are republics (with the exception of Lesotho, Morocco and Swaziland, which are still constitutional monarchies). The administrative-territorial structure of states, with the exception of Nigeria and South Africa, is unitary.
There is no other continent in the world that would suffer to the same extent from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa. The collapse of the colonial system began in the 1950s. in the north of the continent, the last colony - Namibia was liquidated in 1990. In 1993, a new state appeared on the political map of Africa - Eritrea (as a result of the collapse of Ethiopia).
Various criteria can be used to assess the economic and geographical position of African countries. One of the main criteria is the criterion that separates countries according to the presence or absence of access to the sea. Due to the fact that Africa is the most massive continent, no other of them has so many countries located far from the seas. Most of the inland countries are the most backward.
Natural conditions and resources
The continent is crossed almost in the middle by the equator and lies completely between the subtropical belts of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The peculiarity of its shape - the northern part is 2.5 times wider than the southern one - determined the difference in their natural conditions. In general, the mainland is compact: 960 km 2 of territory per 1 km of coastline.
The relief of Africa is characterized by stepped plateaus, plateaus, and plains. The most highly raised outskirts of the mainland.
Africa is exceptionally rich in minerals, although they are still poorly understood. Among other continents, it ranks first in terms of reserves of ores of manganese, chromite, bauxite, gold, platinum, cobalt, diamonds, and phosphorites. The resources of oil, natural gas, graphite, and asbestos are also great.
Africa's share in the world mining industry is 14%. Almost all extracted raw materials and fuel are exported from Africa to economically the developed countries which makes its economy more dependent on the world market.
In total, seven main mining regions can be distinguished in Africa. Three of these are in North Africa and four are in the Sahara.
Atlas Mountains stands out with reserves of iron, manganese, polymetallic ores, phosphorites (the world's largest phosphorite belt).
Egyptian mining region rich in oil natural gas, iron and titanium ores, phosphorites, etc.
Region of the Algerian and Libyan parts of the Sahara has the largest oil and gas reserves.
West Guinea region characterized by a combination of gold, diamonds, iron ores, bauxites.
East Guinea region rich in oil, gas, metal ores.
Zaire-Zambian region. On its territory there is a unique "Copper Belt" with deposits of high-quality copper, as well as cobalt, zinc, lead, cadmium, germanium, gold, silver.
Zaire is the world's leading producer and exporter of cobalt
Africa's largest mining region is located within Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. Almost all types of fuel, ore and non-metallic minerals are mined here, with the exception of oil, gas and bauxite.
Africa's minerals are unevenly distributed. There are countries in which the lack of a resource base slows down their development.
Significant land resources Africa. There is more cultivated land per inhabitant than in Southeast Asia or Latin America. In total, 20% of the land suitable for agriculture is cultivated. However, extensive farming and rapid population growth have led to catastrophic soil erosion, which reduces crop yields. This, in turn, exacerbates the problem of hunger, which is very relevant for Africa.
Agro-climatic resources Africa is defined by the fact that it is the hottest continent. But at the same time, precipitation is the main factor determining differences in climatic conditions.
Water resources of Africa. In terms of their volume, Africa is significantly inferior to Asia and South America. The hydrographic network is distributed extremely unevenly. The degree of use of the huge hydropower potential of the rivers (780 million kW) is low.
African Forest Resources second only to the resources of Latin America and Russia. But its average forest cover is much lower, and as a result of deforestation, which exceeds natural growth, deforestation has assumed alarming proportions.
endowment
Africa stands out at the highest rate worldwide population reproduction. In 1960, 275 million people lived on the continent, in 1980 - 475 million people, in 1990 - 648 million people, in 2000 - 872 million people. In terms of population growth, Kenya stands out - 4.1% (first place in the world), Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda. This high birth rate is due to centuries old traditions early marriages and large families, religious traditions, as well as an increased level of health care. Most countries of the continent do not pursue an active demographic policy.
Big consequences entails a change as a result population explosion age structure of the population: in Africa, the proportion of children is high and still growing (40 - 50%). This increases the "demographic burden" on the able-bodied population.
The population explosion in Africa exacerbates many of the problems of the regions, the most important of which is food problem. Despite the fact that 2/3 of Africa's population is employed in agriculture, the average annual population growth (3%) significantly outpaces the average annual growth in food production (1.9%).
Many problems are connected with the ethnic composition of the population of Africa, which is very diverse. 300 - 500 ethnic groups stand out. Some of them have already developed into large nations, but the majority are still at the level of nationalities, and remnants of the tribal system are also preserved.
An important feature of African countries is mismatch of political and ethnic boundaries as a consequence of the colonial era of the development of the continent. As a result, many united peoples found themselves on opposite sides of the border. This leads to inter-ethnic conflicts and territorial disputes. The latter cover 20% of the territory. Moreover, 40% of the territory is not demarcated at all, and only 26% of the length of the borders pass along natural boundaries, partially coinciding with ethnic boundaries.
The legacy of the past is that official languages Most African countries still have the languages of the former metropolitan countries - English, French, Portuguese.
The average population density in Africa (24 people / km 2) is several times less than in Europe and Asia. Africa is characterized by very sharp contrasts in settlement. For example, the Sahara contains the largest uninhabited territories in the world. Rare population in the zone of tropical rainforests. But there are also quite significant population groups, especially on the coasts. Even sharper contrasts are characteristic of individual countries.
In terms of urbanization, Africa still lags far behind other regions. However, the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world.
General characteristics of the economy
After gaining independence, African countries began to make efforts to overcome economic backwardness. Of particular importance were the nationalization of natural resources, the implementation of agrarian reform, economic planning, and the training of national personnel. As a result, the pace of development in the region accelerated. The restructuring of the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy began.
The greatest progress along this path has been made in mining industry, component now in terms of production 1/4 of the world. In the extraction of many types of minerals, Africa has an important, and sometimes monopoly place in the world. The main part of the extracted fuel and raw materials is exported to the world market and provides 9/10 of the region's exports. It is the extractive industry that primarily determines Africa's place in the MGRT.
Manufacturing industry poorly developed or absent altogether. But some countries in the region are distinguished by a higher level of manufacturing industry - South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco.
The second branch of the economy that determines Africa's place in the world economy is tropical and subtropical agriculture. It also has a pronounced export orientation.
But in general, Africa is still far behind in its development. It ranks last among the regions of the world in terms of the level of industrialization and crop productivity.
Most countries are characterized by a colonial type of sectoral structure of the economy. It is determined by: the predominance of low-commodity extensive agriculture; underdeveloped manufacturing industry; a strong backlog of transport - transport does not provide communication between the interior regions, and sometimes - foreign economic relations of states; the non-productive sphere is also limited and is usually represented by trade and services.
The territorial structure of the economy is also characterized by general underdevelopment and strong disproportions remaining from the colonial past. On the economic map of the region, only separate centers of industry are distinguished, mainly metropolitan areas and areas of high-value agriculture.
The one-sided agrarian and raw material development of the economies of most countries is a brake on the growth of their socio-economic indicators.
Monocultural specialization is a narrow specialization of the country's economy in the production of one, as a rule, raw material or food product, intended mainly for export. The emergence of such specialization is associated with the colonial past of countries.
Foreign economic relations
Monocultural specialization and the low level of economic development of African states are manifested in their small share in world trade and the great importance that foreign trade has for the continent itself. Thus, more than 1/4 of Africa's GDP goes to foreign markets, foreign trade provides up to 4/5 of government revenues to the budget of African countries.
About 80% of the trade turnover of the continent falls on the developed countries of the West.
