The economy of Africa consists of the trade, industry, and resources of the peoples of Africa. As of July 2005, approximately 887 million people were living in 54 different states. Africa is by far the world's poorest inhabited continent, and it is, on average, poorer than it was 25 years ago. Of the 175 countries reviewed in the United Nations' Human Development Report 2003, 25 African nations ranked lowest. Map of world GDP (PPP) by country using the IMF list for 2005 There are three lists of countries of the world sorted by their gross domestic product (GDP) (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year). ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... One million million (1,000,000,000,000) is the natural number following 999,999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,000,001. ... One thousand million (1,000,000,000) is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001. ... Map of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita for the year 2006. ... A millionaire is a person who has a net worth or wealth of more than one million United States dollars, euros, UK pounds or units of a comparably valued currency. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Development aid. ... Income, generally defined, is the money that is received as a result of the normal business activities of an individual or a business. ... The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the largest multilateral source of grant technical assistance in the world. ... African Development Bank Group Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie (Tin-foil hat) This page expands a four-character combination which might be any or all of: an abbreviation, an acronym, an initialism, a call sign, a word in English, or a word in another language. ... The world economy can be evaluated in various ways, depending on the model used, and this valuation can then be represented in various ways (for example, in 2006 US dollars). ... The economy of Asia comprises more than 4 billion people (60% of the world population), living in 46 different states. ... The economy of Europe comprises more than 710 million people in 48 different states. ... The economy of North America comprises more than 440 million people in 23 states. ... The economy of Oceania is comprised of more than. ... The economy of South America comprises more than 360 million people living in 14 states and territories. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... This is a list of African countries/dependencies by population. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Africa's current poverty is rooted, in part, in its history. The transition from colonialism has been shaky and uncertain. Since mid-20th century the Cold War and increased corruption and despotism have contributed to Africa's poor economy. While China and India have grown rapidly and Latin America has experienced moderate growth, lifting millions above subsistence living, Africa has stagnated and even regressed in terms of foreign trade, investment, and per capita income. This poverty has widespread effects, including low life expectancy, violence, and instability, which in turn perpetuate the continent's poverty. Over the decades, attempts to improve the economy of Africa have been met with little success. A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... It has been suggested that Benign colonialism be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... International trade is defined as trade between two or more partners from different countries (an exporter and an importer). ... Invest redirects here. ... The per capita income for a group of people may be defined as their total personal income, divided by the total population. ... A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows what he found. ... World map of human life expectancy, 2005 Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average length of survival of a living thing. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Regional variation

National GDP per capita ranges from wealthier states in the north and south to poorer states in the east. These figures from the 2002 World Bank are converted to US dollars.

While no African nation has joined the ranks of the developed nations in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) yet, the entire continent is not utterly impoverished and there is considerable variation in its wealth. Arab North Africa has long been closely linked to the economies of Europe and the Middle East. South Africa is by far the continent's wealthiest state, both in GDP per capita and in total GDP, and its neighbours have shared in this wealth. South Africa is a likely future member of the OECD. The small but oil-rich states of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea round out the list of the ten wealthiest states in Africa. Image File history File links African states by GDP per capita in 2002. ... A developed country is a country that has achieved (currently or historically) a high degree of industrialization, and which enjoys the higher standards of living which wealth and technology make possible. ... The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organization of those developed countries that accept the principles of representative democracy and a free market economy. ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, generally divided by the formidable barrier of the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... The economy of Europe comprises more than 710 million people in 48 different states. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ...

West Africa, with its long pre-colonial history of trade and development, has tended to be wealthier and more stable than the continental average. Island nations such as the Seychelles, Cape Verde, and Mauritius, have remained wealthier than the continental nations, although the unstable Comoros remain poor. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is a regional group of fifteen countries, founded on May 28, 1975 when fifteen West African countries signed the Treaty of Lagos. ...

The poorest states are those engaged in or just emerging from civil wars. These include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Burundi, and Somalia. In recent times the poorest region has been the Horn of Africa, although it had historically been one of the wealthiest regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia in particular had a long and successful history. The current poverty of the region, and the associated famines and wars, have been a problem for decades. A, thus far incomplete, list of conflicts in Africa (arranged by Country), including; Wars between African nations Civil Wars within African nations Colonial Wars/Conflicts in Africa Wars of Independence in African nations Secessionist/Separatist Conflicts in Africa Major episodes of violence (riots, massacres, etc. ... The Horn of Africa. ... A political map showing national divisions in relation to deonte Shepard Club Of America Free burgers for new members the ecological break (Sub-Saharan Africa in green) A geographical map of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the sub-Saharan area Sub-Saharan Africa is the term used to... A famine is a social and economic crisis that is commonly accompanied by widespread malnutrition, starvation, epidemic and increased mortality. ...

There is considerable internal variation within countries. Urban areas, especially capital cities, are generally wealthier than rural zones. Inequality is pronounced in most African countries; an upper class has a much higher income than the majority of the population. Crowded Shibuya, Tokyo shopping district An urban area is an area with an increased density of human-created structures in comparison to the areas surrounding it. ... This article is about a city that serves as a center of government and politics. ... Social equality is a social state of affairs in which certain different people have the same status in a certain respect, minimally at least in voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and property rights. ... Upper class refers to the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. ...

History

Main article: Economic history of Africa

Before the Roman Empire, Ancient Egypt was one of the world's most prosperous and advanced civilizations. The port of Alexandria, founded by Alexander the Great in 334 BC, was a hub for Mediterranean trade for centuries. Well into the 19th century, Egypt remained one of the most developed regions outside Europe. It is today believed that humanity originated in Africa and as soon as human societies formed so did economic activity. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... Khafres Pyramid (4th dynasty) and Great Sphinx of Giza (c. ... Alexandria (Greek: , Coptic: , Arabic: , Egyptian Arabic: Iskindireyya), (population of 3. ... Alexander the Great (Greek: ,[1] Megas Alexandros; July 356 BC–June 11, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, king of Macedon (336–323 BC), was one of the most successful military commanders in history. ... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...

South of the Sahara conditions were different. Internal trade within the continent, hindered by thick forests and massive deserts, was always difficult. Prosperity in sub-Saharan Africa was rare, excepting Nubia, Ethiopia, Mali and Ghana, which had trade routes north to the Mediterranean world and Middle East. A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, a wooded area set aside for hunting). ... This article is about arid terrain. ... A political map showing national divisions in relation to deonte Shepard Club Of America Free burgers for new members the ecological break (Sub-Saharan Africa in green) A geographical map of Africa, showing the ecological break that defines the sub-Saharan area Sub-Saharan Africa is the term used to... Nubia is the region in the south of Egypt, along the Nile and in northern Sudan. ...

Once a departure point for trans-Saharan caravans, the market of Douz, Tunisia is today popular with Western tourists.

New technologies and the development of civilization made trading easier. For most of the first millennium AD, the Axumite Kingdom had a prosperous trade empire on the eastern horn, where the modern states of Ethiopia and Eritrea lie. Axum had a powerful navy and traded as far as the Byzantine Empire, India, and possibly China. The introduction of the camel by North African Arab conquerors in the 10th century opened trade across the Sahara for the first time. The profits from the gold and salt trades created powerful empires in the western Sahel including the Kingdom of Ghana and the Mali and Kanem-Bornu Empires, where travellers reported vast wealth. Arabs helped build a maritime trade along Africa's east coast, which prospered as Swahili traders exported ivory and slaves across the Indian Ocean. The market of Douz, Tunisia. ... The market of Douz, Tunisia. ... The Great Mosque of Djenné, founded in 800, an important trading base, now a World Heritage Site Trans-Saharan trade, refers to trade across the Sahara between Mediterranean countries and West Africa. ... Categories: Stub | Cities in Tunisia ... The Axumite Kingdom, also known as the Aksum Kingdom, was an important trading nation in northeastern Africa, growing from circa the 5th century BC to become an important trading nation by the 1st century AD. It converted to Christianity in 325 or 328 (various sources). ... Axum, properly Aksum, is a city in northern Ethiopia. ... It has been suggested that Eastern Roman Empire be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Camel (disambiguation). ... Languages Arabic other minority languages Religions Predomiantly Sunni Islam, as well as Shia Islam, Greek Orthodoxy, Greek Catholicism, Maronite, Alawite Islam, Druze, Ibadi Islam, and Judaism Footnotes a Mainly in Antakya. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... For other uses, see Salt (disambiguation). ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Ghana Empire (existed c. ... The Kanem-Bornu Empire existed in modern Chad and Nigeria. ... Swahili (also called Kiswahili; see Kiswahili for a discussion of the nomenclature) is an agglutinative Bantu language widely spoken in East Africa. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ...

Further south empires were less common, with the notable exception of Great Zimbabwe. In the Great Lakes region, states such as Rwanda, Burundi, and Buganda became strongly centralized, due to its high population and agricultural surplus. Great Zimbabwe is the name given to the remains of stone, sometimes referred to as the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, of an ancient Southern African city, located at in present-day Zimbabwe which was once the centre of a vast empire known as the Munhumutapa Empire (also called Monomotapa or Mwene... The Great Lakes of Africa are a series of lakes in and around the Great Rift Valley. ... The flag of Buganda Buganda is the kingdom of the 52 clans of the Baganda people, the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda. ...

In the 15th century, Portuguese traders circumvented the Saharan trade route and began to trade directly with Guinea. Other European traders followed, rapidly boosting prosperity in Western Africa. States flourished, including the Kingdom of Benin, Dahomey, and the Ashanti Confederacy. Loose federations of city states such as those of the Yoruba and Hausa were common. However, this wealth was principally based on the slave trade, which collapsed following the abolition of slavery and later European colonization. --168. ... Dahomey was a kingdom in Africa, situated in what is now the nation of Benin. ... A shrunken Ashanti Confederacy near the end of its existence in 1896 The Ashanti Kingdom or Confederacy was a powerful state in West Africa in the years prior to European colonization. ... A map displaying todays federations. ... A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... The Yoruba (Yorùbá in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Africa; the majority of them speak the Yoruba language (èdèe Yorùbá; èdè = language). ... The Hausa are a Sahelian people chiefly located in the West African regions of northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger. ... It has been suggested that Impact of Slave Trade on Africa be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about the abolition of slavery. ...

Although Europeans were ostensibly committed to developing their colonies, colonial rulers employed a laissez-faire strategy during the first decades. It was hoped that European companies would prosper if given a secure operating environment. This only occurred in a few areas with rich resources; the colonial economies hardly grew from the 1890s through the 1920s. The colonies had to pay their own way, receiving little or no development money from Europe. Only in the 1930s, with the rise of Keynesian economics, did the colonial administrations seriously encourage development. However, new projects could not transpire until after the Great Depression and the Second World War. Laissez-faire is short for laissez faire, laissez passer, a French phrase meaning to let things alone, let them pass. First used by the eighteenth century Physiocrats as an injunction against government interference with trade, it is now used as a synonym for strict free market economics. ... Keynesian economics, or Keynesianism, is an economic theory based on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes, as put forward in his book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, published in 1936 in response to the Great Depression of the 1930s. ... The Great Depression was a time of economic down turn, which started after the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

African economies boomed during the 1950s as growth and international trade multiplied beyond their pre-war levels. The insatiable demand for raw materials in the rebuilding economies of Asia and Europe and the strong growth in North America inflated the price of raw materials. By the end of the colonial era in the 1960s, there was great hope for African self-sufficience and prosperity. However, sporadic growth continued as the newly independent nations borrowed heavily from abroad.

The world economic decline of the 1970s, rising oil prices, corruption, and political instability hit Africa hard. In subsequent decades Africa has steadily become poorer compared to the rest of the world; South America experienced solid growth, and East Asia spectacular growth, during that same period. According to the World Economic Forum, ten percent of the a world's poor were African In 1970; by 2000, that figure had risen to fifty percent. Between 1974 and 2000 the average income declined by $200. Beginning in 1976, the Lomé agreements and Cotonou agreement between the EU and ACP countries, including Sub-Saharan Africa, have structured economic relations between the two regions. South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Geographic East Asia. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. ... The Lomé Convention is a trade and aid agreement between the European Union (EU) and 71 African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, first signed in February 1975 in Lomé, Togo. ... The Cotonou Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP countries). ... ACP States The ACP States are the countries that are signatories of the Lomé Convention. ...

Sectors

Agriculture

Around sixty percent of African workers are employed by the agricultural sector with about three-fifths of African farmers being subsistence farmers. Subsistence farms provide a source of food and a relatively small income for the family, but generally fail to produce enough to make re-investment possible. Larger farms tend to grow cash crops such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, and rubber. These farms, normally operated by large corporations, cover tens of square kilometres and employ large numbers of labourers. Like most farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, this Cameroonian man cultivates at the subsistence level. ... In agriculture, a cash crop is a crop which is grown for money. ... A cup of coffee Workers sorting and pulping coffee beans in Guatemala Mature coffee fruit still on the plant Coffee is a widely consumed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds — commonly referred to as beans — of the coffee plant. ... Cotton ready for harvest. ... Cocoa beans in a cacao pod Cocoa is the dried and partially fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. ... Latex being collected from a tapped rubber tree Rubber is an elastic hydrocarbon polymer which occurs as a milky colloidal suspension (known as latex) in the sap of several varieties of plants. ...

The situation whereby African nations export crops to the West while millions on the continent starve has been blamed on Western States including Japan, the European Union and the United States. These countries protect their own agricultural sectors with high import tariffs and offer subsidies to their farmers, which many contend leads the overproduction of such commodities as grain, cotton and milk. The result of this is that the global price of such products is continually reduced until Africans are unable to compete, except for cash crops that do not grow easily in a northern climate.

Due to these market forces, in Africa excess capacity is devoted to growing crops for export. Thus, when civil unrest or a bad harvest occurs, there is often very little food saved and many starve. Ironically, excess foodstuffs grown in developed nations are regularly destroyed, as it is not economically viable to transport it across the oceans to a market poor in capital. Although cash crops can expand a nation's wealth, there is often a risk that focusing on them rather than staples will lead to food shortages and hunger.

See also: Trade and development

Trade is a key factor in economic development. ...

Mining and drilling

Africa's most valuable exports are minerals and petroleum. A few countries possess and export the vast majority of these resources. The southern nations have large reserves of gold, diamonds, and copper. Petroleum is concentrated in Nigeria, its neighbours, and Libya. Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... This article is about the gemstone. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic pinkish red Standard atomic weight 63. ...

While mining and drilling produce most of Africa's revenues each year, these industries only employ about two million people, a tiny fraction of the continent's population. Profits normally go either to large corporations or to the governments. Both have been known to squander this money on luxuries for the elite or on megaprojects that return little value.

In some cases, these resources have turned out to be a curse. Although Congo is rich in minerals, the country remains one of the poorest countries in the world. This is historically due to ownership fights over these minerals, tracing back to the early 1900s. After Congo's independence from Belgium, the colonial government hesitated to leave behind these resources. Congo solicited UN help against Belgium, but that turned out to be a bad idea. In an attempt to get out of the quagmire, Congo sought Soviet assistance. This led the country into deeper trouble, as the country separated into two and a long proxy war between the West and East began. The resource curse or paradox of plenty refers to the paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources tend to have less economic growth than countries without these natural resources. ...

See also: Aluminum in Africa; Iron ore in Africa; Platinum in Africa; Titanium in Africa

Aluminium in Africa is mined primarily in Guinea, Mozambique and Ghana. ... Iron ore production in Africa is dominated by South Africa, Mauritania and Algeria; Zimbabwe and Morocco produce ore for use within the country. ... Platinum, and platinum group metals, in Africa, are produced in Zimbabwe and the Republic of South Africa. ... Titanium mining in Africa has been beset by environmental problems due to the polluting nature of processing rutile, a principal titanium ore. ...

Manufacturing

Africa is the least industrialized continent; only South Africa and North Africa have substantial manufacturing sectors. Despite readily available cheap labour, nearly all of the continent's natural resources are exported for secondary refining and manufacturing. According to the AFDB, about 15% of workers are employed in the industrial sector.  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, generally divided by the formidable barrier of the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... The African Development Bank (ADB) is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of States dollar|$]]47. ...

The multinational corporations that control most of the world's major industries and their financiers require political stability before erecting an expensive factory. An educated populace, good infrastructure and a stable source of electricity are essential to investments. These factors are rare in Africa. Other developing regions of the world such as India and China have been more attractive to companies looking to build a new factory or invest in a local enterprise. A multinational corporation (MNC) is a corporation or enterprise that manages production establishments or delivers services in at least two countries. ... Lightning strikes during a night-time thunderstorm. ...

Many African states used to limit foreign investment to ensure local majority ownership. Close governmental control over industry further discouraged international investment. Attempts to foster local industry have been hampered by insufficient technology, training, and investment money. The paucity of local markets and the difficulty of transporting goods from major African centres to world markets contribute to the lack of manufacturing outside of South Africa and Egypt.

The continent has the largest growth rate of cellular subscribers in the world.^[1] African markets are expanding nearly twice as fast as Asian markets.^[2] The African cell phone has created a base for cellular banking.^[3] This article deals primarily or exclusively with the definition of Asian in English-speaking countries, mainly referring to immigrants or descendants of immigrants living therein. ...

Investment and banking

Banking in Africa has long been problematic. Because local banks are often unstable and corrupt, governments and industry rely on international banks. South Africa alone has a thriving banking sector, aided by the international sanctions of the apartheid era, which forced out the once-dominant British banks. In the years after independence, African governments heavily regulated the banking sector and placed strict limits on international competition. In recent decades, banking reform has been a priority of the IMF and World Bank. One important reform was obtaining permission for increased penetration by foreign banks. South Africa has been the most successful in attracting local operation of foreign banks. A segregated beach in South Africa, 1982. ... The flag of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring foreign exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ... Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means...

Encouraging foreign investment in Africa has been difficult. Even Africans are reluctant to invest locally; about forty percent of sub-Saharan African savings are invested in other markets. Foreign governments who invest may have ulterior motives not in the best interest of the African economies. The IMF and World Bank only lend money after imposing stringent conditions such as austerity policies. Austerity is a term from economics that describes a policy where nations reduce living standards, curtail development projects, and generally shift the revenue stream out of the physical economy, in order to satisfy the demands of creditors. ...

There are two African currency unions; the West African Banque Centrale des États de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (BCEAO) and the Central African Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC). Both use the CFA Franc as their legal tender. In economics, a monetary union is a situation where several countries have agreed to share a single currency among them, for example, the East Caribbean Dollar. ... now. ...

See also: Central banks and currencies of Africa and List of African stock exchanges

Countries using CFA franc There are two African currency unions; the West African Banque Centrale des Etats de lAfrique de lOuest (BCEAO) and the Central African Banque des Etats de lAfrique Centrale (BEAC). ... South Africa - Joberg - Poli index This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ...

Determinants

The intractable nature of Africa's poverty runs counter to modern economic theory, leading to debate concerning its root causes. Endemic warfare and unrest, widespread corruption, and despotic regimes are both causes and effects of the continued economic problems. Endemic warfare is the state of continual, low-threshold warfare in a tribal warrior society. ...

Geography

Africa's geography is unsuited to trade, hampering its economy. In the centre of the continent, on the western side, an almost impenetrable rainforest impedes the transit of people and goods. Wealthy parts of South Africa are blocked from the rest of Africa by the Kalahari Desert, and the Sahara creates an obvious barrier to trade from the north. Although Africa has great river systems such as the Nile, Niger, Congo, and Zambezi, they do not link the continent into trade routes effectively as happens in Europe and China. Rapids and cataracts block African rivers, requiring development projects to allow navigation. The wet terrain of the interior complicates transport. Few roads are paved and during the wet season unpaved tracks become impassable mud. The Daintree Rainforest in Queensland, Australia. ... The Kalahari Desert is a large arid to semi-arid sandy area in southern Kgalagadi Africa extending 900,000 km² (562,500 sq. ... The Nile (Arabic: , transliteration: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

Countries in Africa are cut off from the sea more than those on other continents. Africa has more landlocked nations than any other continent, which support a high population density compared to the steppes or plains of North America and Asia. The ridge running from Zimbabwe to Ethiopia has superb volcanic soils and the higher altitude produces a more temperate climate. These enable more interior settlement, but the lack of access to the sea makes international trade harder. A steppe in Western Kazakhstan in early spring In physical geography, a steppe (Russian: - , Ukrainian: - , Kazakh: - ), pronounced in English as , is a plain without trees (apart from those near rivers and lakes); it is similar to a prairie, although a prairie is generally considered as being dominated by tall grasses... == Headline text == Plains is the name of several places in the [[United usyduisaydashdsdsjdn Plains, North Lanarkshire, Scotland There are also The Plains, Ohio; Plainsboro, New Jersey; and Plainville, Kansas You might also be looking for the geographical feature plain; or the Plains Indians. ...

A satellite composite image of Africa reveals the more inhabitable regions of the interior.

The majority of the world's population and wealth is found in the temperate zone. Historically the vast expanse of Eurasia, almost entirely in the temperate zone (except for the vast tracts that are dry and hot such as the Arabian Peninsula; cold tundra such as in North Asia, and tropical such as subcontinental India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Singapore) was linked by land routes, allowing technologies and ideas to spread from one area over time, aiding innovation. The agricultural techniques and medicines designed to work in the northern climes may fail in the tropics. This theory could partly explain why temperate South Africa is by far the wealthiest part of Africa, and why other tropical areas in South America and Indonesia share Africa's poverty, though tropical Singapore and Brunei do not. There are no tropical countries in the OECD, apart from Mexico and Australia which have significant tropical sections, and only a handful have a GDP per capita above the world average, again apart from Singapore Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand. A tropical latitude is not a guarantee of poverty, but globally there is a definite correlation between wealth and climate, though this said theory is far more complicated than simply considering "tropical" vs. "non-tropical" countries or regions. Variations of this theory of geographic determinism date back to Montesquieu, though these theories have been simplistic and unscientific until they have recently been revived and refined by academics such as William Masters and Jeffrey Sachs and popular writers such as Jared Diamond. Download high resolution version (741x800, 113 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (741x800, 113 KB) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Eurasia African-Eurasian aspect of Earth Eurasia is the Earths largest landmass covering about 21215121321km² compared with the Americas (approximately 42,000,000 km²), Africa (approximately 30,000,000 km²), and Antarctica (approximately 13,000,000 km²). Eurasia comprises the traditional continents of Europe and Asia. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Geographic determinism is a theory that the human habits and characteristics of a particular culture are shaped by geographic conditions. ... Montesquieu in 1728. ... Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs (born November 5, 1954 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American economist known for his work as an economic advisor to governments in Latin America, Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia, and Africa. ... Jared Mason Diamond (b. ...

Africa is well-endowed with natural resources, including gold, diamonds, and oil reserves, but due to several factors including poor governance and global trade policies which place tariffs on finished goods from Africa, few African countries have materially benefited from their mineral wealth. Africa is as well suited to agriculture as any other continent; the volcanic soils of the Great Lakes region are—by some measures—the best in the world. GOLD refers to one of the following: GOLD (IEEE) is an IEEE program designed to garner more student members at the university level (Graduates of the Last Decade). ... This article is about the gemstone. ... Pumpjack pumping an oil well near Lubbock, Texas Ignacy Łukasiewicz - inventor of the refining of kerosene from crude oil. ... The Great Lakes of Africa are a series of lakes in and around the Great Rift Valley. ...

Sub-Saharan Africans have historically not built structures from stone. Pre-colonial civilizations built mainly out of mud brick, leaving few lasting ruins except Great Zimbabwe. Finding no architectural monuments, European explorers and historians long concluded that pre-colonial sub-Saharan Africa was devoid of civilization, as in Europe all great civilizations left an indelible mark in stone ruins. A Mudbrick is an unfired brick made of clay. ... Great Zimbabwe is the name given to the remains of stone, sometimes referred to as the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, of an ancient Southern African city, located at in present-day Zimbabwe which was once the centre of a vast empire known as the Munhumutapa Empire (also called Monomotapa or Mwene...

AIDS has compounded already slow economic development in Africa.

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (909x606, 64 KB)Graph showing the impact of AIDS on the economic growth of various African countries. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (909x606, 64 KB)Graph showing the impact of AIDS on the economic growth of various African countries. ...

Disease

Related article: AIDS in Africa AIDS education at a school in Uganda. ...

Closely linked to geography is the problem of disease in Africa. The tropics are more hospitable to disease than the colder climates. The most significant illness has long been malaria. A new problem of vast magnitude is the rise of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa.^[4] AIDS, whose spread correlates with poverty, has nevertheless hit hardest in some of the wealthiest African countries, including Botswana, Swaziland, and South Africa. AIDS has decimated or will decimate the working-age population of many states. Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease that is widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa. ... Species Human immunodeficiency virus 1 Human immunodeficiency virus 2 Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS, a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections). ... Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS or Aids) is a collection of symptoms and infections resulting from the specific damage to the immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). ...

The healthcare costs, including those of importing anti-retroviral AIDS drugs from the West, is a new burden on many African states, leading to the challenging of drug prices and the manufacture of cheap generic alternatives. Tropical diseases can be just as expensive to cure, assuming a cure exist. Since the tropical regions are poorer, pharmaceutical companies are reluctant to invest in curing the diseases of the region. Disease not only reduces the work force and creates a burden on health care, but also has harms agriculture and transportation, as most forms of livestock cannot survive the diseases of the region. Historically, sub-Saharan Africans could not use pack animals for trade or work horses for labour, limiting the continent's development. Antiretroviral drugs are medications for the treatment of infection by retroviruses, primarily HIV. Different classes of antiretroviral drugs act at different stages of the HIV life cycle. ... A generic drug (pl. ...

Africa is in the midst of major AIDS epidemic. The cost of vaccines and medical supplies compounds the economic cost of the labour force becoming medical dependents. As parents die or become unable to work, their children must find care elsewhere, adding to the burden of already struggling families and states. This article or section needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ...

Colonialism

Main article: Colonization of Africa.

By 1913, European powers had divided the African continent into a patchwork that showed little regard for ethnic or linguistic boundaries.

The economic impact of the colonization of Africa has been debated. Africa acquired its greatest relative wealth in the 1960s, just prior to decolonization. African countries have yet to return to those levels of wealth. Some see this as evidence that colonialism helped local economies, while others argue that colonialism left these economies unable to sustain themselves. Map of West Africa, ca. ... Map showing European claimants to the African continent in 1913 Turned Image:Colafrica. ... Map of West Africa, ca. ...

To achieve wealth during the colonial period, imperial overseers geared the economies of Africa towards exporting raw materials. Egypt produced cotton, Ruanda-Urundi was almost completely dedicated to growing coffee, and Upper Volta specialized in palm oil. Basing an entire nation's wealth on one commodity in this way would have debilitating effects later. These monocultures left national economies extremely vulnerable to price swings, making economic planning difficult. Some writers, such as Walter Rodney in his influential book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, argue that these colonial policies are directly responsible for many of Africa's modern problems. Other post-colonial scholars, most notably Frantz Fanon, have argued that the true effects of colonialism are psychological and that domination by a foreign power creates a lasting sense of inferiority and subjugation that creates a barrier to growth and innovation. Cotton ready for harvest. ... Ruanda-Urundi was a Belgian League of Nations Mandate and then UN trust territory from 1924 to 1962 when it became the independent states of Rwanda and Burundi. ... A cup of coffee Workers sorting and pulping coffee beans in Guatemala Mature coffee fruit still on the plant Coffee is a widely consumed beverage prepared from the roasted seeds — commonly referred to as beans — of the coffee plant. ... Map showing the Volta river in Upper Volta Upper Volta (French: ) was the name of the African country now called Burkina Faso. ... Palm oil from Ghana with its natural dark color visible, 2 litres Palm oil block Palm oil is a form of edible vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the oil palm tree. ... Monoculture describes systems that have very low diversity. ... Walter Rodney (March 23, 1942 - June 13, 1980) was a prominent Guyanese historian and political figure. ... How Europe Underdeveloped Africa is a book written by Walter Rodney in which he portrays an Africa that was deliberately exploited and underdeveloped by European colonial regimes. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

European culture in the late 19th century brought racism and social Darwinism. The elevation of the white race above blacks had lasting repercussions in lands with significant European immigration, notably South Africa and Rhodesia. Even more damaging was the introduction of the idea that northern Hamites such as the Ethiopians and Tutsi were racially superior to other Africans. This division of society into rival ethnicities would have long-lasting negative effects, especially in Rwanda and Burundi. Because racism carries connotations of race-based bigotry, prejudice, violence, oppression, stereotyping or discrimination, the term has varying and often hotly contested definitions. ... This article needs additional references or sources to facilitate its verification. ... Southern Rhodesia, todays Zimbabwe. ... Hamitic is an obsolete ethno-linguistic classification of some ethnic groups within the Afroasiatic (previously termed Semito-Hamitic) language family. ... The Tutsi are one of three native peoples of the nations of Rwanda and Burundi in central Africa, the other two being the Twa and the Hutu. ...

In those areas that were colonies rather than protectorates, colonizers acted quickly to ensure all the top members of society were Europeans. This included not only the rulers but the lawyers, doctors, and academics. The colonial rulers looked upon educated native populations, such as in the Gold Coast and the Maghreb, with great suspicion as probable nationalists and anti-imperialists. Colonial regimes therefore did not invest money or effort in creating a local elite. While they funded education, this was almost entirely elementary skills such as literacy. Once independent, African states saw an exodus of European administrators and consequently lacked individuals with the training or education to operate the government they had inherited. For instance, the massive area of French Equatorial Africa was divided into four independent nations, but was home to only five locals who were university graduates. This article is about states protected and/or dominated by a foreign power. ... Flag of Gold Coast Map from 1896 of the British Gold Coast Colony. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Location of French Equatorial Africa. ...

One method of gauging the effects of colonialism on the economies of Africa is to compare the results of different colonial policies implemented by the European powers. Regions where the economy was plundered, such as the Raubwirtschaft policies of Leopold II in the Congo Free State, have not prospered. The long reluctance of Portugal to surrender its colonies, leading to long wars of independence, had an obvious negative effect on Mozambique and Angola. The countries formerly under French control have fared much better, and those under British dominion were the most successful. This inequality may be due to other factors than economic policy. Britain, at the time of the Scramble for Africa, was the world's greatest power and could thus cherry-pick the wealthiest parts of the continent. The French, with their mighty navy, could also occupy prosperous areas, while the Belgians were forced to take the economically disadvantaged interior. Raubwirtschaft (German for plunder economy, robber economy, or rapine) is a term for a form of economy where the goal is to plunder the wealth and resources of a country or geographical area. ... Leopold II, King of the Belgians (Léopold Louis Philippe Marie Victor (French) or Leopold Lodewijk Filips Marie Victor (Dutch)) (April 9, 1835 – December 17, 1909) succeeded his father, Leopold I of Belgium, to the Belgian throne in 1865 and remained king until his death. ... Flag Capital Boma Government Monarchy Ruler and owner Leopold II of Belgium Historical era New Imperialism  - Established 1885  - Annexation by Belgium 15 November, 1908 The Congo Free State was a corporate state privately owned by King Leopold II of Belgium (not in his role as monarch) that included the entire... Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ...

Africa as a whole has not prospered compared with other colonised regions in Asia and South America. At the end of the Second World War South America was economically the strongest of the colonised regions; in the span of one generation, former colonies in Asia have become economic powerhouses. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Cultural and linguistic diversity

In the Scramble for Africa, national boundaries in sub-Saharan Africa were established by Europeans using latitude and longitude rather than natural borders. This separated population centres from their supplies of food and natural resources. The artificial borders of modern African states cut across cultural, tribal, linguistic and religious boundaries, creating ethnic and religious cleavages which impede national unity and induce internal violence. Cecil Rhodes: Cape-Cairo railway project. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi, , gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. ... Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ (lambda),[1][2] describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ...

However, those states that preserved pre-colonial boundaries have been no more successful. Few countries in Africa have more troubled recent histories than Rwanda and Burundi, although their borders are almost identical to those of the prosperous kingdoms from which they are descended. The ancient and only briefly occupied state of Ethiopia is one of the poorest on the continent, and ethnically unified Somalia has failed so completely that it no longer exists in any real sense.

Africa is a much divided continent with many small countries. Successful economic growth requires regional cooperation, which political tensions make difficult. To be effective, foreign aid must be multilateral, making it harder to base aid upon the performance of local governments. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Development aid. ...

Over 67 languages are spoken by the people of Ghana.

The African peoples speak over 2,000 languages.^[5] In 2005, six of the world's ten most linguistically diverse countries were African. The nearly 26 million people of Tanzania alone speak 127 distinct languages.^[6] The primary language of government, political debate, academic discourse, and administration is often the language of the former colonial powers—English, French, or Portuguese. Only an elite minority speak these European languages fluently enough to participate in these institutions without intermediaries, further disenfranchising the majority population. Bolga Road in downtown Tamale, Ghana (November 1999) This photograph was taken by my father, Bill Leonhard. ... Bolga Road in downtown Tamale, Ghana (November 1999) This photograph was taken by my father, Bill Leonhard. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...

Governance

The political situation in Africa perpetuates the intractable nature of African poverty. Democracy in Africa has not been historically successful, almost always supplanted by centralized authoritarian rule such as military dictatorships. Alhough some rulers worked to improve the lot of their nation's citizens, others used power purely for their own benefit. Among the most notorious was Mobuto Sese Seko of Zaire, whose regime has been called a kleptocracy due to its looting of the nation's wealth. According to international measures, the economies of Africa generally rank among the most corrupt. Bribery and graft abound, due to poverty and poorly handled de-colonization, and the superpowers' (Soviet Union and United States) practice during the Cold War of supporting any ruler with the desired political alignment, regardless of their managerial practices or human rights records. General Augusto Pinochet (sitting) as head of the newly established military junta in Chile, September 1973. ... Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku wa za Banga (or Mobutu Sese Seko Koko Ngbendu Wa Za Banga; October 14, 1930 - September 7, 1997) was the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) from 1965 to 1997. ... Kleptocracy (sometimes Cleptocracy) (root: Klepto+cracy = rule by thieves) is a pejorative, informal term for a government that is primarily designed to sustain the personal wealth and political power of government officials and their cronies (collectively, kleptocrats). ... Bribery is a crime implying a sum or gift given alters the behaviour of the person in ways not consistent with the duties of that person. ... Colonialism in 1945 Decolonization refers to the achievement of independence by the various Western colonies and protectorates in Asia and Africa following World War II. This conforms with an intellectual movement known as Post-Colonialism. ... The USA and USSR were the two superpowers during the Cold War. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

Dependency theory asserts that the wealth and prosperity of the superpowers and their allies in Europe, North America and East Asia is dependent upon the poverty of the rest of the world, including Africa. Economists who subscribe to this theory believe that poorer regions must break their trading ties with the developed world in order to prosper.^{[citation needed]} Main International Relations Theories Politics Portal This box:      Dependency theory is a body of social science theories, both from developed and developing nations, that create a worldview which suggests that poor underdeveloped states of the periphery are exploited by wealthy developed nations of the centre, in order to sustain economic... World map showing the location of Europe. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... Geographic East Asia. ...

Less radical theories suggest that economic protectionism in developed countries hampers Africa's growth. When developing countries have harvested agricultural produce at low cost, they generally do not export as much as would be expected. Abundant farm subsidies and high import tariffs in the developed world, most notably those set by Japan, the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy, and the United States Department of Agriculture, are thought to be the cause. Although these subsidies and tariffs have been gradually reduced, they remain high. This theory, however, overlooks the heavy hand of the State in several African nations that can even prevent their own exports from becoming competitive. An agricultural subsidy is a governmental subsidy paid to farmers to supplement their income, help manage the supply of agricultural commodities, and bolster the supply of such commodities on international markets. ... The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a system of European Union agricultural subsidies and programmes. ... The United States Department of Agriculture (also called the Agriculture Department, or USDA) is a United States Federal Executive Department (or Cabinet Department). ...

Although Africa and Asia had similar levels of income in the 1960s, Asia has since outpaced Africa. One school of economists argues that Asia's superior economic development lies in local investment. Corruption in Africa consists primarily of extracting economic rent and moving the resulting financial capital overseas instead of investing at home; the stereotype of African dictators with Swiss bank accounts is often accurate. Asian dictators such as Suharto often take a cut on everything, necessitating bribery, but enable development through infrastructure investment and the social stability created by law and order. University of Massachusetts researchers estimate that from 1970 to 1996, capital flight from 30 sub-Saharan countries totalled $187bn, exceeding those nations' external debts.^[7] This disparity in development is consistent with the model theorized by economist Mancur Olson. Because governments were politically unstable and new governments often confiscated their predecessors' assets, officials would stash their wealth abroad, out of reach of any future expropriation. World map showing the location of Asia. ... Economic development is a sustainable increase in living standards that implies increased per capita income, better education and health as well as environmental protection. ... In economic theory, economic rent is an analytic term employed to distinguish the difference between the income earned by an input or factor of production, and the cost of the factor of production. ... In brief, financial capital is money used by entreprenuers and businesses to buy what they need to make their products (or provide their services). ... Haji Mohammad Soeharto (born June 8, 1921), more commonly referred to as simply Soeharto (Suharto in the English-speaking world), is a former Indonesian military and political leader. ... This page is about the university system across Massachusetts. ... Seen in Asian markets in the 1990s capital flight is when assets and/or money rapidly flow out of a country. ... Sub-Saharan Africa, Africa south of the Sahara Desert, is the term used to describe those countries of Africa that are not part of North Africa. ... Professor Mancur Olson (1932 - February 19, 1998) was a leading social scientist who, at the time of his death, worked at the University of Maryland, College Park. ... Expropriation is the act of removing from control the owner of an item of property. ...

Corruption encouraged social inequality, because the wealthy elite not only avoided investing at home, but also imported most of its consumption. Desirable luxury goods were generally not locally available. This hindered the development of national markets. Historically, economic development is closely linked to the creation of a middle class with enough income to save and invest but limited influence on governance. In countries without such a middle class, development is all but impossible, except the illusory and destructive development based on extracting resources like oil. The middle class (or middle classes) comprises a social group once defined by exception as an intermediate social class between the nobility and the peasantry. ... The related terms resource extraction and Resource extraction industry both refer to the practice of locating, acquiring and selling any resource, but typically a natural resource. ...

War

Since independence, Africa has seen dozens of wars, both civil and international. This has contributed to poverty because states have spent their scarce resources on military equipment and supplies. Development has suffered, since warfare has scared off foreign investors, destroyed infrastructure, and created lasting animosities.

Much conflict was instigated by the Cold War. The countries of the Western and Eastern blocs leveraged foreign aid money to coax countries into their camp. Aid was tied to the purchase of military weapons, and donor countries ignored misappropriation of the funds. Corruption became endemic, hampering economic development. Proxy conflicts erupted in Africa when each bloc would fund and assisted rebel or sectarian groups under the control of the opposing bloc. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

Violence in Africa has increased following the Cold War, despite the slashing of foreign aid spending in developed countries. Civil wars have raged throughout the Great Lakes region, Somalia, Sudan, Mozambique, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Guinea-Bissau. International wars include the First and Second Congo Wars between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and its neighbours, and conflict between Ethiopia and its former province Eritrea. Combatants AFDL, Uganda, Rwanda Zaire Commanders Laurent-Désiré Kabila Mobutu Sésé Seko Casualties Civilians killed: 200,000+ The First Congo War was a conflict from late 1996 to 1997 in which Zairean President Mobutu Sésé Seko was overthrown by rebel forces backed by foreign powers such as... Combatants Democratic Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Chad, Mai-Mai, Hutu-aligned forces Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Movement for the Liberation of Congo Congolese Rally for Democracy Tutsi-aligned forces Commanders Laurent-Désiré Kabila (Congo), Joseph Kabila (Congo), Sam Nujoma Robert Mugabe José Eduardo dos Santos Idriss D...

Effects of widespread poverty