General characteristics of Africa – Knowledge Hypermarket

Africa is the second largest continent after Eurasia, washed by the Mediterranean Sea from the north, the Red Sea from the northeast, the Atlantic Ocean from the west and the Indian Ocean from the east and south. Africa is also the name given to the part of the world consisting of the continent of Africa and adjacent islands. Africa has an area of ​​29.2 million km², with islands about 30.3 million km², thus covering 6% of the total surface area of ​​the Earth and 20.4% of the land surface. Africa is home to 55 states, 5 unrecognized states and 5 dependent territories (islands).

General economic and geographical characteristics of African countries

A peculiarity of the geographical location of many countries in the region is the lack of access to the sea. At the same time, in countries facing the ocean, the coastline is poorly indented, which is unfavorable for the construction of large ports.
Africa is exceptionally rich in natural resources. The reserves of mineral raw materials are especially large - manganese ores, chromites, bauxites, etc. There are fuel raw materials in depressions and coastal areas. Oil and gas are produced in North and West Africa (Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Libya). Enormous reserves of cobalt and copper ores are concentrated in Zambia and the DRC; manganese ores are mined in South Africa and Zimbabwe; platinum, iron ores and gold - in South Africa; diamonds - in Congo, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Ghana; phosphorites - in Morocco, Tunisia; uranium - in Niger, Namibia.
Africa has quite large land resources, but soil erosion has become catastrophic due to improper cultivation. Water resources across Africa are distributed extremely unevenly. Forests occupy about 10% of the territory, but as a result of predatory destruction their area is rapidly declining.
Africa has the highest rate of natural population growth. The natural increase in many countries exceeds 30 people per 1000 inhabitants per year. There remains a high proportion of children (50%) and a small proportion of older people (about 5%).
African countries have not yet managed to change the colonial type of sectoral and territorial structure of the economy, although the rate of economic growth has accelerated somewhat. The colonial type of sectoral structure of the economy is distinguished by the predominance of small-scale, consumer agriculture, weak development of the manufacturing industry, and lagging development of transport. African countries have achieved the greatest success in the mining industry. In the extraction of many minerals, Africa holds a leading and sometimes monopoly place in the world (in the extraction of gold, diamonds, platinum group metals, etc.). The manufacturing industry is represented by light and food industries, there are no other industries, with the exception of a number of areas near the availability of raw materials and on the coast (Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, Zambia, DRC).
The second branch of the economy that determines Africa's place in the world economy is tropical and subtropical agriculture. Agricultural products account for 60-80% of GDP. The main cash crops are coffee, cocoa beans, peanuts, dates, tea, natural rubber, sorghum, and spices. Recently, grain crops have begun to be grown: corn, rice, wheat. Livestock farming plays a subordinate role, with the exception of countries with arid climates. Extensive cattle breeding predominates, characterized by a huge number of livestock, but low productivity and low marketability. The continent is not self-sufficient in agricultural products.
Transport also retains a colonial type: railways go from raw material extraction areas to the port, while the regions of one state are practically not connected. Rail and sea transport are relatively developed. In recent years, other types of transport have also developed - road (a road was built across the Sahara), air, pipeline.
All countries, with the exception of South Africa, are developing, most of them are the poorest in the world (70% of the population lives below the poverty line).

Problems and difficulties of African states

Most African states have developed bloated, unprofessional and ineffective bureaucracies. Given the amorphous nature of social structures, the only organized force remained the army. The result is endless military coups. Dictators who came to power appropriated untold wealth for themselves. The capital of Mobutu, the President of the Congo, at the time of his overthrow was $7 billion. The economy functioned poorly, and this gave scope for a “destructive” economy: the production and distribution of drugs, illegal mining of gold and diamonds, even human trafficking. Africa's share in world GDP and its share in world exports were declining, and output per capita was declining.
The formation of statehood was extremely complicated by the absolute artificiality of state borders. Africa inherited them from its colonial past. They were established during the division of the continent into spheres of influence and have little to do with ethnic boundaries. The Organization of African Unity, created in 1963, aware that any attempt to correct a particular border could lead to unpredictable consequences, called for these borders to be considered immutable, no matter how unfair they may be. But these borders have nevertheless become a source of ethnic conflicts and the displacement of millions of refugees.
The main sector of the economy of most countries in Tropical Africa is agriculture, designed to provide food for the population and serve as a raw material base for the development of the manufacturing industry. It employs the majority of the region's amateur population and creates the bulk of the total national income. In many countries of Tropical Africa, agriculture occupies a leading place in exports, providing a significant portion of foreign exchange earnings. In the last decade, an alarming picture has been observed with the growth rate of industrial production, which allows us to talk about the actual deindustrialization of the region. If in 1965-1980 they (on average per year) amounted to 7.5%, then in the 80s only 0.7%; a drop in growth rates took place in the 80s in both the mining and manufacturing industries. For a number of reasons, the mining industry plays a special role in ensuring the socio-economic development of the region, but this production is also decreasing by 2% annually. A characteristic feature of the development of the countries of Tropical Africa is the weak development of the manufacturing industry. Only in a very small group of countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Senegal) does its share in GDP reach or exceed 20%.

Integration processes

A characteristic feature of integration processes in Africa is their high degree of institutionalization. Currently, there are about 200 economic associations of various levels, scales and orientations on the continent. But from the point of view of studying the problem of the formation of subregional identity and its relationship with national and ethnic identity, the functioning of such large organizations as the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), etc. is of interest. The extremely low performance of their activities in previous decades and the advent of the era of globalization required a sharp acceleration of integration processes at a qualitatively different level. Economic cooperation is developing in new - compared to the 70s - conditions of contradictory interaction between the globalization of the world economy and the increasing marginalization of the positions of African states within its framework and, naturally, in a different coordinate system. Integration is no longer considered as a tool and basis for the formation of a self-sufficient and self-developing economy, relying on its own strengths and in opposition to the imperialist West. The approach is different, which, as mentioned above, presents integration as a way and means of including African countries in the globalizing world economy, as well as as an impulse and indicator of economic growth and development in general.

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The continent occupies 1/5 of the globe's land mass. In terms of size (30.3 million km2 - including islands), it is second only to all parts of the world. The region includes 55 countries. There are several options for dividing Africa into regions. In the school course it is proposed to divide into 3 subregions:, Tropical Africa,. In the scientific literature, the most commonly accepted five-member division of Africa is Northern (the Maghreb countries, the Mediterranean coast), Western (the northern part of the coast and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea). Central (CAR, Zaire, etc.), Eastern (located east of the Great African Rifts), Southern.

There is no other continent in the world that suffered as much from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa. The collapse of the colonial system began in the 50s in the north of the continent, the last colony was liquidated in 1990. In 1993, a new state arose on the political map of Africa (as a result of the collapse). Under the auspices of the UN are Western Sahara (Saharan Arab Republic. To assess the EGP of African countries, different criteria can be used. One of the main criteria is dividing countries by the presence or absence of access to the sea. Due to the fact that Africa is the most massive continent, no other Of these, there are not so many countries located far from the seas. Most of the inland countries are the most backward.

Africa freed itself from colonial dependence only at the end of the 20th century. Now there are 55 countries on the political map of this region, all of them are sovereign states.

In terms of government system, republics predominate; only three countries have a monarchical form of government:, and. Most African countries are quite large in area.

Among the features of the economic and geographical position of African countries, we can highlight:

• Landlocked majority of states;
• Access to international sea routes through the Gulf of Guinea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Africa is extremely rich in natural resources. Her main wealth is... The region ranks first in the world in terms of reserves of most types of mineral raw materials. Oil and gas (Libya, Algeria, Nigeria), (,), manganese and (Gabon,), bauxite (Guinea,), copper ores (Zaire, Zambia), gold and diamonds (South Africa and West African countries), phosphorites are mined here (). South Africa is richest in mineral resources. There are almost all types here (with the exception of oil, gas and bauxite).

African countries are well supplied with water resources. In addition to them, Africa has a whole system of lakes (Victoria, Tanganyika, Nyasa). However, water resources are distributed unevenly: in the equatorial belt there is excess moisture, in arid regions there are practically no rivers and lakes.

African countries are generally well provided with land resources. However, as a result of erosion, a large amount of land is constantly being removed from agricultural use. The soils of Africa are not very fertile, and, in addition, they are demanding in terms of agricultural technology.

In terms of forest area, Africa is second only to Russia and. Forests occupy 10% of the region's total area. These are humid equatorial forests. Currently, they are being actively cut down, which leads to desertification of the territory.

Agroclimatic resources cannot be assessed unambiguously, since heat reserves are significant and moisture is extremely uneven.

From the above it follows that in Africa the colonial type of sectoral economic structure is still preserved. Its characteristic features:

• The predominance of small-scale, low-productivity agriculture;
• Poor development of the manufacturing industry;
• Underdevelopment of the transport network;
• Limitation of the non-productive sphere to trade and services.

The territorial structure of the economy of the countries of the region is characterized by disproportions in the location of the economy, separate centers of industry and highly commercial agriculture.

Several subregions can be distinguished in Africa. They differ in their geographical, natural and cultural-historical features. The economic regionalization of Africa has not yet taken shape.

The Republic of South Africa (RSA) is the only one belonging to the group of developed countries. In terms of all indicators of economic development, it ranks first in Africa. It accounts for 25% of GDP and 40% of industrial production. The economy is based on the mining industry. South Africa ranks first in the world in gold mining, second in diamond mining and third in uranium ore mining. Metallurgy and mechanical engineering are highly developed.

Monocultural specialization and the low level of economic development of the states of Africa are manifested in the insignificant share in world trade and in the enormous importance that it has for the continent itself. Thus, more than 1/4 of GDP goes to foreign markets, and foreign trade provides up to 4/5 of government revenues to the budget of African countries.

About 80% of the continent's trade is with developed Western countries.

West African countries

West Africa is the part of the African continent that is located south of central Sahara and is washed to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean. To the east, the natural border is the Cameroon Mountains.

History of West Africa

The culture of this region has its roots in the ancient West African empires of Ghana, Mali and Sopgai, which flourished between the 6th and 16th centuries. These empires fell into decline, and small independent kingdoms appeared in their place. In the 15th century, Portuguese merchants arrived here, followed by the British, French and Dutch.

Over the next 400 years, Europeans continually invaded and founded colonies. The conquerors exploited the people and the land, building gold mines, establishing plantations to grow coffee, coconuts, sugar cane and cotton, and forcing Africans to work for them as slaves. Europeans took the indigenous people on ships to America, where they sold them to local planters as slaves. Many died along the way, and those who survived faced a painful life as slaves.

Britain abolished slavery in 1807, but independence was still a long way off for these countries. Colonial authorities remained in West Africa until the mid-20th century. After this, military and dictatorial regimes were established in some countries. Today many countries have become democracies.

West African EGP

The EGP of West Africa is characterized by a higher level of development compared to its eastern neighbor, but a lower level of development compared to North Africa. This region is one of the richest mineral reserves in the world. Quite large reserves of manganese, tin, gold, diamonds, and iron ore are concentrated here. Oil and gas reserves are significant. The largest oil supplier in the region is Nigeria.

Mangrove forests and mudflats stretch along the coast of West Africa. They are washed by warm rains brought from the ocean. Further from the coast, lagoons and coastal swamps give way to tropical rainforests that stretch for hundreds of kilometers.

Winding rivers are often the only means of communication as roads, already washed out during the rainy season, are swallowed up by the jungle. Evaporative forests cover the cooler central elevations. Rivers, falling from great heights into narrow gorges, form picturesque waterfalls. During rains, rivers flood the surrounding lands, releasing fertile silt, periodically washing away entire villages. And finally the landscape turns into endless savannas, shimmering under the hot sun.

Agriculture in West Africa

Despite the recent intensifying process of industrialization in the most developed countries of West Africa, agriculture in this region continues to be the basis of the economy. The main branches of agricultural production: nomadic and semi-nomadic cattle breeding, which is especially common in the Sahel zone.

In West Africa, cattle breeding is harmoniously combined with agriculture. Complementary sectors increase overall agricultural productivity. Main crops grown: corn, sorghum, peanuts, palm oil, cotton.

West African Industry

Industrial production is generally quite poorly developed. There is a preponderance towards extractive industries. The main development was in the mining industry and oil and gas production. Manufacturing industries are at the stage of initial development and are represented by the processing of mineral resources, textile production, cotton processing, and furniture manufacturing.

Some of the West African population works on modern machines on rubber plantations owned by foreign companies. Scarce land and an arid climate make farming difficult, but the land itself contains priceless treasures. Nigeria is one of the world's largest oil producers. Deposits of phosphorites, diamonds, bauxites and iron ore are the key to further prosperity.

Population of West Africa

The population of this region is about 300 million people. There is rapid population growth, the birth rate exceeds 50 babies per 1 thousand inhabitants. Consequently, West Africa is still in the second stage of the demographic transition.

Most of the population belongs to the Negroid race. In the northern part of Mali live the Berber-speaking Tuaregs, who belong to the Mediterranean type of the large Caucasian race. Negroid peoples are: Fulbe, Diola, Wolof, Kisi, Serer, Senufo, etc.

In the cities of West Africa, people live in modern multi-storey houses or in wooden, tin-roofed houses. Many city women go to the countryside every day to work in the fields or livestock farms and poultry houses. Around the coastal lagoons, village houses with thatched roofs are built on stilts above the water. Fishermen and traders living in these places travel by boats. Most West Africans live in rural areas and are fairly poor farmers and herders. They grow millet, cassava and rice for themselves. And cotton, peanuts and palm oil are sold.

Discipline "African Regional Studies" Lecture 1

General review. Geographical position

The continent occupies 1/5 of the globe's land area. In terms of size (30.3 million km2 - including islands), of all parts of the world it is second only to Asia. The region includes 55 countries.

There are several options for dividing Africa into regions. In the scientific literature, the most accepted five-member division of Africa includes North (Maghreb countries, the Mediterranean coast), West (northern part of the Atlantic coast and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea), Central (Chad, Tsars, Zaire, Congo, etc.), East (located to east of the Great African Rifts), South.

Almost all African countries are republics (with the exception of Lesotho, Morocco and Swaziland, which are still constitutional monarchies). The administrative-territorial structure of the states, with the exception of Nigeria and South Africa, is unitary.

There is no other continent in the world that suffered as much from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa.

To assess the EGP of African countries, different criteria can be used. One of the main criteria dividing countries by the presence or absence of access to the sea. Due to the fact that Africa is the most massive continent, no other continent has so many countries located far from the seas. Most inland countries are the most backward.

Natural conditions and resources

The continent is crossed almost in the middle by the equator and lies entirely between the subtropical zones of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The uniqueness of its shape - the northern part is 2.5 times wider than the southern part - determined the difference in their natural conditions. In general, the mainland is compact: 1 km of coastline accounts for 960 km2 of territory. The topography of Africa is characterized by stepped plateaus, plateaus, and plains. The highest elevations are confined to the outskirts of the continent.

Africa is exceptionally rich in mineral resources, although they are still poorly studied. Among other continents, it ranks first in reserves of manganese, chromite, bauxite, gold, platinum, cobalt, diamond, and phosphorite ores. There are also great resources of oil, natural gas, graphite, and asbestos.

Africa's share in the global mining industry is 1/4. Almost all extracted raw materials and fuel are exported from Africa to economically developed countries, which makes its economy more dependent on the world market.

In total, there are seven main mining regions in Africa. Three of them are in North Africa and four are in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Atlas Mountains region is distinguished by reserves of iron, manganese, polymetallic ores, and phosphorites (the world's largest phosphorite belt). The Egyptian mining region is rich in oil, natural gas, iron and titanium ores, phosphorites, etc. The region of the Algerian and Libyan parts of the Sahara is distinguished by the largest oil and gas fields. The Western Guinea region is characterized by a combination of gold, diamonds, iron ores, and graphites. The East Guinea region is rich in oil, gas, and metal ores. Zaire-Zambian region. On its territory there is a unique “Copper Belt” with deposits of high-quality copper ores, as well as cobalt, zinc, lead, cadmium, germanium, gold, and silver. Congo (formerly Zaire) is the world's main 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 mineral resources are unevenly distributed. There are countries where the lack of raw materials hinders their development.

Africa's land resources are significant. 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, aggravates the problem of hunger, which is very relevant in Africa.

The agroclimatic resources of Africa are determined by the fact that it is the hottest continent and lies entirely within the average annual isotherm of +20°C. But the main factor determining differences in climatic conditions is precipitation. 30% of the territory is arid regions occupied by deserts, 30% receives 200-600 mm of precipitation, but is subject to droughts; equatorial regions suffer from excess moisture. Therefore, on 2/3 of Africa, sustainable agriculture is possible only through reclamation work.

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 extent of utilization of the huge hydropower potential of rivers (780 million kW) is small.

Africa's forest resources are second only to those of Latin America and Russia. But its average forest cover is much lower, and as a result of deforestation, deforestation has reached alarming proportions.

Population

Africa stands out worldwide for having the highest population reproduction rates. In 1960, 275 million people lived on the continent, in 1980-475 million people, in 1990-648 million people, and in 2000, according to forecasts, there will be 872 million.

In terms of growth rates, Kenya especially stands out - 4.1% (first place in the world), Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda. This high birth rate is explained by the centuries-old traditions of early marriage and large families, religious traditions, as well as the increased level of healthcare. Most countries on the continent do not pursue an active demographic policy.

The change in the age structure of the population as a result of the demographic explosion also entails great consequences: in Africa, the proportion of children is still growing (40-50%). This increases the “demographic burden” on the working population. The demographic explosion in Africa is exacerbating many regional problems, the most important of which is the food problem. Many problems are also associated with the ethnic composition of the African population, which is very diverse. There are 300-500 ethnic groups. According to the linguistic principle, 1/2 of the population belongs to the Niger-Kordofanian family, 1/3 to the Afro-Asian family and only 1% are residents of European origin. An important feature of African countries is the discrepancy between political and ethnic boundaries as a consequence of the colonial era of the development of the continent. A legacy of the past is that the official languages ​​of most countries of Africa are still the languages ​​of the former metropolises - English, French, Portuguese. In terms of urbanization, Africa still lags far behind other regions. However, the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world. Like many other developing countries, Africa is experiencing “false urbanization.”

General characteristics of the farm

After gaining independence, African countries began to make efforts to overcome centuries-old 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 has accelerated. The restructuring of the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy began. The greatest successes along this path have been achieved in the mining industry, which now accounts for 1/4 of the world's production volume. In the extraction of many types of minerals, Azerbaijan has an important and sometimes monopoly place in the foreign world. It is the mining industry that primarily determines A.’s place in the MGRT. The manufacturing industry is poorly developed or absent altogether. But some countries in the region have 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, A. lags behind in its development. It ranks last among the regions of the world in terms of industrialization and agricultural productivity.

External economic relations

Monocultural specialization and the low level of economic development of the African states are manifested in the insignificant share in world trade and in the enormous importance that foreign trade has for the continent itself. Thus, more than 1/4 of Africa’s GDP goes to foreign markets, and foreign trade provides up to 4/5 of government revenues to the budget of African countries. About 80% of the continent's trade is with developed Western countries.

Conclusion

Despite its enormous natural and human potential, Africa continues to remain the most backward part of the world economy.