Economic and geographical position of West Africa. Mining regions of Africa

Features of the African EGP The presence of a large number of countries located far from
seas and oceans (sometimes at a distance of 1.5 thousand km).
the equator crosses Africa almost in the middle and divides into two
parts roughly equally located (north and south) in
equatorial, tropical and subtropical latitudes;
therefore, a huge amount of heat is supplied to the entire
African territory evenly throughout the year, and
the seasons in its northern and southern parts are opposite:
while in the northern hemisphere it is summer, in the southern hemisphere it is winter.
the nature of the geographical location provides
the possibility of year-round navigation off the coast of Africa,
because the seas around it do not freeze

By size of the territory (more than 30
million sq. km) and the number of countries (54) Africa -
the largest of the main geographic
regions of the world.
There are three monarchies in Africa:
Morocco
Lesotho
Swaziland
Africa has 4 federal states:
South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Comoros

Sub-regions of Africa

North Africa
West Africa
East Africa
Central
Africa
South
Africa

North Africa

Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, South
Sudan
Out to the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and
to the Red Seas
Agriculture specializes in the production
subtropical crops: cotton, olives, citrus fruits,
grapes
The industry is associated with mining and processing
mineral raw materials: oil, phosphorites
Sometimes Sev. Africa is called the Maghreb (from Arabic - "
west")
Ranks first in terms of area among sub-regions
Africa and the third largest

West Africa

Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Benin,
Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Liberia,
Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia,
Senegal, Zap. Sahara, Togo.
It ranks 4th in terms of territory and 2nd in terms of
population
The modern "face" of the subregion
determined by agriculture (in
mainly crop production) and
mining industry (oil,
bauxite, tin, iron ore)

Central Africa

Chad, Center. African Republic,
Cameroon, Gabon, Eq. Guinea, Sao Tome and
Principe, Congo, Democrat. Republic of the Congo,
Angola.
It ranks second in terms of territory and
fourth largest
One of the most resource-rich regions:
oil, ores Metals (copper, tin,
cobalt, lead, zinc)
Occupies the equatorial part of the mainland

East Africa

Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda,
Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar,
Comoros, Malawi, Djibouti
Ranks first in number
population and the third - on the territory.
It is distinguished by deposits of coal, copper.

South Africa

Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland.
It occupies the last place in terms of territory and
population
Rich in coal, iron. ores, manganese,
chromites, uranium, gold, diamonds,
asbestos.
South Africa is the only one on the continent
economically developed country
significant European population
origin

10.

According to the level of socio-economic development, all
African countries, except
South Africa is in the category
"developing countries"

11. Conclusions on the endowment of Africa with mineral resources:

Africa has the richest and most diverse reserves
mineral resources. Among other continents, Africa occupies
first place in reserves of diamonds, gold, platinum, manganese,
chromites, bauxites and phosphorites. Large reserves of coal, oil and
natural gas, copper, iron, uranium, cobalt ores.
Africa's minerals are of high quality and low
production cost.
Africa's richest country in minerals - South Africa
has an almost complete set of known fossil resources, beyond
except for oil, natural gas, bauxite.
Africa's mineral resources are unevenly distributed.
Among the countries of the region there are very poor resources
countries (Chad, CAR, etc.), which greatly complicates their development.

12. African countries with the highest GDP (PPP) per capita (2010 USD)

Gabon - 14500
Botswana - 14000
South Africa - 10700
Tunisia - 9600
Namibia - 6900
For comparison: Tanzania - 1500, Somalia - 600, D. Rep. Congo
- 300
world average - 11200
average for Africa - 1100

13. Mining in Africa

View
products
The main producers of the region
Gold
South Africa
Diamonds
South Africa, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Guinea, Botswana
Uranus
Niger
cobalt
ores
Mozambique
Chromites
Botswana
manganese
ores
Gabon
Phosphorites
Morocco
copper ores
Zambia, Zaire
oil and gas
Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Congo, Gabon

14. Conclusions on African industry

In the international division of labor Africa
represented by mining products
industry;
Mining industry products
has a pronounced export
orientation, i.e. poor connection with the local
manufacturing industry;
Among the manufacturing industries
industry greatest development
received textile and food.

15. In most African countries, the colonial type of sectoral structure of the economy is preserved. Its distinguishing features:

the predominance of low-commodity
low productivity agriculture;
underdevelopment of the manufacturing
industry;
a strong backlog of transport;
restriction of the non-productive sphere
predominantly trade and services;
one-sidedness of economic development

16.

Monoculture - single commodity
specialization of the country's economy (narrow
specialization in the production of one,
usually raw or
food product,
intended mainly for
export)

Features of the EGP of Africa are the presence of a large number of countries located far from the seas and oceans (sometimes at a distance of 1.5 thousand km.). the equator crosses Africa almost in the middle and divides it into two parts, approximately equally located (to the north and south) in equatorial, tropical and subtropical latitudes; therefore, a huge amount of heat enters the entire territory of Africa evenly throughout the year, and the seasons in its northern and southern parts are opposite: while in the northern hemisphere it is summer, in the southern hemisphere it is winter. the nature of the geographical position provides the possibility of year-round navigation off the coast of Africa, since the seas washing it do not freeze

In terms of territory (more than 30 million sq. km) and the number of countries (54), Africa is the largest of the main geographical regions of the world. There are three monarchies in Africa: Morocco Lesotho Swaziland Africa has 4 federal states: South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Comoros

North Africa Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan Out to the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Red Seas Agriculture specializes in the production of subtropical crops: cotton, olives, citrus fruits, grapes Industry is associated with the extraction and processing of mineral raw materials: oil , phosphorites Sometimes Sev. Africa is called the Maghreb (from Arabic - "west") It ranks first in area among the subregions of Africa and the third in number

West Africa Mauritania, Mali, Nigeria, Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Côte d, Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, Zap. Sahara, Togo. It ranks 4th in terms of territory and second in terms of population. The modern “face” of the subregion is determined by agriculture (mainly crop production) and mining (oil, bauxite, tin, iron ore)

Central Africa Chad, Central. African Republic, Cameroon, Gabon, Eq. Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Congo, Democrat. Republican Congo, Angola. It ranks second in terms of territory and fourth in number One of the richest regions in terms of resources: oil, ores, color. Metals (copper, tin, cobalt, lead, zinc) Occupies the equatorial part of the mainland

Eastern Africa Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros, Malawi, Djibouti Ranks first in terms of population and third in terms of territory. It is distinguished by deposits of coal and copper.

South Africa Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland. It occupies the last place in terms of territory and population. It is rich in coal, iron. ores, manganese, chromites, uranium, gold, diamonds, asbestos. South Africa is the only economically developed country on the continent with a significant population of European origin.

According to the level of socio-economic development, all African countries, with the exception of South Africa, are classified as "developing countries"

Conclusions on the endowment of Africa with mineral resources: Africa has the richest and most diverse reserves of mineral resources. Among other continents, Africa ranks first in reserves of diamonds, gold, platinum, manganese, chromites, bauxites and phosphorites. Large reserves of coal, oil and natural gas, copper, iron, uranium, cobalt ores. Africa's minerals are of high quality and low production costs. The richest country in Africa, South Africa, has an almost complete set of known mineral resources, with the exception of oil, natural gas, and bauxite. Africa's mineral resources are unevenly distributed. Among the countries of the region there are countries that are very poor in terms of resources (Chad, the Central African Republic, etc.), which greatly complicates their development.

African countries with the highest GDP (PPP) per capita (2010 US dollars) Gabon - 14,500 Botswana - 14,000 South Africa - 10,700 Tunisia - 9,600 Namibia - 6,900 For comparison: Tanzania - 1,500, Somalia - 600, D. Rep. . Congo - 300 world average - 11200 Africa average - 1100

Mining in Africa Type of products Main producers of the region South African gold Diamonds South Africa, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Guinea, Botswana Uranium Niger Cobalt ores Mozambique Chromites Botswana Manganese ores Gabon Phosphorites Morocco Copper ores Zambia, Zaire oil and gas Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Congo, Gabon

Conclusions on African Industry In the international division of labor, Africa is represented by extractive industries; The production of the extractive industry has a pronounced export orientation, i.e., a weak connection with the local manufacturing industry; Among the branches of the manufacturing industry, the textile and food industries have received the greatest development.

In most African countries, the colonial type of sectoral structure of the economy is preserved. Its distinctive features are: the predominance of low-commodity, low-productive agriculture; weak development of the manufacturing industry; a strong backlog of transport; limiting the non-productive sphere mainly to trade and services; one-sidedness of economic development

Monoculture - mono-commodity specialization of the country's economy (narrow specialization in the production of one, as a rule, raw or food product, intended mainly for export)

GENERAL ECONOMIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COUNTRIES OF AFRICA.

GENERAL REVIEW. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.

The mainland occupies 1/5 of the land mass of the globe. In size (30.3 million square kilometers with islands), it is second only to Asia from all parts of the world. The region includes 55 countries.

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

Almost all African countries are republics (with the exception of Lesotho, Morocco and Sutherland, 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 as much from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa.

Different criteria can be used to assess the EGP of African countries. 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 them has such a number of countries located far from the seas .Most inland countries are the most remaining.

NATURAL CONDITIONS AND RESOURCES.

The continent is almost crossed by the equator in the middle 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. sedimentary rocks (at the base in the north). Stepped plateaus, plateaus, and plains are typical for the relief of Africa. manganese, chromites, bauxites, gold, platinum, cobalt, diamonds, phosphorites. The resources of oil, natural gas, graphite, and asbestos are also great.

Africa's share in the world 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, seven main mining regions can be distinguished in Africa.

1. The region of the Atlas Mountains stands out for its reserves of iron, manganese, polymetallic ores, phosphorites (the world's largest phosphorite belt).

2. The Egyptian mining region is rich in oil, natural gas, iron, titanium ores, phosphorites, etc.

3. The region of the Algerian and Libyan parts of the Sahara is distinguished by the largest oil and gas reserves.

4. The West Guinean region is rich in oil, gas, metal ores.

6.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.

7. The largest mining region in Africa

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, gases and bauxites.

The mineral resources of Africa are distributed unevenly. There are countries in which the lack of a raw material base hinders their development. African land resources are significant. However, extensive farming and rapid population growth have led to catastrophic soil erosion, which reduces crop yields. This, in turn, exacerbates the problem cities, very relevant for Africa.

The agro-climatic resources of Africa are determined by the fact that it is the hottest continent and lies entirely within the average annual isotherms of + 20 ° C. Africa's water resources. In terms of their volume, Africa is significantly inferior to Asia and South America. second only to the resources of Latin America and Russia. But its average forest cover is much lower, moreover, as a result of deforestation, which exceeds natural growth, deforestation has assumed alarming proportions.

POPULATION.

Africa stands out worldwide with the highest rates of population reproduction. 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

Kenya stands out in terms of growth rates - 4.1% (first place in the world), Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda. Such a high birth rate is explained by centuries-old traditions of early marriage and large families, religious traditions, as well as an increased level of healthcare. active demographic policy.

The change in the age structure of the population as a result of the demographic explosion also entails great consequences: in Azerbaijan, the proportion of children's ages is still growing (40-50%). This increases the "demographic burden" on the able-bodied population. problems of the regions, the most important of which is food problem.Many problems are also connected with the ethnic composition of the population of Africa, which is very diverse. 300-500 ethnic groups stand out. origin. 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. The legacy of the past is that the official languages ​​of most countries of A.

there are still 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 ECONOMY.

After gaining independence, African countries began to make efforts to overcome centuries of backwardness. The nationalization of natural resources, the implementation of agrarian reform, economic planning, and the training of national personnel were of particular importance. As a result, the pace of development of the region accelerated. The restructuring of the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy began. paths have been reached in mining industry, which now accounts for 1/4 of the world's output in terms of production. In the extraction of many types of minerals, Azerbaijan has an important, and sometimes even monopoly, place in the foreign world. It is the mining industry that primarily determines the place of Azerbaijan in the MGRT. 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, which determines the place of a. in the world economy - tropical and subtropical agriculture. It also has a pronounced export orientation. But on the whole, Azerbaijan lags behind in its development. It occupies the last place among the regions of the world in terms of the level of industrialization and crop yields.

FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS.

Monocultural specialization and the low level of economic development of the African states are manifested in an insignificant share in world trade and in the enormous importance that foreign trade has for the continent itself. 5 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.

CONCLUSION.

Despite the huge natural and human potential, Africa continues to be the most backward part of the world economy.

report made:

weaver natalia and

Dudarova Olga...

Literature: CHERNOV A.V., POLYAKOVA M.O. "GEOGRAPHY"

West African countries

West Africa - part of the African continent, which is located south of the central Sahara and washed from the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, the natural border is the Cameroonian mountains.

The country	Population, million people	Capital
Benin	10,32	Porto-Novo
Burkina Faso	16,93	Ouagadougou
Islamic Republic of Gambia	1,849	banjul
Ghana	25,9	Accra
Guinea	11,75	Conakry
Guinea-Bissau	1,704	Bissau
Cape Verde	0,499	praia
Ivory Coast	20,32	Yamoussoukro
Liberia	4,294	Monrovia
Mauritania	3,89	Nouakchott
Mali	15,3	Bamako
Niger	17,83	Niamey
Nigeria	173,6	Abuja
Saint Helena, Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha	0,005	Jamestown
Senegal	14,13	Dakar
Sierra Leone	6,092	Freetown
Togo	6,817	Lome

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 decay, and small independent kingdoms appeared in their place. In the 15th century, Portuguese merchants sailed here, followed by the British, French and Dutch.

Over the next 400 years, Europeans continuously invaded here, founding colonies. The conquerors exploited people and land, built gold mines, set up plantations to grow coffee, coconuts, sugarcane and cotton, and forced Africans to work for them as slaves. Europeans took natives to America on ships, where they sold them into slavery to local planters. On the way, many died, and the survivors faced the painful life of slaves.

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

EGP West Africa

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 resources in the world. Quite large reserves of manganese, tin, gold, diamonds, and iron ore are concentrated here. Significant oil and gas reserves. Nigeria is the largest oil supplier in the region.

Mangrove forests and mud flats stretch along the coast of West Africa. They are washed by warm rains brought from the ocean. Further from the shore, 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 highlands. Rivers, breaking down from a great height into narrow gorges, form picturesque waterfalls. During the rains, the rivers flood the surrounding lands, giving off fertile silt, periodically washing away entire villages. And finally, the landscape turns into endless savannahs, 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 pastoralism, which is especially common in the Sahel zone.

In West Africa, cattle breeding is harmoniously combined with agriculture. Complementary industries increase the overall productivity of agriculture. The main crops grown are corn, sorghum, peanuts, palm oil, cotton.

Industry of West Africa

Industrial production is generally rather poorly developed. There is a preponderance towards the extractive industries. The main development was the mining industry and oil and gas production. The manufacturing industries are in 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. The scarce land and arid climate make farming difficult, but priceless treasures are hidden in the land itself. 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 a rapid population growth, the birth rate exceeds 50 babies per 1,000 inhabitants. Consequently, West Africa is still in the second phase of its demographic transition.

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

In the cities of West Africa, people live in modern high-rise buildings or in wooden, tin-roofed houses. Many urban women leave daily for the countryside 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 merchants living in these places travel by boat. Most West Africans live in rural areas and are rather poor farmers and herders. For themselves, they grow millet, cassava and rice. And cotton, peanuts and palm oil are sold.

>>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 gradually eliminated, 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 stretches 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.

Different criteria can be used to evaluate the GWP of African countries. 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 of 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, the mineral raw materials are of high quality, and are often mined in an open pit.

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. Back in the 30s, the Belgian geographer Jean-Paul Gappya wrote a book about land degradation in Africa called "Africa is 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 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 rural 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 precisely “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. This oral folk art is folklore, this is monumental architecture that originated in ancient Egypt, this is 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, a 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 of agrarian reform, economic planning, and the 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 holds 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.

On the whole, 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".