UNIT 4

POPULATION, ECONOMY AND NATURAL RESOURCES

OF AFRICA
4.1. ASPECTS OF POPULATION, ECONOMY AND NATURAL
RESOURCES OF AFRICA
4.1.1. Population size, Growth, and Distribution

A. Size

 Africa has nearly 1 billion total populations.

 It makes 14.7% of world’s total population.
 It has ¼th of Asia’s population and 28 times that of Oceania.
 In terms of population size: 1. Asia 4. Latin America/ Caribbean
2. Africa 5. North America
3. Europe 6. Oceania

B. Growth

 Africa has one of the world fastest growing populations.

 There is decline in both birth and death rates, but there is high
population growth.
 The growth rate of Africa is the fastest in the world.
 It has a rate of aural increase of 2.4% and general growth rate 2.3%.
 It is twice as fast as the world’s average growth rate.
 Africa has the shortest doubling time which is 29 years.
 Rate of natural increase (RNI) = Birth rate – Death rate
 General growth rate = RNI – Net migration
 Doubling time = 70/ growth rate
Note: North America has the world’s largest doubling time which is 117
years.

C. Distribution

 Population distribution is the way people inhibit and occupy the

earth’s surface.
 Africa’s population distribution is uneven.
 The continents average crude population density is 33 people per km 2
 The most densely populated areas are – Nile valley
- Atlantic coastal areas
(Cote d’Ivoire to Cameroon)
- Rwanda, Burundi and South
Africa
 The most densely populated regions are 1. Eastern Africa
2. Western Africa
3. Northern Africa
4. Southern Africa
5. Central Africa
 The most densely populated country is Mauritius (625ppl/ km 2)
 The most sparsely populated country is Western Sahara (2 ppl/ km 2)
 The most populous countries are 1. Nigeria
2. Egypt
3. Ethiopia
4. Congo
5. Republic of South Africa

4.1.2. Determinants of Population Change in Africa

The 3 components that determine population change are birth rate, death
rate and migration.

 The difference between deaths and births is called natural change.

  The balance between immigration (coming in) and emigration (going
out) is called net migration.

Fertility patterns in Africa

 Fertility is the occurrence of birth in human population.

 It is the highest in the world.
 Birth rates are high because – less access to contraceptives
- Backwardness and poverty
- Many children are needed to work on
land
- Women are of low status
- Low educational background
- Religious encouragement
 Birth rate is the number of live births per 1000 populations in a year.
 Death rate is the number of deaths per 1000 populations in a year.
 The average birth rate for Africa is 36/ 1000.
 The lowest birth rate is of Mauritius.
 The highest birth rate is of Nigeria and Guinea Bissau.
 Ethiopia’s crude birth rate was about 39/ 1000.
 In terms of crude birth rate 1. Central, 2. Eastern, 3. Western Africa
 RNI = BR – DR = 36/1000 – 12/1000 = 24/1000 = 2.4 %

Mortality patterns in Africa

 Mortality is the occurrence of death in the human population.

 Africa’s mortality rate is the highest in the world because of factors
like - low standard of living
- Low access to health facilities
- Poor sanitary practices
- Civil war and political instability
- Poor nutrition
 - Famine and recurrent drought
- High incidence of disease and infections
 Africa has crude death rate (CDR) of 12 deaths / 1000 population.
 Death rate ranges from 7/1000 in Northern Africa to 15/1000 in
Southern Africa.
 Infant mortality rates (IMR) is the death of infants under one year per
1000 live births.
 Africa has world’s largest IMR which is 74/ 1000
 In terms of IMR, 1. Central, 2. Western, 3. Eastern, 4. Southern,
5. Southern.
 Life expectancy is the average number of years a newborn baby is
expected to live.
 The average life expectancy for the whole continent is 54 years.
 Ethiopia has life expectancy of 53 years.
 Africa has the world’s lowest life expectancy.

Migration

 Africa’s migration pattern is highly related to political instabilities and

natural catastrophes.
 The motives of migration in Africa are – diverse climatic zones
- Diverse natural resources
- Large size of the continent
- Pervasiveness of varying
economic activities

4.1.3 Characteristics of African Population

Biological Characteristics

Age structure

 Africa’s median age is 18 years, while Europe’s is 37 years.

  Low median age indicates that the population is young, and high
median age indicates that the population is likely to be adult and old
age group.
 Age dependency ratio = economically dependent/ economically active
 The overall age dependency ratio of Africa is 78% and sub-Saharan
Africa is 85%. This means for every 100 economically active people
there are 78 persons that depend up on the 100 persons.
 Depending on age dependency ratio: 1. Central 4. Southern
2. Western 5. Northern
3. Eastern
 Africa is characterized by high age dependency ratio and youth
dependency ratio and low old dependency ratio.
 Africa has triangular population pyramid indicating the prevalence of
high fertility and mortality rates

Sex structure

 Sex ratio is the proportion of males to females in the overall

population.
 Sex ratio = male population/ female population * 100
 Sub-Saharan Africa has low sex ratio which is below 98%, which is 98
males per 100 females, but more male is born.
 Even more men are born; the ratio is low because there is huge loss of
men by war and migration.

4.1.4 Migration and Urbanization of Africa

Migration

There are two types of migration. These are:

A. Internal migration
 It is the movement of people from one part of a country to other part.
  It is caused mainly by economic reasons.
 It has 2 types namely permanent and temporary.
 Permanent migration is when people move and establish new
residence on a permanent basis. Another form of internal migration is
urban to rural migration (return migration).
 Temporary migration is when people move for a short period of time,
and then come back to their original place. It is practiced periodically.
 Another internal migration is related to rural to rural migration.
 Internal migration takes the forms Rural- urban, rural- rural, urban-
rural and urban- urban.

Push factors Pull factors

Natural disaster and adverse climate Attractive environment
Low income and house shortage Improved housing and high wages
Intolerance and social upheaval Job prospects and amenities
Low employment opportunities High standard of living

B. International migration
 It is when people move from one country to another.
 The first immigrants to Africa were Arab (Semites) and it was before
slave trade. They are known as Berbers and comprise 25% of African
population.
 Brain drain is movement of highly educated people.
 Intra-continental migration is movement of people within the same
continent. It is usually done by laborers and is known as labor
migration.
 Places that are involved in plantation agriculture and mining sector
attract large number of people.
 The first emigrants in Africa are white people which were colonizers.
This resulted in independence of Africa.
Urbanization

 Urban means belonging to town or city.

 Urbanization is an increase in the proportion of people living in urban
areas.
 Africa is the least urbanized because only 38% of the population lives
in urban areas.
 Africa has the world’s highest rate of urbanization which is 5.4%. This
is because there is high rural-urban migration and high fertility in
urban areas.
 In terms of rate of urbanization, 1. Eastern, 2. Western
 In terms of urbanization, 1. Southern, 2. Northern
 The least urbanized region is eastern Africa.

Urban growth and major urban centers in Africa

 The movement of people to cities began in early 20th century.

 Cities in developing countries are facing problems like poverty, urban
slums, poor sanitation, social evils, unemployment etc.

Current urban challenges

 The adverse effects of urbanization in Africa are unemployment,

unreliable food security, shortage of water, scarcity of shelter etc.
 Africa is estimated to have 11 mega cities and 3000 cities by the year
2020.
 In Africa, urbanization has not contributed significant economies of
scale and value added productive chains, to the growth in GDP.

4.2. CONCEPTS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

4.2.1 What is Economic Growth and Development?
 Both are terms used to refer the state of economic conditions in a certain
society.

Economic growth is a measure of the value of output of goods and

services within a certain period of time.

Economic development is a measure of welfare of human beings in a

certain state.

4.2.2 Economic Growth and Development Trend in Africa

 Subsistence economy dominated

 Long distance trade networks were developed
 The overseas demand for Africa’s agricultural and mineral products
increased
 Africa’s wealth of raw materials were exported to enrich foreign assets
 The traditional rural sector supporting the majority and relatively
modern sector that was based in cites and mining plantation sites
began to dominate.
 Industries began to grow
 Rapid population growth retarded development
 Now, the 3 economic sectors are far from being integrated. The
traditional subsistence activities are dominant. Despite increasing
industrialization, the continents raw materials continue to be
produced primarily for export.

Utilization of natural resources in Africa

 Africa’s resources are considered to be untouched.

 The wealth of Africa is rather more cause for conflict and civil war than
for development.
Indicators of development

a. Gross domestic product (GDP): is the total volume of goods produced

in a country over a period of time. GNP is the total annual flow of
goods and services in the economy of a nation in monetary value. It
includes income from within and outside of the state.
b. Per capita income: is the average amount of money that an individual
is expected to have as a result of the state’s GDP. It is computed by
dividing the GNP of a country by the total number of people. It does
not tell who exactly gets how much, but it indicates how much an
individual gets if the GDP is evenly distributed.
c. Standard of living: is the threshold of material security measured by
the availability of resources for an individual, family or society. It is the
best measurement of the quality of life of people. In economics,
higher GDP and per capita income results higher standard of living.

4.2.3. Characteristics of African Economy

 It is largely dependent on agriculture.

 Other primary economic activities (fishing, forestry, and mining) are
less developed.
 Less level of industrialization
 Trade is in low level
 Communication facilities are poor
 Various economic sectors run short of capital
 As a result of low GDP and per capita income, the majority of the
people live in poverty.

4.2.4. Present Features of Africa’s Socio-economic Development

 The overall conditions seem vague or unpredictable.

 Egypt and South Africa have better development.
  Sub-Saharan Africa is more affected because of their tropical position,
corruption, poor governance etc.
 Debt crisis is another series challenge of development in Africa.
 Africa’s role in the world economy remains to produce raw materials
for use in developed nations.

4.2.5. Challenges and Prospects of Economic Development in Africa

The challenges include:

 Lack of capital, skilled human power and modern technology.

 Political instability and civil war
 Lack of good governance and corruption
 Maladministration
 Poor infrastructure
 Poor regional inter-connectedness
 Poor export performance
 Declining industrial outputs
 Environmental degradation
 Rapid population growth

The African Union, the former organization of African unity, is the only
continental organization in Africa. The organs of AU primarily the African
Development Bank, The African Court of Justice, The Pan African Parliament
and the Security Council work on peace, security, good governance,
interconnectedness and development.

Other regional and sub-regional organizations such as IGAD, NEPAD, SADC,

COMESA and ECOWAS work hard to improve socio-economic conditions in
Africa.

Angola, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea are experiencing higher growth rates
because their petroleum reserves.
4.3. NATURAL RESOURCES OF AFRICA AND ITS POLITICS
4.3.1. Major Resources of Africa

Mineral resources of Africa

 Northern, western and central Africa are regions with huge petroleum
reserves.
 Metallic minerals and other gem stones are abundant in southern
Africa.
 Africa has – 90% of world’s cobalt and platinum
- 50% of gold
- 98% of chromium
- 70% of tantalite
- 1/3 of uranium
- 64% of manganese
 Guinea is the world’s largest exporter of bauxite (ore of aluminum)
 Democratic republic of Congo has 70% of world’s coltan (tantalum)
and 30% of diamonds.
 Libya, Algeria and Nigeria – crude petroleum
 Morocco is world’s 1st producer of phosphate.
 Algeria has huge reserve of natural gas.
 Nigeria is Africa’s top petroleum producer.
 Republic of South Africa is leading producer of Gold and Diamonds.

Agricultural resources

 The continent is rich in terms of certain tropical crops such as coffee,

cocoa, tea, sugarcane, rubber, palm oil, sisal and cotton and ground
nuts.
 Africa constitutes 53% of world’s cocoa and 20% of coffee production.
 Ethiopia produces coffee, tea, sugarcane and cotton.
Human resources

41% of the population is under 15 and 3% of the population is above 65

years. The Rest 56% is productive age.

Water and associated resources

The rivers that drain many areas of the continent include some of the
world’s greatest rivers namely Nile, Congo, Niger and Zambezi. There are
also many lakes, a lot of which are concentrated in the Great East African
Rift Valley.

The continent is rich in terms of fish resources. The Nile, Niger, Congo, and
Senegal rivers and Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, Malawi and Chad are major
sources of freshwater fish. Nile perch is the most common freshwater
targeted in angling.

Morocco, Egypt, South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria were top fish catchers.

Morocco, Namibia, South Africa, Senegal and Libya exported more fish.

 Morocco is the leading in fish processing industries.

The rivers also provide hydro-electric power and irrigation.

Another most important stockpile associated with water resources in

Africa is mineral. The shores and beds of lakes and banks of rivers are
substantial source of minerals.

Human resources

41% of the population is under 15 and 3% of the population is above 65

years. The Rest 56% is productive age.
4.3.2. Natural Resources Exploitation and Mineral Extraction Methods in
Africa

The degree of exploitation of these resources of the continent appears

being very low. This is because lack of good governance, maladministration,
lack of capital, skilled human power and technology.

Mineral extraction is traditional and less productive. There are different

techniques which are pacer mining, strip mining and quarrying.

 Placer mining: is extracting from excavations of sand, gravel, clay or

silt. It is common near river valleys. Example: gold, platinum and
diamonds.
 Strip mining: is uncovering and removing coal, metal or mineral that is
near the surface of the ground.
 Quarrying: is open excavation from which any useful stone is
extracted.

4.3.3. Resource Utilization and Conflict Management

The major source of conflict in many resource exploitation areas of Africa

is related to inappropriate use and allocation of resources. The civil wars in
Southern Sudan, Liberia, Democratic republic of Congo, Angola, Rwanda are
fought because of inappropriate resource utilization and allocation, besides
seeking political power.

Financial flows that could have been used to support human development
have frequently been diverted into funding civil wars, with governments,
rebels and assorted warlords seeking control over oil, metals, minerals and
timber.