Human Geography of Sub Saharan Africa

I. GENERAL POPULATION PATTERNS

1. Population Growth Rate: Highest in the world (800 million and growing)
2. Youngest Population in the World: Most of population is under 15 years of age
3. Population Growth Rate: Expected to double in 29 years
4. Life Expectancy: Shortest in the world (48-53 years)

• Have high rate of disease
• Without food, people cannot get healthy to fight off disease

1. Highest Infant Mortality: Children die before they're 1 years old
2. Lowest Life Expectancy: Due to severe malnutrition, high rate of disease & few doctors
3. Uneven population distribution
4. Economic Growth Rate: Lowest in the world
5. Low Level of Education: Across the continent only 38% of boys and 32% of girls (12-17 year olds) are enrolled in school

II. WAYS OF LIFE

1. Almost 75% of people are poor and live in rural, agricultural villages
2. Most people are subsistence farmers
3. Practice slash & burn Agriculture/nutrients leach from the soil
4. Grow food for family and a small cash crop like coffee, tea, and sugar (farmers are overly dependent on these). Problem: bring in revenue but reduce land being used to grow food for family
5. Farms often fail because of fragile soil and drought
6. Droughts cause crop failures:

• Over 1 million people in Africa are starving each year
• The first victims: the very old & the very young

1. One major effect caused by droughts is desertification

• The transformation of arable land into desert
• Usually occurs as an expansion of dry conditions into moist areas that are adjacent to deserts

1. Human causes that increase the pace of desertification, death, and destruction:

• Over-grazing
• Over-planting
• Destruction of trees which leads to soil erosion
• Drought from increased population levels (requires clearing more land/burning wood for fuel/over-farming the land/increased water usage)

1. Civil war (food can be used as a weapon)

• Burn the fields of their enemies
• Poison water supplies
• Steal or corrupt food supplies
• Withold food from people unless they fight

III. ECONOMICS IN AFRICA TODAY

African nations work to modernize their countries but still suffer because colonial powers severely hurt Africa's economy. They left a legacy of NO money (capital resources) for building infrastructure, education, or businesses. Many countries have not been able to diversify/modernize. They are still countries with economies based on one-commodity or the sale of natural resources.

Barriers to African Economic Development

1. Revenues from modernization projects have not significantly increased the wealth of African countries.
2. Many African governments borrowed huge sums of money/have invested the money to modernize their countries
3. Loan payments are a major part of the budgets of African countries trying to modernize
4. Illiteracy, lack of education, and lack of skilled workers
5. Lack of economic diversity (many one-commodity nations), need to diversify for growth and stability

IV. CYCLE OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY

Economic Problems:

• One-commodity countries
• Lack of education
• No money
• Unskilled workers

Which leads to...

Ethnic Conflicts

• Civil wars
• Unequal treatment

Which leads to...

Political Conflicts

• Dictatorship
• No government
• No money, skills, or education
• Not trained to run a government

Which leads to...

Unable to Modernize

• All 3 things put together

Then the cycle starts all over again...