World Regional GeographyChapter 9: A Geographic Profile of Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Second largest land area of all the major world regions– Covers 17.4 million square miles (Twice the size of the U.S.)

• Population of 749 million (2007)– Overpopulated in areas, yet much of region is sparsely populated– Average population density is slightly more than that of the U.S.– Rate of population increase is 2.5 percent per year

• Preference for Large Families– Extra hands to perform work– Ability for parents to be looked after when old or sick– In the case of girls, to receive “bride wealth”– Large families convey status

• Birth rates have been dropping in every countryin the region over the past past two decades

9.1 Area & Population

Comparison of Area & Latitude:Sub-Saharan Africa vs. Conterminous U.S.

Population Distribution

Population Cartogram

Homes Elevated to Minimize Risk of Flooding

• Africa has the world’s youngest population– 43% of the region’s people are under 15 years of age

• Malthusian Scenario– 1 Percent Gap

• Population has had growth rate of about 3% since 1960s

• Food production has grown at only about 2% annually

• This is the only world region where per capita foodproduction is declining

– HIV/AIDS• Possibly a Malthusian “check” to population growth

9.1.1 Africa’s Population Prospects

• The Landscapes of Africa• Africa’s Biomes and Climates• Living off the Land• Africa’s Wildlife

9.2 Physical Geography & Human Adaptations

• Most of Africa is a vast plateau, or series of plateaus– Typical elevation of more than 1,000 feet, though in

places elevation rises to 5,000 feet and higher

• The character of African rivers– Rapids and waterfalls block navigation a short

distance inland• Great potential for hydroelectric energy

– Africa’s discontinuous inland waterways are interconnected by railroads and highways

9.2.1 The Landscapes of Africa

Physical Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa

• Insert fig 9.6 (of Kilimanjaro)

Mount Kilimanjaro

Mount Kenya

Kariba Dam on the Zambezi River

• Equator bisects Africa, so about two-thirds of the region lies in the low latitudes, having tropical climates

• Biomes of Sub-Saharan Africa– Tropical Rain Forest– Savanna– Steppe– Desert– Mediterranean– Humid Subtropical– Marine West Coast

• Precipitation in region is high, but unevenly distributed• Drought is a persistent problem

9.2.2 Africa’s Biomes and Climates

Climates of Sub-Saharan Africa

Biomes of Sub-Saharan Africa

• Most productive lands are on river plains, in volcanic regions, and in some grassland areas of tropical steppes

• To support growing populations, fallow periods have been shortened, and the lands pressed to yield more crops

• Sub-Saharan Africa’s soils favor subsistence agriculture and pastoralism– Half of the region’s population practices these livelihoods

9.2.3 Living off the Land

Land Use in Sub-Saharan Africa

Mother and Child in Zimbabwe

Zebu Cattle in Madagascar

• Africa has the planet’s most spectacular and numerous populations of large mammals– Tropical grasslands and open forests

• Habitats of large herbivorous animals– Elephant, Buffalo, Zebra, Giraffe, and many species of Antelope

• Carnivorous and scavenging animals– Lion, Leopard, and Hyena

– Tropical rain forests• Abundant species of insects, birds, and monkeys

– Streams and rivers draining the forests and wetter savannas• Hippopotamus, crocodile, and a great variety of fish

• Home to some of the world’s most extraordinaryand successfully managed national parks– International tourism to these parks is a major source

of revenue

9.2.4 Africa’s Wildlife

Daggers as Dress Accessory in Yemen

• African continent was the original home of humankind• After 5000 B.C.E., indigenous people were responsible

for agricultural innovation in four culture hearths:– Ethiopian Plateau– West African Savanna– West African Forest– Forest-Savanna Boundary of West Central Africa

• Domestication of important crops– Millet, sorghum, yams, cowpeas, okra,

watermelons, coffee, and cotton

9.3 Cultural & Historical Geographies

• Peoples of this region speak more than 1,000 languages, which generally belong to one of four broad language groups:– Niger-Congo– Afro-Asiatic– Nilo-Saharan– Khoisan

• The African Union, the continent’s supranational organization, uses 6 official languages– English, French, Portuguese, Spanish,

Swahili, and Arabic

9.3.1 The Languages of Africa

Languages of Sub-Saharan Africa

• Spiritualism is extremely strong, but spiritual affiliations and practices are more interwoven and flexible than in most other world regions– Not uncommon for family members to follow different faiths,

or for an individual to change religious beliefs and practices in the course of a lifetime

• Dominant Religions of Africa– Islam

– Christianity

– Indigenous African Religions (Animism)

9.3.2 Africa’s Belief Systems

Religions of Sub-Saharan Africa

• Over a period of 12 centuries, as many as 25 million people from sub-Saharan Africa were forced to become slaves, exported as merchandise from their homelands

• The trade began in the 7th century, with Arab merchants using trans-Saharan camel caravan routes to exchange goods

• Slave traffic– Provided motivation for European commerce along African coasts– Largest slave traffic was the European controlled slave trade– Transatlantic slave trade peaked between 1700 and 1870

• 80% of an estimated 10 million slaves made the crossing• More than 10 million others probably died

• Slavery has not yet died out in the region– Enslavement of children persists in West Africa

9.3.3 The Origins and Impacts of Slavery

Slave Export Trade Routes

• European colonialism began to overshadow and inhibit the growth of indigenous African civilizations in 16th C.

• Portugal was earliest colonial power to build an African empire

• Conference of Berlin in 1884-1885– European powers carved up Africa– Modern national boundaries do not correspond with ethnic boundaries

• Nigeria as the “Mistake of 1914”

• European colonization had both positive and negativeimpacts on the region

• Most countries still have important links with theirformer colonial powers

9.3.4 The Impact of Colonialism

Colonial Rule in 1914

• Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by great poverty– 25 of the world’s 30 poorest countries are located there

– All economies except South Africa’s are underindustrialized

• Africa’s place in the commercial world is mainly that of a producer of primary products– Cash Crops

– Raw Materials

• Social and structural problems contribute to the region’s underdevelopment– Most African societies lack a substantial middle class

and the prospect of upward economic mobility

9.4 Economic Geography

Coffee as Kenya’s Cash Crop

• Per capita food output in most of Sub-Saharan Africa has declined or remained flat since independence– Malnutrition afflicts almost half the region’s children– Rapid population growth and drought are responsible– Many regimes have invested more in their militaries than in getting

food to their citizens– Governmental preference for cash crops over subsistence food

crops

• Export Crops– Grown on small farms rather than on plantations / estates– Most valuable export crops are:

• Coffee, Cacao, Cotton, Peanuts & Oil Palm Products– Secondary Cash Crops

• Sisal, Pyrethrum, Tea, Tobacco, Rubber, Pineapples, Bananas, Cloves, Vanilla, Cane Sugar & Cashews

9.4.1 Agriculture

• Notable Mineral Exports– Precious metals and precious stones– Iron alloys– Copper– Phosphate– Uranium– Petroleum– High-grade iron ore

• Destined principally for Europe, the U.S., and China• Mining has attracted far more investment capital to Africa

than any other economic activity

9.4.2 Mineral Resources

Minerals, Oil Pipelines and Transportation Links

• Poor Transportation Hindering Development– Few countries can afford to build extensive new road or rail

networks, and much of colonial infrastructure has deteriorated– Contributes to famine, with the inability to transport crop

surpluses to parts with chronic food shortages– Contributes to high costs of agricultural inputs (i.e., fertilizers)

• Bridging the Digital Divide– Critical shortage of telephone, fax, e-mail, and other

communication technologies– Internet Cafés– Mobile Phones

9.4.3 Africa’s Fragile Infrastructure

Ferries for River Crossings Without Bridges

• Commodities boom brought annual economic growth rates of about 5% to 16 Sub-Saharan African countries

• Many countries outside the region have effectively closed their doors to African imports– Subsidies, high tariffs, and/or low quotas imposed on

agricultural products or manufactured goods

• Africa’s Debt– Forgiveness of $40 billion of debt by G-8– China’s engagement with the region

• Pledge of $20 billion in infrastructure and trade financing

9.4.4 Africa in World Markets & Economies

• Failed-State Syndrome– Pernicious process of economic and political decay

that is eating away at some African countries– Some countries are little more than “shell states”– 9 of world’s 15 most corrupt countries are in this region– Donor Democracy

• Leaders make just enough concessions to winoutside aid without instituting real reform

9.4.5 A Legacy of Failed States

• Sub-Saharan Africa is often judged as marginal in world affairs, but the region deserves and is receiving increased international attention

– Humanitarian problems

– Global implications of its public health and environmental situations

– Problems in the management of Africa’s natural resource wealth, its oil reserves, and concerns over terrorism

– Terrorism Hot Spots• Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Niger, Chad, and Mali

– HIV/AIDS• Link between U.S. and Africa via air traffic routes• Potential AIDS-related political instability or civil wars

9.5 Geopolitical Issues