Africa s Poverty
Population below poverty line (%) 2014 (Source: CIA World Factbook)
How do we know that the Congo (DRC) is poor? Per Capita GDP: $800 Life Expectancy: 57.3 years Human Development Index Ranking: 176/185 (Burkina Faso is #185) Infant Mortality Rate: 70/1000 (that s 7/100) Mortality Before Age 5: 159/1000 (that s 16/100) Average Number of Years of School: 3.5 Those Living on Less than $1.00/Day: 80%
Why are so many African countries poor? 1. Wars: Wars destroy towns, cities, and infrastructure and disrupt government, farming, and business. Wars kill productive people.
Why are so many African countries poor? 2. Bad Governments: Corrupt governments do not provide services or lead development
Why are so many African countries poor? 3. Lack of Infrastructure: Lack of roads and water and electricity make economic development impossible
Why are so many African countries poor? 4. Status of Women: Women are unable to own land, lack of education for girls
Why are so many African countries poor? 5. Poor Education: Lack of an educated population prevents real economic development
Why are so many African countries poor? 6. AIDS and Other Diseases: AIDS and Malaria and water-borne diseases prevents wage-earners from working and takes lives of working parents, leaving children poor and uneducated
Why are so many African countries poor? 7. Food Aid Dependency: Lower priced (or free) food aid discourages local farmers from growing and selling
Why are so many African countries poor? 8. Western Farm Subsidies: African farmers cannot compete against subsidized crops
Why are so many African countries poor? 9. Land Sold to Other Nations: Foreign corporations take profits out of Africa just like the old colonial powers did
Why are so many African countries poor? 10. The Legacy of Colonialism: African countries are still dealing with the problems created by European colonization
How Much of Africa was Colonized by Europeans?
Why did European powers want to control parts of Africa?
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa?
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa? 1. Europeans took slaves and the wealth of Africa away from Africa - to Europe and the Americas.
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa? 2. Europeans did not share the wealth they kept Africans poor.
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa? 3. Europeans denied Africans education.
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa? 4. Infrastructure was built only for Europeans and their businesses.
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa? 5. Europeans denied Africans real leadership and management experience. Congo: Only 3/5000 government administrators, and only 16 university graduates in the entire country. And not one Congolese lawyer, doctor, economist, army officer, or engineer.
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa? 6. Europeans denied Africans experience with democracy.
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa? 7. Europeans modeled a government whose only purpose was law and order no money was spent on anything else.
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa? 8. Europeans disrupted cultures and families - making people move to work.
What are the Legacies of European Colonization in Africa? 9. Europeans divided Africans ethnically and encouraged rivalry between groups in order to keep control.