Nigeria

Nearly all of Nigerias economy relies on oil production, which mean a change in world oil prices has the greatest direct effect on its economy. Larger farms produce cash crops, such as rubber, peanuts, palm oil, and cacao, a tropical tree whose seeds are used to make chocolate and cocoa.

Nigeria (cont.)
Nigeria has more than 250 ethnic groups, the four largest being the Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibo.

After its independence in 1960, ethnic and religious disputes broke out.
In 1967, the Ibo tried to set up their own country. A civil war resulted that led to 2 million deaths. The Ibo were defeated and remained part of Nigeria.

Nigeria (cont.)
Although 60 percent of Nigerians still live in rural areas, many people have left their farms in search of better jobs in the cities.

The largest city is the port of Lagos.

Abuja, Nigerias capital, is a planned city that was built during the 1980s.

The Sahel and Coastal West Africa

Except for Mauritania, the Sahel countriesMauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Chadare landlocked, or without a sea or an ocean border. Only grasses and small trees grow in the Sahel, which receives little rainfall.

The Sahel and Coastal West Africa (cont.)

As in other regions, rain forests here have been cleared for palm, coffee, cacao, and rubber plantations. This has led to deforestation along the areas densely settled coasts. As people migrate in search of work, they have settled in port cities, such as Dakar (Senegal) and Accra (Ghana). As a result, these cities are growing.

The Sahel and Coastal West Africa (cont.)

Ghana, Senegal, and Benin have stable democracies and generally prosperous economies.

Central Africa
The capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Kinshasa. Many minerals are found in the countrys interior, but thick rain forests, political unrest, and lack of roads limit the mining of the resources. One of the worlds largest rain forests is here.

Southern East Africa

Tanzania, the largest of the southern East African countries, has many ethnic groups, each with its own language, but most people speak Swahili.

Most Tanzanians farm or herd livestock. Export crops are coffee and sisal, a plant fiber used to make rope and twine.
The island of Zanzibar, off Tanzanias coast, supplies a spice called cloves.

Southern East Africa (cont.)

National parks in Tanzania help to protect the habitats of the countrys wildlife. A habitat is the type of environment in which a particular animal species lives.

Serengeti National Park attracts many ecotourists, or people who travel to another country to view its natural wonders and wildlife.
This has increased tourism there.

Southern East Africa (cont.)

Most of Kenyas people live in the highlands in the center of the country. Nairobi is the countrys capital and the largest city in East Africa. It is a free market city and the major business center for all of East Africa. Mombasa, on the Indian Ocean coast, is a large and busy port.

Southern East Africa (cont.)

Most Kenyans are farmers who raise corn, bananas, sweet potatoes, and cassava, a plant whose roots are ground to make porridge. Some larger farms raise coffee and tea for export. The country also has a large system of national parks to help protect its wildlife.

Southern East Africa (cont.)

About 80 percent of the people in both Rwanda and Burundi are Hutu, but the Tutsi minority ran the governments and economies for many years. In the 1990s, civil war erupted, including genocide, or the deliberate murder of a group of people because of their race of culture.

The Horn of Africa

Sudan, the largest country in Africa, is covered in the north by the dunes of the Sahara and the Nubian Desert. It was once a center of Kush civilization. In the central area of grassy plains, the two main tributaries of the Nile Riverthe Blue Nile and the White Nilejoin at Khartoum, Sudans capital.

The Horn of Africa (cont.)

From 1983 to 2004, Arab Muslims in northern Sudan and Christian black Africans and followers of local religions in southern Sudan fought a bitter civil war, killing about 1.5 million and driving many more from their homes.

Another 200,000 likely have been killed during a conflict in Sudans western Darfur region that began in 2001.

The Horn of Africa (cont.)

Ethiopia is the oldest independent nation in Africa. It is also where the ancient kingdom of Axum existed. In the 1980s, a drought in Ethiopia turned the once-rich fields into seas of dust.

A resulting famine killed more than 1 million Ethiopians through starvation and disease, bringing worldwide attention to the country.

The Horn of Africa (cont.)

Djibouti, a stable country, is located at a narrow water passage that links the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

This passage is the meeting point of a number of trade routes that link the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea, as well as Africa with Southwest Asia.

Republic of South Africa

South Africa (officially called the Republic of South Africa) has the most highly developed economy in Africa.

Republic of South Africa (cont.)

In the early 1900s, British and Afrikaner (descendants of Dutch, German or French settlers) groups fought for control of South Africa, but in 1910 these groups united their territories to form the Union of South Africa. It was part of the British Empire and was ruled by whites. Black South Africans set up the African National Congress (ANC) in 1912 in hopes of gaining power.

Republic of South Africa (cont.)

White South Africans established apartheid to control the non-European population, but apartheid ended in the early 1990s. South Africans then wrote a new constitution based on majority rule. A constitution is a document describing the structure and powers of a government and the rights of citizens.

Other Southern African Countries

Within South Africa are Lesotho and Swaziland, both enclaves, or small territories located inside a larger country.

Both are poor countries that depend on South Africa for goods and markets.

Other Southern African Countries (cont.)

For years, Europeans owned Zimbabwes richest farmland. In recent years, the government has tried to turn over this land to Africans, but this has led to disorder and violence.

Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, and Seychelles are island nations in the Indian Ocean.