1. Human Geography
Unit 7: Africa

2. Background Questions What is the current population on Africa?
What is the current African population under the age of 25?
How many different types of languages are spoken in Africa today?
How much of Africa's population is dependent on agriculture?
What is Africa's average daily income?
Explain Africa's literacy rates.
What is the most common cause of death in Africa?
What is the life expectancy in Africa?
Sub Sahara =
North Africa =
How many Muslims live in Africa?
How many Christians live in Africa?

3. AFRICA TODAY Population: 1.2 Billion (15% of world’s total population)
Population under age 25: 71%
Spoken languages: 2,000
Population dependent on agriculture: 66%
Average income: 50% live on less that $1 a day.
Literacy rates (15y+): 60%
Most common cause of death: AIDS
Average Life Expectancy:
46: Sub-Saharan
67: North African
Religions:
Muslims: 358 million
Christians: 410 million

4. Northern Africa

5. History and Government
Invasions of Arab armies influenced the cultures of North Africa and spread the Muslim religion.
Muslims and Jews fleeing the Inquisition infused Morocco with Spanish culture in the 1400s.
The Ottoman Empire ruled North Africa until the end of World War I in 1918, after which European colonial powers exerted control.
An educated middle class developed feelings of nationalism that provided the basis for the countries that later declared independence.

6. Population Patterns
The area is a mix of Arab cultures with indigenous non-Arab populations like the Berbers, a nomadic group of farmers who move from place to place with herds of animals.
The availability of water greatly influenced settlement, with most people living along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts and the Nile River valley.
Emigration rates are high due to greater employment opportunities in other countries and continents

7. Society and Culture Today
The Muslim religion is the dominant faith.
Arabic is the dominant language in the region, with French used in some areas as a result of colonization.
Class status influences family size, with upper-class families having fewer children than lower-class families.
Human rights are often stifled, with women not permitted to work freely.

8. Economic Activities
Economic output varies greatly in the region, with oil and natural gas as the biggest exports.
Agriculture is important in areas with a Mediterranean climate, while fishing is important along waterways.
Despite some economic progress, North Africa suffers from political instability, high unemployment, and poverty.

9. Transition Zone

10. History and Government Many empires and kingdoms ruled the subregion, in the past, including the Egyptians, the Kush, and the Mali Empires.
Mali Empire:
Founded by SUNDIATA KEITA
Name means: “Lion Prince”
Wealth: build on Gold-Salt trade
Brought to Islam by Mansa Musa
Ruled
Went on hajj in 1324 and converted Mali Peoples
Famous trading city: Timbuktu
Mansa Musa wanted to make this a center of Islamic learning and culture:
built mosques, attracted scholars, religious leaders, artists, and doctors

11. History and Government:
1800s--Europeans saw:
Minerals!!
Gold, Diamonds, Rubber
Slavery
At the Berlin Conference, European rulers created artificial boundaries putting all of the Sahel under their control without regard to cultural, religious, or traditional boundaries.
“The Scramble for Africa”
Started by Denmark (one of the SMALLEST countries in Europe!)

12. Population Patterns
The area is a cultural, as well as geographical, transition between Muslim North Africa and the animist and Christian south.

13. Population Patterns
Population density remains low with uneven distribution and high growth rates; these cause concern as resources cannot support continual increases.

14. Population Patterns
There are relatively few cities: the ancient city of Timbuktu still stands, and Nouakchott, Khartoum, and Port Sudan have many residents.

15. Society and Culture Today
Many different African languages are spoken throughout the subregion, with French also widely used because of colonial rule.
Islam is the dominant religion in the north, while Christianity is practiced south of the Transition Zone, along with many indigenous religions throughout the region.

16. Society and Culture Today
Rural-to-urban migration has increased as drought and overworked land force people into cities to find jobs.
Poverty, lack of access to clean water, and sanitation are major health concerns.
What other health scares are they having in Africa now and most recently?
What process is causing water scarcity?

17. Economic Activities
Subsistence farming, where the farmer consumes most of what is produced leaving little to sell, and semi-nomadic herding continue as the traditional economy of the subregion.
Nigeria is the subregion’s only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Most of area is rich in natural resources, such as oil, gas, and minerals, but these resources have yet to be fully developed.

18. East Africa

19. History and Government
With access from the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, traders established colonies in East Africa.
This brought a growth of Islam in 7th and 8th centuries
Arab and Persian trading ports:
Mogadishu, Mombasa
Kilwa:
Grew rich because it was as far
South as a ship could sail from India
In one monsoon season.
Ibn Battuta: “one of the most beautiful towns in the world”

20. History and Government
Colonial European powers, looking to expand trade routes and capitalize on new opportunities, created enormous problems for Africa.
Although many countries gained independence in the 1960s, long- standing challenges persisted.

21. History and Government Conflict between indigenous, or native, peoples resulted in extraordinary dislocations.
Jun1940—Nov 1941 East African Campaign
Feb1972—Mar1981 Eritrean Civil Wars
Jul1977—Mar1978 Ethio-Somali War
1986—1991 Somali Rebellion
Jan1991—ongoing Somali Civil War
Nov1991—Dec1994 Djiboutian Civil War
May1998—May2000 Eritrean-Ethiopian War
Jun2008 Djiboutian-Eritrean Border Conflict

22. Population Patterns
Today’s population reflects the many languages, belief systems, and ways of life in the subregion.
In many countries, one ethnic group is the majority of the population.
Most cities are located on coasts or rivers, although some inland cities developed along trade routes; however, in general, rates of urbanization are low.
Population densities are high on fertile lands near water where better irrigation of crops is possible.

23. Society and Culture Today
Most people in the subregion are either Christian or Muslim, but traditional animist religions are also practiced.
Levels of education vary, with literacy rates higher among men than women, and many students leave school so they can work and contribute to family income.

24. Society and Culture Today
Poor nutrition, famine, overpopulation, and the inability to treat common diseases, such as AIDS, are chronic issues in East Africa.
Rift Valley Fever:
Occurs in irregular patterns for adequate planning when it comes to managing epidemics
Socio-ecological drivers and impacts
Management: requires multi-disciplinary approaches and partnerships
HIV/AIDS
Tuberculosis

25. Economic Activities
The majority of jobs are in agriculture, with most products earmarked as exports, commodities sent from one country to another.
The focus on cash crops, such as coffee, instead of food staples has created food-supply issues.
Ecotourism, highlighting the many unique attributes of the subregion, has become a key part of the economy.
China’s investment and trade within the subregion has skyrocketed since 2001, encouraging positive changes.

26. West Africa

27. History and Government
Many empires, such as the Ghana, Mali, Songhai, and Benin, flourished in West Africa.
As more Europeans arrived, they began to exploit West Africa’s resources and colonize the continent.
Europeans set African peoples against one another, adding to internal tensions and strengthening European rule.
Even after achieving independence, these emerging countries faced daunting challenges, as many of them still do today.

28. Population Patterns
West Africa is a very populous subregion, with Nigeria having the continent’s largest population.
Many are moving to urban areas to find better opportunities, healthcare, and education.
With the world’s fastest rate of urbanization, the subregion’s rapid growth has placed tremendous strain on existing infrastructure, or the set of systems that affect how well a place operates.
Governments are attempting to improve living conditions.

29. Society and Culture Today
The subregion is home to numerous ethnic groups which speak many different languages.
Poverty limits access to healthcare, leading to high death rates from poor sanitation and nutrition.
The role of women is changing, with some beginning to open their own businesses and enter professions.
The arts reinforce cultural heritage, such as performances by griots, oral historians and storytellers.

30. Economic Activities
The major focus is agriculture, but some small businesses sell locally made products via e-commerce, or buying and selling via the Internet.
A small percentage practices commercial farming, with cacao being the most important cash crop.
Mining of natural resources plays an important economic role, as do Nigeria’s oil reserves.
Trade within the region is expanding.

31. Equatorial Africa

32. History and Government
In the 1400s, European explorers arrived in Equatorial Africa to expand their trade networks.
The slave trade ensued, taking young people away and harming the societies left behind.
By the 1900s, European powers established colonies that promoted European culture and weakened traditional African cultures.
Resistance to colonial rule grew,
resulting in all of the countries achieving
independence in 1960.

33. Population Patterns
Society is mostly rural but has pockets of dense, urban populations.
Most people exist by subsistence agriculture, or eating most of what they grow, and raising cattle.
Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is the political, cultural, and economic hub, or center of activity.
Gabon is the most urbanized country, while South Sudan is the most rural.

34. Society and Culture Today
The subregion contains hundreds of ethnic groups and languages, with French being the most dominant language, reflecting France’s colonial influence.
Swahili
Mixed African-Arabian culture
As Muslims intermarried w/ Africans, their cultures blended
Applies to area’s major language
Nat’l language of Kenya & Tanzania
Religion and family life are intertwined, with Christianity, Islam, and indigenous religions, such as animism, all practiced in the subregion.
Due to its lack of financial resources, Equatorial Africa struggles to stop the spread of preventable diseases.
Ethnic conflicts continue in the subregion.

35. Economic Activities
Farming is the main economic activity with most of the population practicing subsistence farming.
Countries along the Congo and on the coasts rely on fishing for economic support.
Although the subregion is rich in mineral resources, corruption and governmental mismanagement have prevented the people from benefiting from these natural resources.
Manufacturing output is low, but investment from foreign countries will push industrialization.

36. Southern Africa

37. History and Government
The Bantu people settled Southern Africa about 3,500 years ago and eventually established the influential city of Great Zimbabwe.
1000 B.C. farming peoples who spoke dialects of the Bantu languages moved from the Niger River region into E. Africa
Spread iron-smelting techniques across Africa
Bantu speakers move to find farmland, flee growing Sahara
Within 1,500 years they reach southern tip of Africa
**As a result of Bantu migrations, today there are at least 60 million people who speak one of the Bantu languages.**

38. History and Government
European colonization varied from colony to colony.
The Dutch established colonies in the 1600s and, after a few generations, referred to themselves as Afrikaners, meaning “Africans.”
Shaka was an important Zulu leader in African history, known for his military might and strength as a leader.

39. Population Patterns
The population increases as one moves from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean because of the physical geography.
Natural resources also affect the population distribution, with people settling near resources.
Urbanization, or the migration of people from rural areas to urban areas, continues to affect the subregion as people search for a better quality of life.

40. Society and Culture Today
The effects of European colonialism still permeate life in Southern Africa, including the main languages used for communication.
Christianity is the most common religion as a result of Christian missionaries in the subregion.
Poverty is prevalent and affects all aspects of life, even shortening life spans and sometimes inciting riots.
Traditional laws often prohibit women from owning or inheriting property.

41. Economic Activities
The majority of people are farmers, with most participating in subsistence farming, or small-scale agriculture that provides for the needs of a family but little more.
Commercial farming, or growing large quantities of crops in order to sell them, has gained importance with the increased influence of global markets.
Mining is also important, with minerals and diamonds being major exports.