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Estimated population 33 million
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The Peoples Democratic Republic of Algeria became an independent state in July 1962 after eight years of war between France and the FLN (Front de Libération Nationale). The country is in the process of recovery from internal conflicts which raged from the 1990s until 2002 and as a result the economy is expanding. Algeria’s GDP per capita was $3,111 in 2005 according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The United Nations has ranked Algeria in 102nd place in its Human Development Index. The average life expectance in 2004 was 76 for females and 76 for males. The discovery of petroleum and natural gas deposits has enhanced the economy and has helped finance a considerable programme of public works. In 2006 the state owned Sonatrach company concluded a deal with the giant Russian company Gazprom to found a joint venture for natural gas sales.
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Estimated population 15.6 million
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Leading economic powers including the United States and the European Union have been involved in funding programmes by international organisations to help Angola recover from a disastrous civil war which began after its independence from Portugal in 1951 and continued until the death of rebel leader Jonas Savimbi in 2002. The removal of mines and the fight against AIDS have become major operations in returning the country to normality and preparing it to develop its economy. The country’s GDP per capita was estimated by the IMF at $1,987 in 2005and it was rated 161st of 177 countries on the UN Human Development Index. The average life expectancy in 2004 was 40 for females and 37 for males. Only one per cent of Angola’s land is cultivated but oil discoveries and an established diamond mining industry holds out promise of industrial and economic development.
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Population 6.8 million in 2002
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A former French colony, Benin became independent in August 1960 under the name Dahomey and assumed its current title in 1975. The IMF estimated its GDP per capita at a mere $595 in 2005. It is in 163rd place in the UN Human Development Index and life expectancy is 54 for females and 51 for males. The low life expectancy is largely due to an extremely high infant mortality rate of 82.9 per thousand. Offshore oil discoveries hold out some promise for a country that is one of the poorest in the world.
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Estimate population 1.8 million
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Botswana gained its independence from Britain in 1966. With a GDP per capita of $6,348 in 2005 Botswana has been one of Africa’s success stories. This has been achieved despite a harsh climate and frequent drought (The name of the national currency the Pula derives from the Tswana word for rain.) Almost 80 per cent of the country’s exports come from its resources of diamonds but good economic management has made Botswana prosperous by African standards. The country has, however, a major AIDS problem with the second highest per capita HIV incidence in the world after Swaziland. The life expectancy in 2003 was 38 for females and 37 for males. The UN places Botswana in 131st place in its Human Development Index.
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Estimated population 13.2 million
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This former French Colony, previously known as Upper Volta, occupies 174th place out of 177 in the UN’s human development index. It assumed the name Burkina Faso (Fatherland of True Men) in 1984. Approximately 2 million of the country’s citizens live as exiles in neighbouring countries and in Europe. Life expectancy for females is 48 and for males 47 while GDP per capita was estimated by the IMF in 2005 to be just $429. Burkina Faso’s most important product is cotton.
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Estimated population 7.2 million
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A former part of the German protectorate of Ruanda-Urundi the country came under Belgian control in 1919 and became independent in 1962. Burundi has been the scene of ethnic violence between minority Tutsi and majority Hutu populations. It occupies 169th place in the UN Human Development Index and its GDP per capita stood at just $107 in 2005 making it perhaps the poorest country on earth. The economy is largely dependent on international aid as well as the production of coffee, cotton and tea. There are small textile plants in the capital Bujumbura as well as brewing and the manufacture of shoes and cigarettes.
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Estimated population 16.7 million
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A former German colony, Cameroon came under joint Franco-British mandate in 1920. The northern French section became independent in 1960 and joined with the southern British section a year later to form an independent republic. Part of the British section, however, seceded to join Nigeria. Cameroon is placed 144th in the UN Human Development Index and has a very small but growing GDP per capita of $946 Its principal exports are the cash crops of coffee, cocoa, bananas and ground nuts. There are some petroleum exports aided by a pipeline financed by the World Bank as well as some deposits of bauxite the raw material for the refinement of alumina.
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Estimated population 476,000
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Cape Verde became independent from Portugal in 1975 but remained an integral part of Guinea Bissau until November 1980. An archipelago of 10 major islands and a number of small islets, Cape Verde. There are more Cape Verde citizens living abroad than in their homeland with an estimated 700,000 emigrants to the US, Portugal, the Netherlands and other countries. Live expectancy is high for Africa at 74 for females and 67 for males due to a low incidence of HIV-AIDS and a decreasing rate of infant mortality. GDP per capita was estimated at $2,100 by the IMF in 2005 and Cape Verde was rated 106th in the UN Human Development index. . The country has very scarce natural resources other than the finishing of lobsters and tuna but tourism from Europe is rapidly developing as the main earner of foreign currency.
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Estimated population 3.26million
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This former French colony, independent since 1960, suffered greatly under the authoritarian rule of the self-styled Emperor Jean-Bedel Bokassa in the 1970s and the military dictatorship of André Kolingba who eventually succumbed to international pressure for democratisation. Further political instability ensued however until a democratic constitution was approved by referendum on December 5th 2004. The IMF estimated the Central African Republic’s GDP per capita to be just over $335 in 2005 and the country is placed 172nd in the UN Human Development Index. Female life expectancy at birth is 44 while males can hope to live until they are 43. The country has few natural resources and subsistence agriculture is widespread.
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Estimated population 9.55 million
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Plagued by a series of military coups in the years following its independence from France Chad is now a republic in which the president, elected by universal suffrage for five years and with no restriction on the number years in power, has very strong control over the country and its parliament. Chad has some petroleum resources with a world-bank funded pipeline to the port of Kribi in Cameroon. Agriculture is concentrated in the south of the country and the currency, the Central African Franc, is linked to the Euro. The country occupies 171st place in the UN Human Development Index and had an estimated GDP per capita of $652 in 2005. Life expectancy is 49 for females and 45 for males.
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Estimated population 614,000
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The Union des Comores consists of an archipelago in the Indian Ocean to the north west of Madagascar. It became independent of France following a referendum in 1974 in the course of which, however, the important island of Mayotte voted to remain a French overseas territory. The constitution of 2002 provides for a rotation of the presidency between the three main islands. Life expectancy for females is 64 and for males 59 and the GDP per capita was $633 in 2005. Comoros is ranked 132nd in the UN Human Development Index. Exports include coconuts, copra, sisal, vanilla, cloves and the perfume component ylang-ylang. Tourism is an increasingly important earner of foreign currency. The Comoros Franc is linked to the Euro for exchange rate purposes.
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Estimated population 57.5 million
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This former Belgian colony, the third largest country by area in Africa, was the major scene of the worlds most devastating conflict since the 1950s. The conflict started in 1998 and lasted five years. It involved eight countries and a number of armed groupings. By the war’s end 3.5 million people had time. The figure while horrifically large did not warrant its popular description as “Africa’s World War” as the conflict’s casualties represented less than a fifth of those in Europe’s 20th century conflagration. Its human rights record in the colonial period under Belgian rule was probably the worst in all of Africa and was brought to world attention by the then British Diplomat and later Irish revolutionary Sir Roger Casement. Moves towards peace and democracy in the Congo continue to show great promise and it is hope that this will continue. Nevertheless the country’s GDP per capita is extremely low and was estimated by the IMF as $123.3 in 2005. The United Nations Human Development Index puts the DRCongo in 167th place. The female life expectancy is 51 and the male 49. Infant mortality is extremely high at 92.6 per thousand.
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Estimated population 3.4 million
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Under president Sassou Nguesso the République du Congo concluded an agreement with China in 2005 for the development of the country’s infrastructure in the spheres of energy and transport. Guerrilla activity continues in the south of the country following a civil war which ended with the accords of 2003. The regime of President Sassou although theoretically democratic has been criticised by international electoral observers as having run an unfree and unfair election and referendum. The country’s population is concentrated in the south with large areas of uninhabited jungle in the north. There is a high incidence of infant mortality at 81 per thousand with life expectancy for females at 53 and for males at 51. Offshore petroleum deposits are the mainstay of an economy in which GDP per capita was estimated at $1,785 in 2005. The country is 140th in the UN Human Development Index.
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Estimated population 686,000
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A small former French enclave on the Red Sea the Territoire Française des Afars et des Issas became independent as Djibouti in 1977. Economic activity is largely dependent on the free port of Djibouti and on the French and US military bases in the small country of just 23,000 Sq km. Djibouti is 148th in the Human Development Index of the United Nations and its GDP per capita was estimated at $973 in 2005. Live expectancy for females in 2003 was 54 and for males 52. The infant mortality rate at 101 per thousand is exceptionally high.
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Estimated population 75 million
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The Arab Republic of Egypt the modern manifestation of one of the human race’s oldest and most important civilisations. It is also possibly Africa’s most populous country and its capital, Cairo, is the continent’s largest city. Tourism has been a major earner of foreign currency and its attractions including the pyramids of Giza have been strong enough to overcome the negative publicity associated with terrorist attacks on western visitors. Egypt became independent of British rule in 1922 and went through a number of different types of government before it reached its present republican status. Geographically situated in on the African continent on the one hand and bordering the volatile Middle East on the other, Egypt after a number of military engagements with Israel and become one of the more moderate of Arab nations under President Hosni Mubarak who has remained in power for more than a quarter of a century. Egypt is ranked 111th in the UN Human Development Index and has a GDP per capita of $1,270 in 2005. It has a female life expectancy of 73 years with a male expectancy of 68. Its major economic partners are the EU and the US. Almost six million tourists visited Egypt in 2003
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Estimated population 4.4 million
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An Italian colony from 1899 to 1941 Eritrea became party of Ethiopia but became independent in 1991 following a thirty year armed conflict. A border conflict with Ethiopia continues. In 2005 the IMF estimated Eritrea’s GDP per capita at $207. It is currently rated 157th in the UN’s Human Development Index. Female life expectancy is 56 and Male 52. There are small deposits of gold, zinc, iron, manganese, copper, potassium and petroleum.
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Africa is the second largest continent at over 30.2 million km². It is estimated to be home to over 900,000,000 people spread across 53 countries.
