Africa Development
Africa is the second largest and second most populous continent in the world and is rich with many natural resources. However it is also the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped continent. With so many cultural and economic problems which collectively inhibit its growth and prosperity, the future development of Africa seems on shaky ground. With about 15% of the world’s population grouped into 53 different countries, there is sure to be a lot of variation in economic and political affairs throughout the continent. While widespread poverty and malnutrition affect the majority of people who live in Africa, there is some room for optimism in some nations.
The human development (HDI) index is one widely recognised way to measure Africa’s problems, as it normalises many related issues in order to create a per capita index reference. This index is heavily skewed towards particular geographic regions, and Africa is definitely on the lower end of the scale. Almost all African nations lie on the very low end of this development scale, with only South Africa and the Northern African nations making a positive impact. The HDI combines data like life expectancy and literacy which have very important effects on the lives of African people and the economic development or the entire region. Most African countries are classified as developing or undeveloped nations because of their low HDI levels taken together with their very basic industrial development. It is not all bad news though, with some recent development in certain sectors of certain nations.
There is some growth in some African economies; but major effort must be made so that the already existing split between nations does not widen any further. The more affluent African nations which I have mentioned are obtaining more access to technological infrastructures which are in turn fueling economic growth. Whereas the poorer countries are caught up in a cycle of their own underdevelopment and are stagnating at substandard and unacceptable levels. Rich oil exporting countries and those who have the ability to diversify their economies are enjoying the benefits of the globalised networks of trade and opportunity. Many other nations however are caught up in political corruption and all pervasive poverty.
Many of the countries in the developed world have been advancing aid and trade programs in order to positively affect the poorer African nations, but hopefully it is not too little too late. Development aid has been given to African nations to try and instigate long term economic solutions, often in the form of technical solutions to specific problems. Much political opinion has also been aired that talks of how the globalised market place and policies of the world bank have actually hurt struggling African nations rather than helped them. With large areas of growth in some African economies, we can only hope that this will spread, and that all of Africa can enjoy the lifestyle that comes with a growth in economic development.