Chapter 6:
Sub-
Saharan
Africa
(Fig. 6.1)
Learning Objectives
–	Become familiar with the physical, demographic, cultural, political and economic aspects of Africa
–	Understand the roles of slavery, disease, and colonization in shaping Africa
–	You should understand the following concepts and models:

Introduction
•	Setting the Boundaries
–	Unity based on similar livelihood systems and shared colonial experience
–	A culturally diverse region
–	World’s fastest-growing region
•	More than 760 million people; 48 states and one territory
•	In most countries, 44% of the population is less than 15 years old
–	Relatively low economic output
•	In 2002, Sub-Saharan Africa’s economic output was just 1% of global output (its population is 11% of world total)
•	South Africa’s GNP is 36% of the GNP of the entire region
•	Foreign aid helped improve agriculture, but led to large debt and corruption
Environmental Geography: The Plateau Continent
•	Africa’s Environmental Issues
–	The Sahel and Desertification
•	Sahel – zone of ecological transition between the 
	Sahara to the north and wetter savannas and forests to the south
•	Desertification: the expansion of desert-like conditions as a result of human-induced degradation
–	Transhumance: the movement of animals between wet-season and dry-season pasture
–	Deforestation
•	Extensive woodlands remain; many replaced by grasslands,  farms
•	Results in shortages of biofuels: wood and charcoal used for household energy needs, especially cooking
•	Kenya’s Green Belt Movement 
	plants millions of trees
Environmental Geography: The Plateau Continent (cont.)
•	Africa’s Environmental Issues (cont.)
–	Wildlife Conservation
•	Wildlife survives because of historically low population density
Environmental Geography: The Plateau Continent (cont.)
•	Plateaus and Basins
•	Great Escarpment: landform rimming much of southern Africa, impeding coastal settlement
–	Watersheds 
•	Congo
•	Nile
•	Niger
•	Zambezi
–	Soils 
•	Relatively infertile 
	because they are old
Environmental Geography: The Plateau Continent (cont.)
•	Climate and Vegetation
•	Warm year-round, while rainfall varies regionally 
Environmental Geography: The Plateau Continent (cont.)
•	Climate and Vegetation (cont.)
–	Tropical Forests
•	Congo Basin contains the second largest expanse of tropical rainforest in the world
–	Savannas
•	Wet and dry savannas surround
	central African rainforest belt
–	Deserts
•	Sahara, Namib, Kalahari
•	Horn of Africa – northeastern corner
	that includes Somalia, Ethiopia, 
	Djibouti, and Eritrea
Population and Settlement: Young and Restless
•	Population projected to increase by 130% by 2050
•	44% of population younger than age 15
•	Population density is similar to that of the U.S.
•	Life expectancy is short (<50 years), TFR is high (5+)
•	Population Trends and Demographic Debates
•	How many people can Sub-Saharan Africa support?
–	Family size
•	Preference for large families
–	Guarantee lineage and status
–	Rural life, subsistence livelihoods
	 make children an asset
•	Most states promote family planning

Population and Settlement: Young and Restless (cont.)
•	Population Trends (cont.)
–	The Impact of AIDS on Africa
•	Southern Africa is ground zero for the AIDS epidemic 
Population and Settlement: Young and Restless (cont.)
•	Patterns of Settlement and Land Use
–	Widely scattered population 
•	Rural-urban migration; Lagos (Nigeria) has 10+ million people
Population and Settlement: Young and Restless (cont.)
•	Patterns of Settlement and Land Use (cont.)
–	Agricultural Subsistence
•	Staple crops of millet, sorghum, corn
•	Swidden agriculture practiced in areas with poorer tropical soils
–	Shifting cultivation: burning natural vegetation to release fertility, then plant indigenous crops; allow fallow periods
–	Often fine-tuned to local conditions, but unable to support high population densities
–	Plantation Agriculture
•	Export crops are critical to the 
	economies of many African states
–	Coffee, peanuts, cotton, 
cocoa, rubber
Population and Settlement: Young and Restless (cont.)
•	Patterns of Settlement and Land Use (cont.)
–	Herding and Livestock
•	Most engaged in this activity are pastoralists
–	Pastoralists specialize in grazing animals
•	Impact of tsetse flies – insects that spread 
    sleeping sickness to cattle, humans, and 
    some wildlife
•	Urban Life
•	Least urbanized region in the developing world
–	But most cities are growing at twice the national growth rates
–	At 12 million people, Lagos is largest city
–	West African Urban Traditions
•	West African coast has many cities, most with indigenous origins

Population and Settlement: Young and Restless (cont.)
•	Urban Life (cont.)
–	Urban Industrial South Africa
•	South Africa is the most urbanized country in the region
–	Apartheid – official policy of racial segregation that shaped cities and social relations in South Africa (1948-94)
»	Coloured – South African term describing people of mixed African and European ancestry
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: 
Unity Through Adversity
•	Language Patterns
•	Complex pattern includes local, African trade, European and Asian languages
–	African Language Groups
•	Niger-Congo, 
	Nilo-Saharan, Khoisan
–	Language and Identity
•	Ethnic identity has been fluid
•	Tribes: group of families or
	clans with common kinship, 
	language, definable territory
–	European Languages
•	Francophone, Anglophone
•	Also Afrikaans (Dutch-based)
	 and Arabic
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: Unity Through Adversity (cont.)
•	Religion and Global Cultural Exchange
•	Indigenous religions center on nature and ancestors (animist)
–	The Introduction and Spread of Christianity
•	Entered northeast Africa around 300 C.E.
–	Coptic Christians in Ethiopia 
	and Eritrea; other Christians in Sudan
•	Dutch brought Calvinism to 
	South Africa in 1600s
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: Unity Through Adversity (cont.)
•	Religion and Global Cultural Exchange, cont.
–	The Introduction and Spread of Islam
•	Introduced about 1,000 years ago
–	Interaction Between Religious Traditions
•	Religious conflict most 
	acute in northeastern Africa
•	Overall, harmony prevails

Cultural Coherence and Diversity: Unity Through Adversity (cont.)
•	Globalization and African Culture
•	Role of slavery
–	Estimated 12 million were taken from Africa and sent to the Western Hemisphere from 1500-1870
Geopolitical Framework: Legacies of Colonialism and Conflict
•	Before the arrival of Europeans, Sub-Saharan Africa had a complex pattern of kingdoms, states, and tribal societies
Geopolitical Framework: Legacies of Colonialism and Conflict
•	European Colonization
•	It took Europeans centuries to gain control of Sub-Saharan Africa
–	The Disease Factor
•	Malaria and other tropical diseases made it difficult for Europeans to establish colonies
•	Quinine made colonization possible
•	The wealth of the region made colonization desirable
Geopolitical Framework: Legacies of Colonialism and Conflict
•	European Colonization, cont.
–	The Scramble for Africa
•	Berlin Conference (1884): 
	13 European countries 
	divided and traded 
	Sub-Saharan Africa; 
	African nations excluded
	from the division of
	their own continent

Geopolitical Framework: Legacies of Colonialism and Conflict (cont.)
•	Establishment of South Africa (cont.)
•	Dutch (Boers) and British settlers conflicted
•	1948 Afrikaner’s (Dutch) National Party gained control of govt.
–	Instituted Apartheid: formalized racial segregation
–	Homelands – nominally independent states for blacks

•	Decolonization and Independence
–	Decolonization began in 1957
–	African Union– a continent-wide organization whose goal includes mediating disputes between neighboring states (was OAU)
Geopolitical Framework: Legacies of Colonialism and Conflict (cont.)
•	Decolonization and Independence (cont.)
–	Southern Africa’s Independence Battles
•	Southern Rhodesia – Zimbabwe
•	Portuguese colonies of Angola and Mozambique
–	Apartheid’s Demise in South Africa
•	Townships – segregated neighborhoods for nonwhites, located on outskirts of cities
•	Opposition in Africa began in the 1960s
–	Blacks and coloureds led opposition
–	Pressure for change from outside sources
•	Free elections held in 1994
–	First time Black Africans were permitted to vote
–	Nelson Mandela elected president
Geopolitical Framework: Legacies of Colonialism and Conflict (cont.)
•	Continuing Political Conflict
–	The Tyranny of the Map
•	Tribalism: loyalty to an ethnic group rather than to a state
•	Refugees
•	Internally displaced 
	persons
Geopolitical Framework: Legacies of Colonialism and Conflict (cont.)
•	Continuing Political Conflict (cont.)
–	Ethnic Conflicts
•	Rwanda: 1994 genocide 
	between Hutus and Tutsis
•	Sudan (Darfur): 2003-present: ethnic
	conflict between government-backed
	Arab nomads and non-Arab black
	sedentary farmers; treaty
•	Congo 1998-2004: forces from Uganda,
	Rwanda joined with Congolese rebels;
	at peace as of 2007
–	Secessionist Movements
•	Nigeria, Somalia, Eritrea

Economic and Social Development: Struggle to Rebuild
•	Poorest, least-developed region in the world
•	Low economic base and high population growth
•	Structural adjustment programs: reduce govt. spending, cut food subsidies, encourage private sector, promoted by IMF, World Bank
•	Roots of African Poverty
•	Environmental limitations and slavery
–	Failed Development Policies
•	Economic nationalism: inefficient, often corrupt governments took over large segments of economy
–	Corruption
•	Kleptocracy: a state in which corruption is so institutionalized that politicians and government bureaucrats siphon off huge percentage of country’s wealth
Economic and Social Development: Struggle to Rebuild (cont.)
•	Links to the World Economy
•	Most African exports to European Union (EU) or to U.S.
•	Low connectivity
–	Aid vs. Investment
•	More aid than 
	investment
•	Poverty and political 
	instability discourage 
	investment
–	Debt Relief
•	World Bank/IMF 
	reduce debt for 
	countries with
	“unsustainable” 
	debt burdens
Economic and Social Development: The Struggle to Rebuild (cont.)
•	Economic Differentiation Within Africa
–	Trade Blocks
•	Two most active
	trade blocks are
	SADC and 
	ECOWAS
Economic and Social Development: The Struggle to Rebuild (cont.)
•	Economic Differentiation Within Africa
•	Trade blocks: Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Economic Community of Central African States (CEEAC)
–	South Africa
•	Well-developed, well-balanced industrial economy
–	Oil and Mineral Producers
•	Substantial oil and mineral reserves, small populations
–	The Leaders of ECOWAS 
•	Economic Community of West African States
•	Nigeria has largest oil reserves
Economic and Social Development: The Struggle to Rebuild (cont.)
•	Economic Differentiation Within Africa (cont.)
–	Life for the Region’s Poorest
•	Located in the Sahel, the Horn, and the southeast
•	Measuring Social Development
•	Overall low levels of social development, but rates of child survival have increased since 1980
–	Life Expectancy
•	World’s lowest rates: regional average of 51 years
•	Caused by extreme poverty 
–	Health Issues
•	Scarcity of doctors and persistence of diseases

Economic and Social Development: Struggle to Rebuild (cont.)
•	Women and Development
•	Account for 75% of the labor that produces more than 50% of the food consumed
–	Status of Women
•	Considerable political and economic power
•	Polygamy prevalent, female circumcision, denial of property inheritance
–	Building from Within
•	Farm labor groups
•	Women’s market associations
•	Micro-credit loans
Conclusions