Unit 6: Cultural Geography of Africa

1. Unit 6: Cultural Geography of Africa

2. Population • 2012 Population – about 1,000,000,000 • Arabic 145 million • Yoruba 30 million • Oromo 30 million • Hausa 30 million • Berber 20 million • Other ethnic groups make up the balance • Accurate census figures are not available for most African countries

3. Africa’s population has quadrupled since 1955 • A very small percentage of Africa’s population lives in urban areas • Africa has few large metropolitan areas • African urban populations are growing at a very fast rate; urban slums are expanding rapidly

4. Africa is home to about 14% of the world’s population • Over 80% of the world’s HIV-positive population lives in Africa; the vast majority live in Sub-Saharan Africa

5. Language • Africans speak a wide variety of languages • Afro-Asiatic • Niger-Congo • Nilo-Saharan • Khoe-San • Austronesian • Indo-European

7. Some African countries have an official language, though they are not always the most common • A few African languages and dialects include whistling, drumming and clicking

9. Religion • Muslim 45% • Christian 40% • Various indigenous less than 15% • Hindu, Jewish, no particular belief ~1%

10. Society • Income • Africa is the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped continent • Spread of deadly diseases • High levels of illiteracy • Tribal and military conflicts • Corrupt governments • Little access to foreign capital • ~50% of Sub-Saharan Africa lives in poverty • Malnutrition is rampant

11. Global GDP

12. History • World’s oldest human remains found in South Africa • Some of our planet’s earliest civilizations were along the Nile in present-day Egypt • Characteristics of early civilizations • Religion • Trade • Agriculture • Social hierarchy • Government

13. Early African kingdoms • Egypt • Kush • Aksum • Mali • Ghana • Songhai

14. Immigrants (colonists) • Ancient Greece (c. 323 BC) • Arabia (7th Century AD) • Portugal (1400s) • Scramble for Africa (late 1800s) • Belgium • Germany • Great Britain • Portugal • Netherlands • Decolonization-post WWII

15. European Colonial Holdings in Africa, c.1914

16. Folklife • Africa is rich in folk arts and crafts • African culture was popularized in the Western world during the 1960s • African musical traditions contributed greatly to popular music of the US, world • Africa is world’s leading cassava, yam producer • Coffee and okra probably originated in Africa

17. Economy • National economies vary from free market to command economies • Based on average per capita GDP, Africa is the poorest continent on Earth • Many Africans live subsistence lives

18. African economic resources include • Agriculture • Mining • Petroleum production • Manufacturing • Africa is the least developed continent • North Africa is much wealthier than Sub-Saharan Africa

19. Government • Wide range of governments • Democracy • Monarchy • Dictatorship • Theocracy • Military influence in government is common

20. African Tidbits • At 4,132 miles, the Nile is the world’s longest river • Africa’s highest elevation is Mt. Kilimanjaro at 19,340 ft. • The Sahara is the world’s largest desert

21. Most African slaves who were sent to the Americas came from the west coast of Africa • Africa leads the world in the production of diamonds, platinum, and manganese