North Africa and Southwest Asia: a commonality of two regions. EGP North Africa

GENERAL ECONOMIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COUNTRIES OF AFRICA.

GENERAL REVIEW. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.

The mainland occupies 1/5 of the land of the globe. In size (30.3 million km2 with islands), it is second only to Asia from all parts of the world. The region includes 55 countries.

There are several options for dividing Africa into regions. In the scientific literature, the five-term division of Africa is most accepted, including the North (the Maghreb countries, the Mediterranean coast), the West (the northern part of the Atlantic coast and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea), the Central (Chad, Tsar, Zaire, the Congo, etc.), the East (located east of the Great African Rifts), South.

Almost all African countries are republics (with the exception of Lesotho, Morocco and Sutherland, which are still constitutional monarchies). The administrative-territorial structure of states, with the exception of Nigeria and South Africa, is unitary.

There is no other continent in the world that would suffer as much from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa.

Different criteria can be used to assess the EGP of African countries. One of the main criteria is dividing countries by the presence or absence of access to the sea. Due to the fact that Africa is the most massive continent, no other of them has such a number of countries located far from the seas .Most inland countries are the most remaining.

NATURAL CONDITIONS AND RESOURCES.

The continent is almost crossed by the equator in the middle and lies completely between the subtropical belts of the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The peculiarity of its shape - the northern part is 2.5 times wider than the southern one - determined the difference in their natural conditions. sedimentary rocks (at the base in the north). Stepped plateaus, plateaus, and plains are typical for the relief of Africa. manganese, chromites, bauxites, gold, platinum, cobalt, diamonds, phosphorites. The resources of oil, natural gas, graphite, and asbestos are also great.

Africa's share in the world mining industry is 1/4. Almost all extracted raw materials and fuel are exported from Africa to economically developed countries, which makes its economy more dependent on the world market. In total, seven main mining regions can be distinguished in Africa.

1. The region of the Atlas Mountains stands out for its reserves of iron, manganese, polymetallic ores, phosphorites (the world's largest phosphorite belt).

2. The Egyptian mining region is rich in oil, natural gas, iron, titanium ores, phosphorites, etc.

3. The region of the Algerian and Libyan parts of the Sahara is distinguished by the largest oil and gas reserves.

4. The West Guinean region is rich in oil, gas, metal ores.

6.Zaire-Zambian region - on its territory there is a unique "Copper Belt" with deposits of high-quality copper, as well as cobalt, zinc, lead, cadmium, germanium, gold, silver

Zaire is the world's leading producer and exporter of cobalt.

7. The largest mining region in Africa

located within Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. Almost all types of fuel, ore and non-metallic minerals are mined here, with the exception of oil, gases and bauxites.

The mineral resources of Africa are distributed unevenly. There are countries in which the lack of a raw material base hinders their development. African land resources are significant. However, extensive farming and rapid population growth have led to catastrophic soil erosion, which reduces crop yields. This, in turn, exacerbates the problem cities, very relevant for Africa.

The agro-climatic resources of Africa are determined by the fact that it is the hottest continent, lies entirely within the average annual isotherms + 20 "C. Water resources of Africa. In terms of their volume, Africa is significantly inferior to Asia and South America. The hydrographic network is distributed extremely unevenly. second only to the resources of Latin America and Russia. But its average forest cover is much lower, moreover, as a result of deforestation, which exceeds natural growth, deforestation has assumed alarming proportions.

POPULATION.

Africa stands out worldwide with the highest rates of population reproduction. In 1960, 275 million people lived on the continent, in 1980-475 million people, in 1990-648 million people, and in 2000, according to forecasts, there will be 872 million

Kenya stands out in terms of growth rates - 4.1% (first place in the world), Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda. Such a high birth rate is explained by centuries-old traditions of early marriage and large families, religious traditions, as well as an increased level of healthcare. active demographic policy.

The change in the age structure of the population as a result of the demographic explosion also entails great consequences: in Azerbaijan, the proportion of children's ages is still growing (40-50%). This increases the "demographic burden" on the able-bodied population. problems of the regions, the most important of which is food problem.Many problems are also connected with the ethnic composition of the population of Africa, which is very diverse. 300-500 ethnic groups stand out. origin. An important feature of African countries is mismatch of political and ethnic boundaries as a consequence of the colonial era of the development of the continent. The legacy of the past is that the official languages ​​of most countries of A.

there are still languages ​​​​of the former metropolises - English, French, Portuguese. In terms of urbanization, Africa still lags far behind other regions. However, the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world. Like many other developing countries, Africa is experiencing "false urbanization".

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ECONOMY.

After gaining independence, African countries began to make efforts to overcome centuries of backwardness. The nationalization of natural resources, the implementation of agrarian reform, economic planning, and the training of national personnel were of particular importance. As a result, the pace of development of the region accelerated. The restructuring of the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy began. paths have been reached in mining industry, which now accounts for 1/4 of the world's output in terms of production. In the extraction of many types of minerals, Azerbaijan has an important, and sometimes even a monopoly, place in the foreign world. It is the mining industry that primarily determines the place of Azerbaijan in the MGRT. Manufacturing industry is poorly developed or absent altogether. But some countries in the region have a higher level of manufacturing industry - South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco.

The second branch of the economy, which determines the place of a. in the world economy - tropical and subtropical agriculture. It also has a pronounced export orientation. But on the whole, Azerbaijan lags behind in its development. It occupies the last place among the regions of the world in terms of the level of industrialization and crop yields.

FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS.

The monocultural specialization and low level of economic development of the African states are manifested in an insignificant share in world trade and in the enormous importance that foreign trade has for the continent itself. 5 government revenues to the budget of African countries. About 80% of the trade turnover of the continent falls on the developed countries of the West.

CONCLUSION.

Despite the huge natural and human potential, Africa continues to be the most backward part of the world economy.

report made:

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Dudarova Olga...

Literature: CHERNOV A.V., POLYAKOVA M.O. "GEOGRAPHY"

Plan for the characteristics of the EGP of Africa. The length and size of the territory and individual states. Changes in the EGP of the continent over time. Position in relation to the main economic centers of the world. The presence or absence of access to the seas. State structure of countries. Territorial disputes and regional conflicts. Political and economic unions, organizations. Scheme.

Geography Grade 10

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The mainland occupies 1/5 of the earth's land mass. In size (30.3 million km2 - with islands), it is second only to all parts of the world. The region includes 55 countries. There are several options for dividing Africa into regions. In the school course, it is proposed to divide into 3 subregions:, Tropical Africa,. In the scientific literature, the five-term division of Africa is most accepted, including the North (the Maghreb countries, the Mediterranean coast), the West (the northern part of the coast and the coast of the Gulf of Guinea). Central (, CAR, Zaire, etc.), Eastern (located east of the Great African Rifts), Southern.

There is no other continent in the world that would suffer as much from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa. The collapse of the colonial system began in the 50s in the north of the continent, the last colony was liquidated in 1990. In 1993, a new state arose on the political map of A. - (as a result of the collapse). Under the auspices of the UN are Western Sahara (Saharan Arab Republic. Different criteria can be used to assess the EGP of African countries. One of the main criteria is dividing countries by the presence or absence of access to the sea. Due to the fact that Africa is the most massive continent, no other of these, there are not so many countries located far from the seas.Most of the inland countries are the most backward.

Africa freed itself from colonial dependence only at the end of the 20th century. Now there are 55 countries on the political map of this region, all of them are sovereign states.

The state system is dominated by republics, only three countries have a monarchical form of government:, and. Most African countries are quite large in size.

Of the features of the economic and geographical position of African countries, we can distinguish:

• Lack of access to the sea of ​​most states;
• Access to international sea routes through the Gulf of Guinea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Africa is extremely rich in natural resources. Its main wealth is. The region ranks first in the world in terms of reserves of most types of mineral raw materials. Oil and gas are mined here (Libya, Algeria, Nigeria), (, ), manganese and (Gabon,), bauxite (Guinea,), copper ores (Zaire, Zambia), gold and diamonds (South Africa and West African countries), phosphorites (). South Africa is richest in minerals. Almost all types are found here (with the exception of oil, gas and bauxite).

African countries are well endowed with water resources. In addition to them, Africa has a whole system of lakes (Victoria, Tanganyika, Nyasa). However, water resources are unevenly distributed: there is an excess of moisture in the equatorial zone, and there are practically no rivers and lakes in the arid regions.

African countries are generally well endowed with land resources. However, as a result of erosion, a large amount of land is constantly withdrawn from agricultural circulation. The soils of Africa are not very fertile, and, in addition, demanding on agricultural technology.

In terms of forest area, Africa is second only to Russia and. Forests occupy 10% of the total area of ​​the region. These are humid equatorial forests. Currently, they are actively cut down, which leads to desertification of the territory.

Agro-climatic resources cannot be assessed unambiguously, since heat reserves are significant, and moisture is extremely uneven.

From the above, it follows that in Africa the colonial type of sectoral structure of the economy is still preserved. Its characteristic features:

• The predominance of low-commodity, low-productive agriculture;
• Weak development of the manufacturing industry;
• Underdevelopment of the transport network;
• Restriction of the non-productive sphere to trade and services.

The territorial structure of the economy of the countries of the region is characterized by disproportions in the location of the economy, separate centers of industry and high-value agriculture.

There are several sub-regions in Africa. They differ in their geographical, natural and cultural-historical features. The economic zoning of Africa has not yet taken shape.

The Republic of South Africa (South Africa) is the only one belonging to the group of developed countries. In all indicators of economic development, it occupies the first place in Africa. It accounts for 25% of GDP and 40% of industrial production. The economy is based on the mining industry. South Africa ranks first in the world in gold mining, second in diamond mining, and third in uranium ore mining. Metallurgy and mechanical engineering are highly developed.

The monocultural specialization and low level of economic development of the African states manifest themselves in an insignificant share in world trade and in the enormous importance it has for the continent itself. Thus, more than 1/4 of GDP goes to foreign markets, and foreign trade provides up to 4/5 of government revenues to the budget of African countries.

About 80% of the trade turnover of the continent falls on the developed countries of the West.

>>Geography: We give a general description of Africa

We give a general description of Africa

Africa covers an area of ​​30.3 million km 2 with a population of 905 million people (2005). There is no other continent in the world that would suffer as much from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa. By the beginning of the twentieth century. the whole of Africa turned into a colonial continent, and this largely predetermined its backwardness.

After the Second World War, the colonial system was gradually eliminated, and now on political map continent 54 sovereign states (with islands). Almost all of them belong to the developing ones. The Republic of South Africa belongs to the type of economically developed states.

In key indicators of economic and social development, Africa lags markedly behind other major regions, and in some countries the gap is even widening.

1. Territory, borders, position: great internal differences, political system.

The territory of Africa stretches from north to south for 8 thousand km, and from west to east for a maximum of 7.5 thousand km. African countries are generally larger than European countries.

Example. The largest country in Africa is Cydan (2.5 million km 2). It is 4.5 times larger than the largest European country, France. Algeria, DR Congo, Libya, Angola, Ethiopia, South Africa also surpass France in area by two to three times.

Different criteria can be used to evaluate the GWP of African countries. One of the most important is the presence or absence of access to the sea. No other continent has such a number of countries - 15, located far from the seas (sometimes at a distance of 1.5 thousand km), as in Africa. Most of the inland countries are among the most backward.

In terms of the state system, African countries differ much less: only three of them (see Table 2 in the "Appendices") retain a monarchical form of government, the rest are republics, and almost all of them are presidential. However, under the republican form of government, military, dictatorial political regimes are often hidden here.

Coups d'etat are also very frequent here. .
Africa is another region of widespread territorial disputes and border conflicts. In most cases, they arose in connection with the borders inherited by the countries of this continent from their colonial past. Acute conflicts of this kind exist between Ethiopia and Somalia, Morocco and Western Sahara, Chad and Libya, and others. Along with this, Africa is also characterized by internal political conflicts, which have repeatedly led to lengthy civil wars.

Example. For several decades, the civil war in Angola continued, where the opposition group (UNITA) opposed the government political group. Hundreds of thousands of people died in this war.

To help strengthen the unity and cooperation of the states of the continent, preserve their integrity and independence, counteract neo-colonialism, the Organization of African Unity 1 was created, which was transformed in 2002 into the African Union . (Exercise 1.)

2. Natural conditions andresources : the most important factor in the development of African countries.

Africa is exceptionally rich in a variety of minerals. Among other continents, it ranks first in the reserves of ores of manganese, chromites, bauxites, gold, platinoids, cobalt, diamonds, and phosphorites. In addition, the mineral raw materials are of high quality, and are often mined in an open pit.

Example. The richest country in Africa is South Africa. Its subsoil contains almost the entire known set of fossil resources, with the exception of oil, natural gas, and bauxite. The reserves of gold, platinum, and diamonds are especially large. .

But there are countries in Africa that are poor minerals and this hinders their development. (Task 2.)

African land resources are significant. There is more cultivated land per inhabitant than in Southeast Asia or Latin America. In addition, so far only about 1/5 of the land suitable for agricultural production is being cultivated on the continent. However, land degradation in Africa has also taken on a particularly large scale. As early as the 1930s, the Belgian geographer Jean-Paul Gappya wrote a book about land degradation in Africa called Africa a Dying Land. Since then, the situation has deteriorated significantly. Africa accounts for 1/3 of all drylands in the world. Almost 2/5 of its territory is at risk of desertification.

1 The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was established in 1963. It included 51 African countries. The headquarters of the OAU was in Addis Ababa. In 2001-2002 The OAU, following the model of the European Union, was transformed into the African Union (AU), within the framework of which it is planned to create an all-African parliament, a single bank, a currency fund and other supranational structures.

Africa's agro-climatic resources cannot be unambiguously assessed. You know that Africa is the hottest continent on Earth, so it is fully provided with heat supplies. But water resources are distributed over its territory extremely unevenly. This has a negative impact on agriculture, and on the whole life of people. So the catchphrase "Water is life!" refers to Africa, probably in the first place. For its arid parts, artificial irrigation is of great importance (so far only 3% of the land is irrigated). And in the equatorial belt, on the contrary, the main difficulties for life and economic activity are created by excessive moisture. The Congo Basin also accounts for about 1/2 of Africa's hydropower potential. .

In terms of total forest area, Africa is second only to Latin America and Russia. But its average forest cover is much lower. In addition, as a result of deforestation, which exceeds natural growth, deforestation has assumed alarming proportions. (Task 3.)

3. Population: features of reproduction, composition and distribution.

As you already know, Africa stands out worldwide with the highest rate of population reproduction. This is largely due to the long tradition of having many children. In Africa they say: “Not having money is a disaster. But not having children means being doubly poor.” In addition, most countries of the continent do not pursue an active demographic policy, and birth rates here remain extremely high.

Example. In Niger, Chad, Angola, Somalia, and Mali, the birth rate reaches 4,550 babies per 1,000 inhabitants, i.e., it is four to five times higher than in Europe, and more than twice the world average. In Ethiopia, Mali, Uganda, Benin, there are 7 or more children per woman.

Accordingly, African countries are also leading in terms of natural population growth (see Table 13 in the "Appendices").

That is why, despite the fact that Africa is still the region of the highest mortality, its population is growing very rapidly. Consequently, Africa is still in the second phase of its demographic transition. This means maintaining a very high proportion of children's ages, further aggravation of the problems of employment, education, and health care. In addition, the quality of the population in Africa is the lowest: over 1/3 of adults are illiterate, more people are getting AIDS. . The average life expectancy for men is 51 years, for women - 52 years.

Many problems are connected with the ethnic composition of the population of Africa, which is very diverse. Scientists ethnographers distinguish 300-500 ethnic groups and more on the continent.

Some of them, especially in North Africa, have already formed into large nations, but most are still at the level of nationalities; remnants of the tribal system are also preserved.

Like foreign Asia, Africa is a region of numerous ethnic, more precisely, ethno-political conflicts, which flare up from time to time with the greatest severity in Sudan, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Chad, Angola, Rwanda, Liberia. Often they take on the character of a real genocide 1 .

Example 1 As a result of the civil war in Liberia, which began in the late 80s, in a country with a population of 2.7 million people, 150 thousand people died, more than 500 thousand were forced to leave their habitats and another 800 thousand people fled to neighboring countries.

Example 2 In 1994, an acute conflict arose between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes in rural Rwanda. As a result, 1 million people died, the number of refugees within the country ranged from 500 thousand to 2 million people, and another 2 million people were forced to flee to neighboring countries.

In general, Africa accounts for about half of all refugees and displaced persons in the world, and in the vast majority these are precisely “ethnic refugees”. Such forced migrations always lead to outbreaks of famine, epidemics, and increase infant and general mortality.

It is also a legacy of the past that the official (official) languages ​​of most African countries are still the languages ​​of the former metropolises - English, French, Portuguese. .

The cultural heritage of Africa is very great. This oral folk art is folklore, this is monumental architecture that originated in ancient Egypt, this is arts and crafts that preserves the traditions of ancient rock art. Almost every people in Africa has its own musical culture, retains the features of singing and dancing, musical instruments. Since ancient times, there have been theatrical rites, rituals, ritual masks, etc. In Africa, 109 World Heritage Sites have been identified (see Table 10 in the "Appendices"). Among them, objects of cultural heritage prevail, but there are also many natural objects. .

The average population density in Africa (30 people per 1 km 2) is several times less than in foreign Europe and Asia. As in Asia, it is characterized by very sharp contrasts in settlement. The Sahara contains the largest uninhabited territories in the world. Rare population and in the zone of tropical rainforests. But there are also quite significant clumps of population, especially on the coasts. Even sharper contrasts are characteristic of individual countries.

1 Genocide (from Greek glIos - clan, tribe and Latin cado - I kill) the extermination of entire population groups along racial, national, ethnic or religious grounds.

Example. Egypt is, one might say, a classic example of this kind. In fact, almost all of its population (about 80 million people) lives on the territory of the Nile delta and valley, which is only 4% of its total area (1 million km 2). This means that there are about 2,000 people per 1 km 2 here, and less than 1 person in the desert.

In terms of urbanization, Africa still lags far behind other regions. This applies both to the share of the urban population, and to the number of large cities and cities with a population of millions. In Africa, the formation of urban agglomerations is just beginning. However, the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world: the population of some cities doubles every 10 years.

This can be seen in the growth of millionaire cities. The first such city in the late 20s. 20th century became Cairo. In 1950 there were only two of them, but already in 1980 there were 8, in 1990 - 27, and the number of inhabitants in them increased from 3.5 million to 16 and 60 million people, respectively. At the beginning of the XXI century. In Africa, there were already 40 agglomerations with a population of more than 1 million people, which concentrated 1/3 of the urban population. Two of these agglomerations (Lagos and Cairo) with a population of over 10 million people have already entered the category of "super-cities". But such a manifestation of the "urban explosion" has a number of negative consequences. After all, it is mainly capital cities and "economic capitals" that are growing, and growing thanks to a constant influx of rural residents who have no means of subsistence and huddle in the outlying slums.

Example. Recently, Lagos in Nigeria has become the second most populated city in Africa after Cairo. Back in 1950, its population was not even 300 thousand people, and now (within the agglomeration) it has exceeded 10 million! However, the living conditions in this overpopulated city (besides, founded at one time by the Portuguese on a small island) are so unfavorable that in 1992 the country's capital was transferred from here to another city - Abuja.

Of the individual subregions of the continent, North and South Africa stand out in terms of urbanization. In Tropical Africa, this level is lower. But in terms of the exaggeratedly high proportion of capital cities in the urban population, some of the countries of Tropical Africa are unmatched. .

Despite the scale of the "urban explosion", 2/3 of Africans still live in the countryside. (Task 4.)

4. Economy: sectoral and territorial structure, Africa's place in the world.

After gaining independence, African countries began to make efforts to overcome centuries of backwardness. Of particular importance were the nationalization of natural resources, the implementation of agrarian reform, economic planning, and the training of national personnel. As a result, the pace of development accelerated. The restructuring of the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy began.

In the sectoral structure, the share of industry and non-production spheres increased. Nevertheless, in most countries the colonial type of sectoral structure of the economy is still preserved. Its distinguishing features are: 1) the predominance of low-commodity, low-productive agriculture, 2) the weak development of the manufacturing industry, 3) the strong backlog of transport, 4) the limitation of the non-productive sphere, mainly trade and services. The colonial type of sectoral structure is also characterized by one-sided economic development. In many countries, this one-sidedness has reached the level of monoculture.

Monocultural (mono-commodity) specialization - a narrow specialization of the country's economy in the production of one, as a rule, raw material or food product, intended mainly for export.

Monoculture is not only a natural phenomenon, but also a historical and social one. It was imposed on African countries during the colonial period. And now, as a result of such narrow international specialization, the whole life of dozens of countries is dependent on world demand for one or two exported goods - coffee, cocoa, cotton, peanuts, oil palm fruits, sugar, livestock, etc. Monoculture countries are striving to create a diversified economy, but so far only a few have been successful along this path.

That is why the place of Africa in the world economy is determined mainly by two groups of industries. The first of these is the mining industry. Today, in the extraction of many types of minerals, Africa holds an important, and sometimes monopoly place in the world (see table 8). Since the main part of the extracted fuel and raw materials is exported to the world market, it is the extractive industry that primarily determines the place of Africa in the international geographic division of labor. The second sector of the economy that determines Africa's place in the world economy is tropical and subtropical agriculture (see Table 8). It also has a pronounced export orientation. (Task 5.)

There have also been some changes in the territorial structure of the African economy. Along with areas of high-value crop production and extensive pasture cattle breeding, several rather large areas of the mining industry have already formed the axis. However, the role of the manufacturing industry, largely handicraft, in creating the geographical pattern of its economy is still small. Transport infrastructure also lags behind.

On the whole, in terms of the level of its social and economic development, Africa ranks last among the major regions of the world. Sub-Saharan Africa's share of the world GDP is only 1.2%.

In the 80s. The socio-economic situation in Africa has deteriorated especially, turning into a deep crisis. The pace of development has slowed down. The gap between food production (annual growth of about 2%) and the needs of the population (an increase of 3%) has widened: as a result, grain imports have increased. In addition, Africa suffered an unprecedented drought that affected more than half of the countries of the continent and directly affected 200 million people. Africa has also found itself in the grip of indebtedness to Western countries. That is why it has been increasingly referred to as the "calamity continent".

Africa

Africa is the second largest continent after Eurasia. Its area is 30.3 million km2, the population is 1.200 million. Most of the mainland is located in the Northern Hemisphere.

The region includes 55 countries. There are several options for dividing Africa into regions.

There are 5 regions:

North: Mediterranean coast

Western: northern part of the Atlantic coast

Central: Chad, Congo, Cameroon

Eastern: Ethiopia Somalia Tanzania

South: South Africa, Seychelles

Of the features of the economic and geographical position of African countries, one can single out: Lack of access to the sea for most states; Access to international sea routes through the Gulf of Guinea and the Mediterranean Sea. Africa is extremely rich in natural resources. Its main wealth is minerals. The region ranks first in the world in terms of reserves of most types of mineral raw materials. Oil and gas are mined here (Libya, Algeria, Nigeria), iron ore (Liberia, Mauritania, Guinea, Gabon), manganese and uranium ores (Gabon, Niger), bauxite (Guinea, Cameroon), copper ores (Zaire, Zambia), gold and diamonds (South Africa and West African countries), phosphorites (Nauru). South Africa is richest in minerals. There are almost all types of mineral resources here (with the exception of oil, gas and bauxite)

Rapid population growth. Africa has the highest birth rate and natural increase in the world. The highest rates are in Kenya, Benin, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania. The significant predominance of young people in the age structure of the population is associated with high birth and death rates. Extremely uneven population distribution. The average density is 25 people per sq. km.

At present, Africa's economy is the most backward part of the world economy (with the exception of South Africa). The countries of the continent act on the world market as major suppliers of minerals and agricultural products. In the sectoral structure of the economy, the leading role belongs to the mining industry. For some types of minerals, Africa accounts for a significant part of world production: diamonds (96%), gold (76%), cobalt and chromium ores (67 - 68%), manganese ores (57%).

The extracted raw materials are mainly exported. Main exporters: Oil - Nigeria, Libya, Algeria; Medi - Zaire, Zambia; Iron ores - Liberia, Mauritania; Manganese ores - Gabon; Phosphorites - Morocco; Uranium ores - Niger, Gabon.

Another sector of the economy that determines Africa's place in the world economy is agriculture. It employs up to 90% of the population of individual countries. The leading industry is crop production, in particular tropical and subtropical agriculture. It has an export orientation and often defines a monocultural specialization. For example: agriculture monoculture Senegal - peanuts, Ethiopia - coffee, Ghana - cocoa beans. Other export commodities include dates, tea, natural rubber, sorghum, spices, and cotton.

The Republic of South Africa (SAR) is the only African country that belongs to the group of developed countries. In all indicators of economic development, it occupies the first place in Africa. It accounts for 25% of GDP and 40% of industrial production. The economy is based on the mining industry. South Africa ranks first in the world in gold mining, second in diamond mining, and third in uranium ore mining. Metallurgy and mechanical engineering are highly developed. The monocultural specialization and low level of economic development of the African states are manifested in an insignificant share in world trade and in the enormous importance that foreign trade has for the continent itself. Thus, more than 1/4 of GDP goes to foreign markets, and foreign trade provides up to 4/5 of government revenues to the budget of African countries. About 80% of the trade turnover of the continent falls on the developed countries of the West.

Mark on the economic map of Africa.

1.Largest mineral reserves:

Oil, natural gas - Algeria, Libya, Nigeria;

Phosphorites - Morocco;

Manganese ores - Gabon;

Aluminum ores - Guinea;

Copper-cobalt ores - DRC, Zambia;

Diamonds - Namibia, Botswana;

Coal, uranium and manganese and chromium ores, gold, platinum, diamonds - South Africa.