General economic and geographical characteristics of African countries. North Africa and South-West Asia: commonality of two regions

Features of the EGP Africa, the presence of a large number of countries located far from
seas and oceans (sometimes at a distance of 1.5 thousand km).
The equator crosses Africa almost in the middle and divides it into two
parts approximately equally located (to the north and south) in
equatorial, tropical and subtropical latitudes;
therefore, a huge amount of heat enters the entire
African territory evenly throughout the year, and
seasons in its northern and southern parts opposite:
While it is summer in the northern hemisphere, it is winter in the southern hemisphere.
character geographical location provides
the possibility of year-round navigation off the coast of Africa,
since the seas washing it do not freeze

By territory size (more than 30
million sq. km) and number of countries (54) Africa –
the largest of the main geographical
regions of the world.
There are three monarchies in Africa:
Morocco
Lesotho
Swaziland
There are 4 federal states in Africa:
South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Comoros

Subregions of Africa

North Africa
West Africa
East Africa
Central
Africa
South
Africa

North Africa

Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, South
Sudan
Opens to the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and
Red Sea
Agriculture specializes in production
subtropical crops: cotton, olives, citrus,
grapes
Industry is associated with mining and processing
mineral raw materials: oil, phosphorites
Sometimes Sev. Africa is called the Maghreb (From Arabic - “
west")
Ranks first in area among subregions
Africa and third largest

West Africa

Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Benin,
Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Liberia,
Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia,
Senegal, Western Sahara, Togo.
It ranks 4th in terms of territory and second in terms of
population
The modern “face” of the subregion
determined by agriculture (in
mainly crop production) and
mining industry (oil,
bauxite, tin, iron ore)

Central Africa

Chad, Center african republic,
Cameroon, Gabon, Eq. Guinea, Sao Tome and
Principe, Congo, Democratic. Republic of Congo,
Angola.
It ranks second in territory and
fourth largest
One of the most resource-rich regions:
oil, ores col. Metals (copper, tin,
cobalt, lead, zinc)
Occupies the equatorial part of the continent

East Africa

Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda,
Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia,
Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar,
Comoros, Malawi, Djibouti
Ranks first in terms of numbers
population and third by territory.
It is distinguished by deposits of coal and copper.

South Africa

Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland.
Occupies last place by territory and
population
Rich in coal, iron. ores, manganese,
chromites, uranium, gold, diamonds,
asbestos.
South Africa is the only one on the continent
economically developed country with
significant European population
origin

10.

By social level economic development All
African countries, with the exception of
South Africa belongs to the category
"developing countries"

11. Conclusions on Africa’s provision with mineral resources:

Africa has the richest and most diverse reserves
mineral resources. Among other continents, Africa ranks
first place in reserves of diamonds, gold, platinum, manganese,
chromites, bauxites and phosphorites. Large reserves of coal, oil and
natural gas, copper, iron, uranium, cobalt ores.
Africa's minerals are different high quality and low
production cost.
South Africa is the richest country in Africa
has almost the complete range of known fossil resources, beyond
excluding oil, natural gas, bauxite.
Africa's mineral resources are unevenly distributed.
Among the countries in the region there are very poor in resource reserves
countries (Chad, Central African Republic, etc.), which significantly complicates their development.

12. African countries with the highest GDP (PPP) per capita (2010 US dollars)

Gabon – 14500
Botswana – 14000
South Africa - 10700
Tunisia – 9600
Namibia – 6900
For comparison: Tanzania – 1500, Somalia – 600, D.Rep. Congo
- 300
world average – 11200
African average - 1100

13. African mining industry

View
products
Main producers of the region
Gold
South Africa
Diamonds
South Africa, Sierra Leone, Namibia, Guinea, Botswana
Uranus
Niger
Cobalt
ore
Mozambique
Chromites
Botswana
Manganese
ore
Gabon
Phosphorites
Morocco
Copper ores
Zambia, Zaire
oil and gas
Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Egypt, Congo, Gabon

14. Conclusions on African industry

IN international division Labor Africa
represented by mining products
industry;
Mining industry products
has a pronounced export
directionality, i.e. weak connection with local
manufacturing industry;
Among the manufacturing industries
industry greatest development
received textile and food.

15. In most African countries, the colonial type of sectoral economic structure is maintained. Its distinctive features:

the predominance of low-commodity products,
low-productivity agriculture;
poor development of manufacturing
industry;
severe backlog of transport;
restriction of non-production sphere
mainly trade and services;
one-sided economic development

16.

Monoculture - monocommodity
specialization of the country's economy (narrow
specialization in the production of one,
usually raw materials or
food product,
intended mainly for
export)

GENERAL ECONOMIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICA COUNTRIES

Table 11. Demographic, socio-economic indicators of the world, Africa and South Africa.

General review. Geographical position.

The mainland occupies 1/5 of the landmass globe. In terms of size (30.3 million km 2 - including islands), of all parts of the world it is second only to Asia. It is washed by the waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Figure 14. Political map of Africa.

The region includes 55 countries.

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

For rate EGP countries Africa can use different criteria. 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 continent has so many countries located far from the seas. Most inland countries are the most backward.

Natural conditions and resources.

The continent is crossed almost in the middle by the equator and lies entirely between subtropical zones Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The originality of its shape - the northern part is 2.5 times wider than the southern part - determined the difference between them natural conditions. In general, the mainland is compact: 1 km of coastline accounts for 960 km 2 of territory. The topography of Africa is characterized by stepped plateaus, plateaus, and plains. The highest elevations are confined to the outskirts of the continent.

Africa is exceptionally rich minerals, although they have been poorly studied so far. Among other continents, it ranks first in reserves of manganese, chromite, bauxite, gold, platinum, cobalt, diamond, and phosphorite ores. There are also great resources of oil, natural gas, graphite, and asbestos.

Africa's share in the global mining industry is 1/4. Almost all extracted raw materials and fuel are exported from Africa in economic terms. the developed countries, which makes its economy more dependent on the world market.

In total, there are seven main mining regions in Africa. Three of them are in North Africa and four are in sub-Saharan Africa.

The Atlas Mountains region is distinguished by reserves of iron, manganese, polymetallic ores, and phosphorites (the world's largest phosphorite belt).
The Egyptian mining region is rich in oil, natural gas, iron, titanium ores, phosphorites, etc.
The region of the Algerian and Libyan parts of the Sahara is distinguished by the largest oil and gas fields.
The Western Guinea region is characterized by a combination of gold, diamonds, iron ores, and graphites.
The East Guinea region is rich in oil, gas, and metal ores.
Zaire-Zambian region. On its territory there is a unique “Copper Belt” with deposits of high-quality copper ores, as well as cobalt, zinc, lead, cadmium, germanium, gold, silver. Congo (formerly Zaire) is the world's main producer and exporter of cobalt.
Africa's largest mining region is 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, gas and bauxite.

Africa's mineral resources are unevenly distributed. There are countries where the lack of raw materials hinders their development.

Significant land resources Africa. There is more cultivated land per inhabitant than in South-East Asia or Latin America. In total, 20% of the land suitable for agriculture is cultivated. However, extensive farming and fast growth population has led to catastrophic soil erosion, which reduces crop yields. This, in turn, aggravates the problem of hunger, which is very relevant in Africa.

Agroclimatic resources Africa is determined by the fact that it is the hottest continent and lies entirely within the average annual isotherm of +20°C. But at the same time, the main factor determining the differences in climatic conditions, are precipitation. 30% of the territory is arid regions occupied by deserts, 30% receives 200-600 mm of precipitation, but is subject to droughts; equatorial regions suffer from excess moisture. Therefore, on 2/3 of Africa, sustainable agriculture is possible only through reclamation work.

Water resources Africa. In terms of their volume, Africa is significantly inferior to Asia and South America. The hydrographic network is distributed extremely unevenly. The extent of utilization of the huge hydropower potential of rivers (780 million kW) is small.

Forest resources Africa's reserves are second only to those of Latin America and Russia. But its average forest cover is much lower, and as a result of deforestation, deforestation has reached alarming proportions.

Population.

Africa stands out worldwide as the most at a fast pace population reproduction. In 1960, 275 million people lived on the continent, in 1980 - 475 million people, in 1990 - 648 million, and in 2000, according to forecasts, there will be 872 million. Kenya stands out especially in terms of growth rates - 4, 1% (first place in the world), Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda. Such a high birth rate is explained by the centuries-old traditions of early marriage and large families, religious traditions, as well as an increased level of healthcare. Most countries on the continent do not pursue an active demographic policy.

The change in the age structure of the population as a result of the demographic explosion also entails great consequences: in Africa the proportion of children is high and is still growing (40-50%). This increases the “demographic burden” on the working population.

The population explosion in Africa is exacerbating many problems in the regions, the most important of which is the food problem. Despite the fact that 2/3 of Africa's population is employed in agriculture, the average annual population growth (3%) significantly outpaces the average annual increase in food production (1.9%).

Many problems are associated with ethnic composition population of Africa, which differs great diversity. There are 300-500 ethnic groups. Some of them have already formed into large nations, but most are still at the level of nationalities, and vestiges of the tribal system remain.

Linguistically, 1/2 of the population belongs to the Niger-Kordofanian family, 1/3 to the Afro-Asian family and only 1% are residents of European origin.

An important feature of African countries is the discrepancy between political and ethnic boundaries as a consequence of the colonial era of the development of the continent. As a result, many united peoples found themselves different sides borders. This leads to interethnic conflicts and territorial disputes. The latter concern 20% of the territory. Moreover, 40% of the territory is not demarcated at all, and only 26% of the length of the borders run along natural boundaries that partially coincide with ethnic boundaries.

The legacy of the past is that official languages In most African countries, the languages of the former metropolitan countries still remain - English, French, Portuguese.

The average population density of Africa (24 people/km 2) is less than in foreign Europe and Asia. Africa is characterized by very sharp contrasts in settlement. For example, the Sahara contains the largest uninhabited areas in the world. Rare population in the tropical rainforest zone. But there are also quite significant population clusters, especially on the coasts. The population density in the Nile Delta reaches 1000 people/km 2 .

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 farm.

After gaining independence, African countries began to make efforts to overcome centuries-old backwardness. Special meaning had nationalization natural resources, implementation agrarian reform, economic planning, training of national personnel. As a result, the pace of development in the region has accelerated. The restructuring of the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy began.

The greatest successes along this path have been achieved in the mining industry, which now accounts for 1/4 of the world's production volume. Africa holds an important and sometimes monopoly place in the extraction of many types of mineral resources. foreign world. The bulk of the extracted fuel and raw materials is exported to the world market and accounts for 9/10 of the region’s exports. It is the extractive industry that primarily determines Africa’s place in the MGRT.

The manufacturing industry is poorly developed or absent altogether. But some countries in the region are more different high level manufacturing industry - South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco.

The second branch of the economy that determines Africa's place in the world economy is tropical and subtropical agriculture. It also has a pronounced export orientation.

But overall, Africa is still far behind in its development. It ranks last among the regions of the world in terms of industrialization and agricultural productivity.

Most countries are characterized by the colonial type sectoral structure farms.

the predominance of small-scale extensive agriculture;
underdeveloped manufacturing industry;
a strong lag in transport - transport does not provide connections between internal regions, and sometimes - foreign economic relations of states;
the non-productive sphere is also limited and is usually represented by trade and services.

The territorial structure of the economy is also characterized by general underdevelopment and strong imbalances that remain from the colonial past. On the economic map of the region, only isolated centers of industry (mainly metropolitan areas) and highly commercial agriculture are identified.

The one-sided agricultural and raw material direction of economic development in most countries is a brake on the growth of their socio-economic indicators. In many countries, one-sidedness has reached the level of monoculture. Monocultural specialization- narrow specialization of the country's economy in the production of one, usually a raw material or food product, intended mainly for export. The emergence of such specialization is associated with the colonial past of countries.

Figure 15. Monoculture countries in Africa.
(to enlarge the image, click on the picture)

External economic relations.

Monocultural specialization and the low level of economic development of 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 Africa’s GDP goes to foreign markets, foreign trade provides up to 4/5 government revenues to the budget of African countries.

About 80% of the continent's trade is with developed Western countries.

Despite its enormous natural and human potential, Africa continues to remain the most backward part of the world economy.

The continent occupies 1/5 of the globe's land mass. In terms of size (30.3 million km2 - including 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 school course It is proposed to divide into 3 subregions: , Tropical Africa, . IN scientific literature the most accepted five-member division of Africa, including North (Maghreb countries, coast Mediterranean Sea), Western (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 suffered 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 Africa (as a result of the collapse). Under the auspices of the UN are Western Sahara (Saharan Arab Republic. To assess the EGP of African countries, different criteria can be used. 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.

In terms of government system, republics predominate; only three countries have a monarchical form of government:, and. Most African countries are quite large in area.

Among the features of the economic and geographical position of African countries, we can highlight:

Landlocked majority of states;
Access to international sea routes through the Gulf of Guinea and the Mediterranean Sea.

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

African countries are well supplied with water resources. Besides them, in Africa there are the whole system lakes (Victoria, Tanganyika, Nyasa). However, water resources are distributed unevenly: in equatorial belt excess moisture; in arid regions, rivers and lakes are practically absent.

African countries are generally well provided with land resources. However, as a result of erosion, a large number of lands. The soils of Africa are not very fertile, and, in addition, they are demanding in terms of agricultural technology.

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

Agroclimatic 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 economic structure is still preserved. Its characteristic features:

The predominance of small-scale, low-productivity agriculture;
Poor development of the manufacturing industry;
Underdevelopment of the transport network;
Limitation 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 highly commercial agriculture.

Several subregions can be distinguished in Africa. They differ in their geographical, natural and cultural - historical features. The economic regionalization of Africa has not yet taken shape.

The Republic of South Africa (RSA) is the only one belonging to the group of developed countries. In terms of all indicators of economic development, it ranks first in Africa. It accounts for 25% of GDP and 40% of volume 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 mining uranium ores. Metallurgy and mechanical engineering are highly developed.

Monocultural specialization and the low level of economic development of the states of Africa are manifested in the insignificant share in world trade and in the enormous importance that 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 continent's trade is with developed Western countries.

Africa is the second largest continent after Eurasia, washed by the Mediterranean Sea from the north, the Red Sea from the northeast, Atlantic Ocean from the west and Indian Ocean from the east and south. Africa is also called the part of the world consisting of the continent of Africa and adjacent islands. Africa's area is 29.2 million km², with islands about 30.3 million km², thus covering 6% total area of the Earth's surface and 20.4% of the land surface. There are 55 states in Africa, 5 unrecognized states and 5 dependent territories(island).

General economic and geographical characteristics of African countries

A peculiarity of the geographical location of many countries in the region is the lack of access to the sea. At the same time, in countries facing the ocean, coastline It is poorly indented, which is unfavorable for the construction of large ports.
Africa is exceptionally rich in natural resources. The reserves of mineral raw materials are especially large - manganese ores, chromites, bauxites, etc. There are fuel raw materials in depressions and coastal areas. Oil and gas are produced in North and West Africa (Nigeria, Algeria, Egypt, Libya). Enormous reserves of cobalt and copper ores are concentrated in Zambia and the DRC; manganese ores are mined in South Africa and Zimbabwe; platinum, iron ores and gold - in South Africa; diamonds - in Congo, Botswana, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Ghana; phosphorites - in Morocco, Tunisia; uranium - in Niger, Namibia.
Africa has quite large land resources, but soil erosion has become catastrophic due to improper cultivation. Water resources across Africa are distributed extremely unevenly. Forests occupy about 10% of the territory, but as a result of predatory destruction their area is rapidly declining.
Africa has the highest rate of natural population growth. The natural increase in many countries exceeds 30 people per 1000 inhabitants per year. There remains a high proportion of children (50%) and a small proportion of older people (about 5%).
African countries have not yet managed to change the colonial type of sectoral and territorial structure of the economy, although the pace economic growth have sped up somewhat. The colonial type of sectoral structure of the economy is characterized by the predominance of small-scale, consumer agriculture, weak development of the manufacturing industry, and lagging development of transport. Greatest success reached African countries in the mining industry. In the extraction of many minerals, Africa holds a leading and sometimes monopoly place in the world (in the extraction of gold, diamonds, platinum group metals, etc.). The manufacturing industry is represented by light and food industries, there are no other industries, with the exception of a number of areas near the availability of raw materials and on the coast (Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, Zambia, DRC).
The second branch of the economy that determines Africa's place in the world economy is tropical and subtropical agriculture. Agricultural products account for 60-80% of GDP. The main cash crops are coffee, cocoa beans, peanuts, dates, tea, natural rubber, sorghum, and spices. IN Lately began to grow grain crops: corn, rice, wheat. Livestock production plays a subordinate role, with the exception of countries with arid climate. Extensive cattle breeding predominates, characterized by a huge number of livestock, but low productivity and low marketability. The continent is not self-sufficient in agricultural products.
Transport also retains the colonial type: railways go from the areas of raw material extraction to the port, while the regions of one state are practically not connected. Relatively developed railway and marine species transport. IN last years Other types of transport also developed - road (a road was built across the Sahara), air, pipeline.
All countries, with the exception of South Africa, are developing, most of them are the poorest in the world (70% of the population lives below the poverty line).

Problems and difficulties of African states

Most African states have developed bloated, unprofessional and ineffective bureaucracies. When amorphous social structures the only organized force remained the army. The result is endless military coups. Dictators who came to power appropriated untold wealth for themselves. The capital of Mobutu, the President of the Congo, at the time of his overthrow was $7 billion. The economy functioned poorly, and this gave scope for a “destructive” economy: the production and distribution of drugs, illegal mining of gold and diamonds, even human trafficking. Africa's share in world GDP and its specific gravity in world exports decreased, output per capita decreased.
The formation of statehood was extremely complicated by the absolute artificiality of state borders. Africa inherited them from its colonial past. They were established during the division of the continent into spheres of influence and have little to do with ethnic boundaries. The Organization of African Unity, created in 1963, aware that any attempt to correct a particular border could lead to unpredictable consequences, called for these borders to be considered immutable, no matter how unfair they may be. But these borders have nevertheless become a source of ethnic conflicts and the displacement of millions of refugees.
The main economic sector of most countries Tropical Africa is Agriculture, designed to provide food for the population and serve as a raw material base for the development of the manufacturing industry. It employs the majority of the region's amateur population and creates the bulk of the total national income. In many countries of Tropical Africa, agriculture occupies a leading place in exports, providing a significant portion of foreign exchange earnings. In the last decade, an alarming picture has been observed with the growth rate of industrial production, which allows us to talk about the actual deindustrialization of the region. If in 1965-1980 they (on average per year) amounted to 7.5%, then in the 80s only 0.7%; a drop in growth rates took place in the 80s in both the mining and manufacturing industries. For a number of reasons, the mining industry plays a special role in ensuring the socio-economic development of the region, but this production is also decreasing by 2% annually. Feature development of the countries of Tropical Africa - poor development of the manufacturing industry. Only in a very small group of countries (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Senegal) does its share in GDP reach or exceed 20%.

Integration processes

A characteristic feature of integration processes in Africa is their high degree of institutionalization. Currently, there are about 200 economic associations of various levels, scales and orientations on the continent. But from the point of view of studying the problem of the formation of subregional identity and its relationship with national and ethnic identity, the functioning of such large organizations as Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS), Development Community South Africa(SADC), Economic Community Central African States (ECCAS), etc. The extremely low performance of their activities in previous decades and the advent of the era of globalization required a sharp acceleration of integration processes at a qualitatively different level. Economic cooperation is developing in new - compared to the 70s - conditions of contradictory interaction between the globalization of the world economy and the increasing marginalization of the positions of African states within its framework and, naturally, in a different coordinate system. Integration is no longer considered as a tool and basis for the formation of a self-sufficient and self-developing economy based on own strength and in opposition to the imperialist West. The approach is different, which, as mentioned above, presents integration as a way and means of including African countries in the globalizing world economy, as well as as an impulse and indicator of economic growth and development in general.

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GENERAL ECONOMIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AFRICA COUNTRIES.

GENERAL OVERVIEW.GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.

The continent occupies 1/5 of the globe's landmass. In terms of size (30.3 million km2, including islands), it is second only to Asia among all parts of the world. The region includes 55 countries.

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

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

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

To assess the EGL of African countries, you can use different criteria. 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 rest.

NATURAL CONDITIONS AND RESOURCES.

The continent is crossed almost in the middle by the equator and lies entirely between the subtropical belts of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The uniqueness of its shape—the northern part is 2.5 times wider than the southern part—determined the difference in their natural conditions. At the base of most of the continent lies a Precambrian platform, 2/3 covered sedimentary rocks (at the base in the north). Stepped plateaus, plateaus, and plains are typical for the relief of Africa. The highest elevations are confined to the outskirts of the continent. Africa is exceptionally rich in minerals, although they are still poorly studied. Among other continents, it ranks first in ore reserves 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 Atlas Mountains region is distinguished by reserves of iron, manganese, polymetallic ores, and phosphorites (the world's largest phosphorite belt).

2.The Egyptian mining region is rich in oil, natural gas, iron and 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 Western Guinea region is rich in oil, gas, and 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. Africa's largest mining region

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 bauxite.

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

The agroclimatic resources of Africa are determined by the fact that it is the hottest continent and lies entirely within the average annual isotherms of +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. Forest resources of Africa by its value is second only to the resources of Latin America and Russia. But its average forest cover is much lower, and, moreover, as a result of deforestation that exceeds natural growth, deforestation has assumed alarming proportions.

POPULATION.

Africa stands out throughout the world for 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

In terms of growth rates, Kenya especially stands out - 4.1% (first place in the world), Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda. Such a high birth rate is explained by the centuries-old traditions of early marriage and large families, religious traditions, as well as the increased level of healthcare. Most countries of the continent do not carry out active demographic policy.

The change in the age structure of the population as a result of the demographic explosion also entails great consequences: in A. the share of children is still growing (40-50%). This increases the “demographic burden” on the working population. The demographic explosion in A. aggravates many problems of the regions, the most important of which is food problem.Many problems are associated with the ethnic composition of the population of Africa, which is very diverse. There are 300-500 ethnic groups. According to the linguistic principle, 1/2 of the population belongs to the Niger-Kordofanian family, 1/3 to the Afro-Asian family and only 1% are residents of the European origin. An important feature of African countries is mismatch of political and ethnic boundaries as a consequence of the colonial era of development of the continent. The legacy of the past is that the official languages of most countries of A.

The languages of the former metropolises still remain - English, French, Portuguese. In terms of the level of urbanization, Africa still lags far behind other regions. However, the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world. As in many other developing countries, “false urbanization” is observed in Africa.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE FARM.

After gaining independence, African countries began to make efforts to overcome centuries-old backwardness. Of particular importance were the nationalization of natural resources, the implementation of agrarian reform, economic planning, and training of national personnel. As a result, the pace of development of the region accelerated. The restructuring of the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy began. The greatest successes in this were paths were reached in mining industry, currently accounting for 1/4 of the world's production volume. In terms of production of many types of minerals, A. has an important and sometimes monopoly place in the foreign world. It is the mining industry that primarily determines A.'s place 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 agriculture in the world economy, is tropical and subtropical agriculture. It also has a pronounced export orientation. But in general, Azerbaijan lags behind in its development. It ranks last among the regions of the world in terms of industrialization and agricultural productivity.

FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS.

Monocultural specialization and the low level of economic development of the African states are manifested in the insignificant share in world trade and in the enormous importance that foreign trade has for the continent itself. Thus, more than 1/4 of Azerbaijan’s GDP goes to foreign markets, foreign trade provides up to 4\ 5 government revenues to the budget of African countries. About 80% of the continent's trade turnover comes from developed Western countries.

CONCLUSION.

Despite its enormous natural and human potential, Africa continues to remain the most backward part of the world economy.

report made:

weaver Natalya and

Dudarova Olga...

literature: CHERNOV A.V., POLYAKOVA M.O. “GEOGRAPHY”