Yearbook 2010 Lesotho. According to COUNTRYAAH, Lesotho has a population of 2.108 million (2018). Several reports during the year on living conditions and economic conditions gave a mostly bleak picture of Lesotho. The small kingdom, on all sides surrounded by South Africa, is becoming increasingly difficult to cope with. Unemployment has risen to over 30…
Category: Africa
The settlement structures were strongly influenced by the colonial development, which took place from the coast towards the inland. Originally the population center in West Africa was in the savannah area, today the highest concentrations are reached in the rapidly growing primate cities or agglomerations on the coast, for example in Abidjan, Accra or Lagos. Only recently have some states relocated their capital back to the hinterland, for example in the case of Nigeria (Abuja), Ivory Coast (Yamoussoukro) and Tanzania (Dodoma).
DEMOGRAPHIC DEVELOPMENT
Africa had around 1.1 billion residents in 2013 – this means that around 15.4 percent of the world’s population lived on 22.3 percent of the earth’s total land area. According to the UN population forecast, around 1.5 billion residents are expected in 2025 and 2.4 billion in 2050. Natural population growth in 2013 was 2.6 percent. The growth rates are declining slightly in some countries, but still at a high level. In Nigeria alone, the population is expected to triple between 2013 and 2050.
The proportion of the urban population was 39 percent in 2007. Its growth has already been very high in the past and will continue to be significantly greater than the average population growth on the continent. This is a clear indication of the rapidly advancing urbanization process. The often uncontrolled rural-urban migration is a major problem in view of the diverse social and economic difficulties in most African countries. Especially the primate citiessuch as Lagos, Kinshasa and Abidjan are experiencing a chaotic population development that blows up all urban infrastructure capacities. The consequences of this development include slums, mass poverty and unemployment and, last but not least, crime.
INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON
In a global comparison, Africa is the continent with the fastest growing population despite the AIDS crisis there. The demographic data of Africa become even more explosive when they are related to economic indicators. If one looks at the level of development of the individual African countries, many of them belong to the countries with a low or very low level of development (cf. 274.1) – apart from the Seychelles (very high level of development), Libya, Algeria and Tunisia (high level of development) as well as South Africa, Cape Verde, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Morocco, Gabon, Namibia, Botswana, Ghana and Swaziland (medium level of development). The population is growing the most in the least developed countries.
Many regions are in crisis, be it due to armed conflicts, dictatorial rulers, religious conflicts, rampant corruption, high national debt or failed development strategies. For more information about the continent of Africa, please check thesciencetutor.org.
Kenya 2010
In 2010, Kenya was a vibrant and diverse country, with a population of over 40 million people. It was made up of 43 ethnic groups, each with its own distinct culture and language. The official languages were English and Swahili. The majority of Kenyans were Christians, although there was also a sizable Muslim population as…
Ivory Coast 2010
Yearbook 2010 Ivory Coast. The whole year was a nervous march ahead of the promised presidential election in October. According to COUNTRYAAH, Ivory Coast has a population of 25.07 million (2018). President Laurent Gbagbo had already been in overtime for five years, and planned elections had been postponed six times during that time, so there…
Guinea-Bissau 2010
Yearbook 2010 Guinea Bissau. According to COUNTRYAAH, Guinea-Bissau has a population of 1.874 million (2018). The year was marked by political tensions, with the military continuing to interfere in politics. On April 1, a group of soldiers, loyal to Deputy Army Chief António Indjai, Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Júnior and Army Chief José Zamora Induta,…
Guinea 2010
Yearbook 2010 According to COUNTRYAAH, Guinea has a population of 12.41 million (2018). Guinea, which has been ruled by a military junta since the death of President Lansana Conté in late 2008, took several steps toward civilian rule at the beginning of the year. One week into 2010, General Sékouba Konaté invited the opposition to…
Ghana 2010
Yearbook 2010 According to COUNTRYAAH, Ghana has a population of 29.77 million (2018). Ghana was designated by the British think tank Overseas Development Institute (ODI) as the African country that will first achieve the UN’s so-called Millennium Development Goals by halving poverty and famine. According to the report, Ghana through economic reforms has managed to…
Gambia 2010
Yearbook 2010 The Gambia. A tense political situation prevailed throughout the year, possibly an early start to the 2011 presidential campaign. In February, UN agency UNICEF representative Min Whee-Kang was expelled, who, without explanation, was given a day to leave the country. According to COUNTRYAAH, Gambia has a population of 2.28 million (2018). The decision…
Gabon 2010
Yearbook 2010 Gabon. Despite protests from the opposition, the PDG government in December passed a constitutional amendment that gives the president the right to extend his term of office in a “crisis situation” as long as he sees fit. The opposition argued that the constitutional change could pave the way for dictatorship. Under the new…
Ethiopia 2010
Yearbook 2010 Ethiopia. According to COUNTRYAAH, Ethiopia has a population of 109.2 million (2018). The parliamentary elections in May were in sharp contrast to the previous elections in 2005. At that time, the opposition was strongly ahead, but the election was followed by severe unrest and mass prisoners. This time, the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary…
Eswatini 2010
Yearbook 2010 Swaziland. The undemocratic regime’s oppression of political dissent continued, and there were signs of frustration in the regime over the growing popularity of the opposition among the population. The police were suspected of faking a series of fire bomb attacks, which were then used as grounds for arresting members of political parties and…
Eritrea 2010
Yearbook 2010 Eritrea. According to softwareleverage, very few news sizzled during the year from the closed Eritrea, one of the world’s hardest dictatorships. Among the few reports on the condition in the country were information from a defected former camp guard, who in January said that the Swedish journalist Dawit Isaak was alive but probably…
Equatorial Guinea 2010
Yearbook 2010 Equatorial Guinea. In January, seven Nigerians were each sentenced to twelve years in prison and high fines for participating in an armed attack on the presidential palace in 2009. In August, four former high ranking military and civil servants were sentenced to death for lying behind the same attack. According to Amnesty International,…
Egypt 2010
In 2010, Egypt was a country with a population of around 82 million people. It was an Islamic country, with the majority of its citizens following the Muslim faith. The official language was Arabic and the primary currency was the Egyptian Pound. Egypt had a thriving economy, with tourism being one of its main sources…
Djibouti 2010
Yearbook 2010 In April, according to softwareleverage, Djibouti’s parliament abolished the limit on how long the country’s president can keep his post. The constitutional changes meant that the previous two-term limit, which would have forced President Ismail Omar Guelleh in the 2011 election, was removed. Parliament also decided to shorten the term of office of…
Democratic Republic of the Congo 2010
Yearbook 2010 Congo. According to COUNTRYAAH, Democratic Republic of the Congo has a population of 84.07 million (2018). Congo gained the most attention during the year for the rapes committed by militia soldiers in the eastern provinces. About 500 women, girls, toddlers and boys were raped in July and August in 13 villages in the…
Comoros 2010
Yearbook 2010 Comoros. In January 2010, President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi postponed the planned presidential election until 2011. Thus, the term of office of Zambi was extended, which should have actually expired on May 26, 2010. The term of office of the Union President had been formally extended from four to five years already in May…
Chad 2010
Yearbook 2010 Chad. At the beginning of the year, a French aid worker who was kidnapped three months earlier was released. The kidnapping as well as the murder of another relief worker had prompted six aid organizations to temporarily withdraw from Chad. According to COUNTRYAAH, Chad has a population of 15.48 million (2018). President Idriss…
Central African Republic 2010
Yearbook 2010 Central African Republic. According to COUNTRYAAH, Central African Republic has a population of 4.666 million (2018). General elections that would have been held during the year were postponed in rounds and were finally announced until January 2011. Parliament decided to extend the president’s term until the election could take place. Otherwise, he would…
Cameroon 2010
Yearbook 2010 Cameroon. Since Cameroon took over the Bakassi Peninsula from Nigeria with UN support in 2008, the area has been problematic. During the year, pirates conducted several raids against vessels and kidnapped crew members with demands for ransom. A previously unknown group called themselves Africa Marine Commando (AMC) in March robbed seven Chinese sailors….
Cairo Attractions and Tourist
Cairo Attractions Giza Pyramids No one leaves Cairo without visiting these three huge monuments, located in Giza just outside Cairo. Most are stunned by the incredible size. Even if you are 100 meters away, you have to put your head back and take your view in the panorama to catch everything. These are the only…
Cabo Verde 2010
Yearbook 2010 Cape Verde. When Cape Verde celebrated its 35th anniversary as an independent state in July, leaders were pleased that the state of the country is quite good. In this year’s so-called Ibrahim Index, compiled by the Somali businessman Mo Ibrahim’s Foundation for Better Leadership in Africa, according to softwareleverage, Cape Verde was ranked…
Burundi 2010
Yearbook 2010 Burundi. According to COUNTRYAAH, Burundi has a population of 11.18 million (2018). A number of general elections were held during the year. The hope was that the elections would strengthen democracy and consolidate the fragile peace of recent years. Instead, the political contradictions were sharply sharpened and the country appeared to be at…
Burkina Faso 2010
Yearbook 2010 Burkina Faso. In February, President Blaise Compaoré announced that November 21 presidential elections would be held that year. Since the 2005 elections, the country holds presidential elections every five years. Compaoré came to power through a coup in 1987 and has since been elected president in general elections 1991, 1998 and 2005. According…
Botswana 2010
Yearbook 2010 According to softwareleverage, Botswana’s long-standing economic success slowed down in the wake of the international financial crisis. The year before, the country’s diamond production had been halved due to reduced demand. Botswana’s diamonds normally account for half of the state’s revenue and a fifth of the world’s diamond production. Botswana’s second largest source…
Benin 2010
Yearbook 2010 Benin. Like most other former French colonies in Africa, Benin celebrated its 50th anniversary as an independent state in 2010. Although Benin has been highlighted in recent years as something of a regional democratic example, the celebration was not characterized by any directly veiled mood. President Boni Yayi said in his solemn speech…
Angola 2010
Yearbook 2010 Angola. According to a constitutional amendment adopted by Parliament in January, Angola’s president is no longer to be elected by universal suffrage. Instead, the leader of the party that has a majority in parliament should be head of state. The constitutional amendment also abolished the post of prime minister. The opposition party UNITA…
Algeria 2010
Yearbook 2010 Algeria. In April, in order to fight the al-Qaeda militant organization in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Algeria and neighboring countries Mali, Mauritania and Niger established a joint military command in April based in the city of Tamanrasset in the Sahel in southern Algeria. The purpose was mainly joint intelligence work on terrorism and organized…
Africa Music
In addition to have a large population according to Countryaah, Africa is a continent with rich and diverse music traditions. Music originating in Africa has had a fundamental impact on the historical development of the most important genres in international popular music, from blues and jazz to pop, rock and hip hop. The term “African…