Africa is the poorest continent in the world. 490 million Africans live in extreme poverty. Of the ten poorest countries in the world, all are in Africa. However, Africa wasn’t always so much poorer than the rest of the world. In fact, many argue Africa has declined in the past two centuries as most of the rest of the world has pulled ahead. But what caused this decline?
The decline of Africa was caused by factors including colonialism, a failure to industrialise, poor governance, international competition, a failure to innovate, lack of education, limited outside investment, a lack of the rule of law, bad infrastructure, widespread disease, and extensive conflicts.
This is a broad overview. However, when looking at Africa’s decline, it is important to look at two distinct time periods. The first, is from the beginning of the 19th Century. This saw Africa go from being on-par with the rest of the world in many economic and social factors, to being far behind.
The second time period that must be taken into consideration when looking into the decline of Africa is the post-colonial era. The mid-1950s onwards saw many African countries decrease their economic outputs and experience reductions in their living standards.
Let’s take a look at both of these periods…
Africa in 1800: Before The Decline
In the year 1800, ninety percent the world’s population lived in extreme poverty – defined as living on the modern-day equivalent of less than 1.90 USD a day This meant Africa was not significantly poorer than the rest of the world at this time.
Essentially, no matter where in the world you were, you almost certainly lived in poverty at the start of the 19th Century. Only a very small elite enjoyed higher living standards. In Africa, the standard of living was not significantly worse than elsewhere in the world at this time. It wasn’t until later in the century that Africa could be said to have declined.
African societies around the year 1800 varied widely. The continent had a mixture of kingdoms and states, as well as large areas where people lived in stateless societies. Nomadic living was common, and many people either lived as hunter-gatherers or on small farms. For much of the continent, iron work was the most advanced technology.
Really, many African societies were not hugely different to societies elsewhere in the world in 1800. Although some regions of the world had begun to pull ahead around this time, it could not be argued that African societies were markedly underdeveloped compared to other places. However, this really changed as the 19th Century progressed. This is when Africa began to decline as many other economies began to advance…
The Seven Main Reasons For The Decline Of Africa (1800 – 1950s)
When discussing the decline of Africa from 1800 onwards, it’s important to remember that it is not so much that Africa declined, rather that other parts of world developed rapidly. Africa’s decline in the 19th Century was relative compared to the advancements in Europe and North America at this time.
Now we understand this, let’s look at the key factors that meant Africa didn’t advance in-line with the West as the 1800s progressed, and so declined in comparison. The main causes were:
- Colonialism
- A failure to industrialise
- Lack of strong nation states
- International competition
- Lack of the rule of law
- Failure to innovate
- Limited Healthcare and disease
Let’s go into some details on these…
Colonialism
The first cause of the decline of Africa was European colonialism. Although European countries held coastal areas mainly used for trading prior to this, it wasn’t until the 1880s that Africa began to be fully conquered.
European colonialism is one of the main reasons for the decline of Africa. The economies of the African colonies were based on resource extraction and exploitation. There was also a failure by the colonial powers to develop local capacities in management, administration, education, or innovation. This meant that not only did African countries not develop, but they actually fell behind the rest of the world.
Failure to Industrialize
The second cause of Africa’s decline was a failure to industrialize. Part of this is due to colonialism, but across the continent the lack of an industrial revolution meant that African’s fell behind.
By the 19th Century, Europe and North America were rapidly industrializing. Africa’s failure to develop more advanced technologies and industries meant that the continent began to decline compared to many other parts of the world. This lack of technological advancement meant it was easy for modernized countries to conquer Africa.
Lack of Strong Nation States
The third reason for the decline of Africa was a lack of strong nation states.
Even before European colonialism, Africa has failed to create states that could coherently govern populations, raise taxes, defend their borders, and develop institutions. Without strong cohesive states and effective institutions, African societies could not command their resources effectively and develop. This led swiftly to their decline once other countries began to industrialize.
International Competition
The fourth factor that contributed to the decline of Africa was a lack of international competition.
Even before colonialism, African states failed to develop products and services that could compete against the new industrialized technologies coming out of other part of the world. International competition proved to be key to the development of Western Europe and North America, but when Africa failed to embrace competition, it led to its decline.
Lack of the Rule Of Law
The fifth cause of the decline of Africa throughout this period was a lack of the rule of law and especially property rights.
As we discussed, Africa didn’t so much as decline but rather the Western world progressed much faster from the beginning of the 19th Century. A key driver of the Wests success was the rule of law. This meant that investment, trading, financial savings, and property rights were all protected from theft or misappropriation. Many African societies lacked these kinds of laws or failed to enforce them. This meant that Europe and North America pulled ahead and Africa fell behind.
Failure to Innovate
The sixth factor that resulted in the decline of Africa was a lack of innovation.
New technologies were driving economic growth in many parts of the world as the 1800s progressed. African states generally failed to innovate and so were overtaken by other powers. One reason why colonial countries were able to take control of Africa from around 1880 onwards is because of the comparatively advanced technologies they held over that of African states.
Limited Healthcare and Disease
The final reason for the decline of Africa from 1800 onwards was the extensive diseases present across the continent and a lack of medicine or healthcare to assist people.
Prior to the 19th Century, sickness and disease was rampant worldwide. However, as the 19th Century progressed, Western nations began developing medicines and medical techniques that would reduce the impact of diseases. Improved healthcare is a key part of achieving development. Many African diseases were not overcome until much later in the 1800s and this allowed other regions to pull ahead of Africa and for it to decline.
Post-Colonialism: Africa’s Failed Recovery
The second stage of Africa’s decline has been in the post-colonial period. From the mid-1950s onwards, most African states gained their independence. However, almost all countries on the continent saw a steady decline in GBP per capita in the last decades of the 20th Century.
The peak of the decline for many Africa countries after independence came between the 1970s and 1990s. Almost all countries on the continent saw negative GBP growth in this period. – essentially, Africa got markedly poorer in these decades. Between 1990 and 1994, the continent saw negative GDP growth 1.5 percent.
Africa’s economy has mostly returned to growth now, and some countries on the continent report the highest GBP growth in the world. However, Africa’s economy, living standards and global influence declined sharply in the decades after decolonization. We’ll take a look at the root causes of this…
The Causes of Africa’s Post-Colonial Decline
Africa’s post-colonial decline is markedly different to its decline in the 19th Century. As the 1800s progressed, it was less that Africa went backwards rather than other parts of the world progressed rapidly. However, the post-colonial decline of Africa saw economies shrink and per capita GBP fall. Africans were overall poorer as a result of the continent’s decline following decolonization.
There are several factors that caused the decline of Africa in the later part of the 20th Century. The mains ones were:
- Lack of education
- Bad infrastructure
- Poor governance
- Limited investment
- Widespread conflict
Let’s take a further look at these…
Lack of Education
The first factor that caused Africa’s post-colonial decline was a lack of education.
The European powers massively under-invested in education for African’s. They focused on extracting resources and wealth from their colonies. This meant that when African countries gained their independence, they lacked a skilled and qualified work force. This was a crucial factor in Africa’s decline from the 1950s onwards as African countries lacked the knowledge and expertise needed to manage their economies.
Bad Infrastructure
The second reason for Africa’s decline following the end of colonial rule was poor infrastructure throughout the continent.
Infrastructure – such as roads, railways, airports, electricity, and communication networks, are vital to a modern economy. When African countries got their independence, they lacked much of the infrastructure they needed. Many borrowed heavily in 1960s and 70s to invest in infrastructure. However, their inability to successfully build the infrastructure they needed, combined with trouble paying back their large debts, led to the decline of many countries on the continent.
Poor Governance
The third cause of Africa’s decline in this period was a lack of good governance.
Many countries in Africa failed to transition to democracies upon gaining independence. This was combined with an inability to set-up well ran, accountable, inclusive, and effective government institutions. This resulted in the mismanagement of many African countries in the post-colonial period and was a major factor for the continents overall decline from the 1950s onwards.
Limited Investment
Another reason for the decline in Africa following de-colonisation was a lack of investment.
When African countries gained their independence, most international investment dried-up. Alongside this, weak economies and poor governance meant many Africans were unable to invest in industries on the continent. This sudden reduction in investment crippled many African economies and was a key driver of their decline.
Widespread Conflict
A final major factor that led to the decline of Africa from the mid-1950s onwards was widespread conflict.
Since 1960, there have been 108 separate conflicts on the African continent. This is a staggering amount of human violence. The effects of wars on development, economies, communities, and governments is extensive, and Africa has seen a huge number of wars since de-colonization. The sheer amount of conflict on the continent is a significant reason why Africa countries declined after the gained independence.