Africa is the poorest continent in the world. 36% of the population live in poverty – defined as living on less than 1.90 USD a day. The general view of Africa is negative – conflict, starvation, and poverty. This is generally incorrect. However, Africa is less developed than the rest of the world. But why is that? Why have other regions of the world developed where-as it seems Africa has been left behind?
Read on! We take a look at some of the major reasons why Africa isn’t developed…
1. Colonialism
The first reason why Africa’s development has lagged behind that of the rest of the world is because of the impact of colonialism. Throughout African history, external powers have taken land and interfered in the continent’s affairs. This peaked with the takeover of almost all of Africa by European powers from the 1880s.
Africa’s development has been widely impacted by colonialism. The lack of investment by colonial powers in education, infrastructure, agriculture, and the local political establishment meant that upon independence African countries were poorly placed to develop. Colonialism also arbitrarily redrew the borders of Africa, leading to widespread conflicts in the post-colonial years that also held back development.
Since de-colonialization from the 1950s onwards, Africa has mostly failed to develop. Although the poor management of most African countries following independence also hampered Africa’s development, the impact of European colonialism is on the of biggest reasons Africa is not developed.
Colonialism in Africa resulted in countries across the continent failing to develop diverse and dynamic economies. Upon independence, African economies were heavily reliant on resource extraction and they have struggled to move away from this. The limited range of many African economies due to colonialism is a major reason why they are not developed.
2. Weak Governments
One reason for Africa’s lack of development is the weakness of governments in many African countries. Effective governance is key to development.
Effectively ran governments are able to collect taxes, run services and allocate resources where they are needed in order to achieve development. Many African countries have poor systems of governance. A lack of accountability combined with over bloated and inefficient public services holds back development across much of the continent.
Another area where weak government has resulted in Africa not developing is the limited adherence to the rule of law. In order to develop, businesses and investors need to know their assets are protected. People also need to know that they will be treated fairly by the legal system and that their property and savings are protected. Many African countries rank among the worst in the world for rule law and is a major reason they are developed.
In order for countries in Africa to thrive, they need to reform much of their governments. Increasing inclusivity, democracy, transparency, and cohesion are all critical for Africa’s development. A lack of well ran governments is seen as a significant reason why parts of Africa have failed to progress.
3. Rampant Corruption
Another reason why Africa is not developed is widespread corruption. Africa has six of the ten most corrupt countries in the world. Almost all African countries rank poorly on corruption perception indexes.
Corruption prevents development in a number of ways. It limits the taxes the government can collect, makes government funded projects more expensive, limits the development of a meritocracy, makes business and government less efficient and reduces people’s faith in institutions. All of these aspects are sadly widespread in many African countries and this is an important reason for their lack of progress.
A key way that corruption prevents development is by limiting the resources of the state. Corruption in businesses increases the costs of accessing services. Corruption can also prevent people entering the work force or establishing businesses of their own. It stifles fair competition. These are all major factors that affect development across Africa.
If African countries are to develop, almost all of them need to address their corruption issues. As we have seen, corruption and nepotism hold back progress and is a major factor in why Africa is not developed.
4. Difficult Geography
Africa’s geography has been a key reason for its lack of development. There are several factors here.
Firstly, Africa is enormous. It is second largest inhabited continent and if united would be the biggest country in the world. It is also relatively sparsely populated, with a total of 1.216 billion people. Huge expanses and large distances between communities makes development more difficult as people need better infrastructure and connectivity in order to thrive. This has made development in Africa more difficult.
Another thing that caused African countries to struggle with development is the continents terrain. From jungles to deserts, Africa’s is landscape makes modern development difficult. Infrastructure is hard to build, and nations struggle to become cohesive.
Alongside Africa’s geography, its climate has also been a factor that has limited development. Many parts of Africa are unfertile or require significant cultivation to become arable. In addition, climate disasters such as floods and droughts are common. The combination of these factors has held many African countries back and denied them a foundation from which to develop.
Modern technology can play a key role in Africa and help nations on the continent overcomes its geographical challenges. However, it cannot be denied that the geography of the continent has limited Africa’s development.
5. Mismanagement of Natural Resources
Africa is rich in natural resources. It has some of the largest deposits of gold, diamonds, oil, natural gas, copper, uranium, cobalt, and iron in the world. These resources are fundamental to the global economy and African countries gain significant wealth from their trade. However, many African countries mismanage their natural resources, and this is a reason for the continent not being developed.
The wealth of Africa’s natural resources is not evenly distributed. In many countries on the continent a small elite have become incredibly rich by controlling the natural resources. This has not benefitted the wider population, many of whom still live in poverty. The inability to spread the wealth of natural resources across the continent is a reason why Africa is underdeveloped.
Another reason why the mismanagement of natural resources has held back progress in Africa is that many countries on the continent have economies over reliant on the extraction and export of natural resources. This over reliance has meant that wider and more dynamic economies have failed to develop in many African countries. It also means any fall in the international price or trade of natural resources has a significant impact of many African economies.
African economies must diversity away from natural resources if sustainable development is to be achieved.
6. Historical and Ongoing Conflicts
There is a general perception that Africa is war-torn, and that conflict is widespread. In many ways this is untrue. However, the continent has been extensive conflicts and many African countries are faced with instability. These are major reasons for Africa’s lack of development.
Currently, 25 African countries are facing internal armed violence. These include Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Mali, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Burkina Faso, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to name a few.
War prevents development as people are forced to flee, businesses and infrastructure are damaged, and services cannot be delivered. Conflicts and instability also mean governments must dedicate significant resources to combatting threats, limiting the funds and manpower that can be dedicated to development.
Africa is more peaceful continent than it was, and major strides are being made to reduce conflict on the continent. However, it cannot be ignored that the legacy of previous conflicts, as well as ongoing fighting in many African countries, is one of the biggest reasons for the poor progress made.
If African countries can resolve many of their conflicts, as well as focus resources on areas previously racked by conflict, then much the continent can be developed.
7. Widespread Inequality
Another reason why Africa is not developed is because of the widespread inequality across the continent. Not all of Africa is poor. In fact, there are 125,000 millionaires and 22 billionaires on the continent, as well as a growing middle class. However, there are also 490 million people living in poverty. Africa’s wealth is terribly unequally distributed, and this holds back development.
Africa has some of the most unequal countries in the world, including South Africa, which is the world’s most unequal country. Inequality prevents development because it means poorer people struggle to access the resources, education and opportunities needed to lift themselves into the middle classes. Many economic studies show that a more equal society is a benefits everyone.
Countries across Africa need to find a way to share their wealth if they are to develop. The current state across the continent is of a small ultra-rich elite, a small middle class and widespread poverty. Inequality has been a major reason why Africa is not developed, and it needs to address this to progress.
Inequality has held many African nations back from development. A more equitable distribution of opportunities, as well as material and financial resources, is key to many countries across the continent raising their living standards.
8. High Unemployment
Unemployment is high across Africa. This is one reason why the continent is not developed.
A lack of employment means people do not receive a wage. This limits their participation in the economy, but also reduces the amount of revenue governments collect through taxation. African countries such as Lesotho, Gabon, Namibia, and Sudan have extremely high unemployment rates, at 24.6%, 20.5%, 20.4% and 17.7% respectively.
As African nations are generally poor, they lack social welfare systems that can support people who are out of work. This means many unemployed people in Africa fall into the ‘poverty trap’ and struggle to get out of destitution. People trapped in poverty and unable to find gainful employment is an important reason why Africa has failed to develop.
Many people across Africa struggle to find opportunities, either through work or entrepreneurship. Having large numbers of people unemployed and unable to fully participate in the workforce is a major driver to instability and poverty in Africa, as well as a big reason for a lack of economic progress.
Africa needs to create a dynamic and inclusive workforce, as well as tackle high unemployment, if there is to be widespread development across the continent.
9. Poor Education
A further reason why Africa is not developed is because quality education is not widespread enough. Education is key to development because it provides a skilled workforce and people with the knowledge and understanding needed to start businesses and innovate.
33.8 million children in Africa do not go to school. Although significant gains have been made in recent decades to improve education in many African countries, too many children still do not have access quality schooling. Alongside this, there is a general lack of higher education across the continent, meaning African youths can often not gain important skills needed for the modern workforce.
African children who do go to school often receive poor quality education. This is another reason why many African countries are not developed. Although some schooling is better than none, African countries need to ensure that high quality education is provided to all children in order to progress.
Education is vital to development. Large amounts of foreign aid are given to African countries for education because it is so important. However, African governments also need to ensure that their own resources are dedicated to educating their youths, if long-term and sustainable development is to be achieved.
10. Unaccountable Institutions
A major issue in many African countries is a lack of accountability in their institutions. Institutional accountability means that public bodies work in the best interests of the people they serve. It also means institutions are transparent and mechanisms are in-place so that people can hold them to account. Having accountable institutions has been proven to be key to development.
Many countries in Africa rank poorly for government transparency and accountability. This holds back development on the continent. People need to have trust in their governments and generally believe they working for them.
There are many ways a lack of accountability and trust in institutions reduces development. These include a loss of tax revenue, limited participation in local and national government and a distrust of the law or guidance issued by the state. All these aspects have a compounding affect in-terms of development.
Countries that have poor accountability and transparency also often limit freedom of the press. Having a robust public debate about the policies being taken and the direction of the country is key to ensuring sustainable and equitable development. Many African countries rank poorly for freedom of the press.
11. Lack of Innovation
Innovation is key to development. Africa is generally lacking the organizations and businesses that push innovation and this is reason why the continent is not developed.
Science, technology, engineering, and research are all key to a nation progressing. Although it is possible to import innovations from abroad, for a country to fully develop sustainability, it needs home-grown innovation. Many African countries have so far been unable to develop economies that allow people to develop new innovations, and this is holding them back.
Countries that successfully innovate have developed a range of universities, research bodies, government agencies and private businesses that work together to push technological breakthroughs. Many African countries lack these types of institutions and as a result must rely on technology from abroad. African countries need to invest heavily in research and development and create economies where innovations can arise if they are going to develop.
In recent years there have been moves by many African countries to build partnerships with foreign governments and businesses to give them access to new technologies. There is also an acknowledgement across the continent that home-grown talent needs to be developed if the continent is to be lifted out of poverty.
12. Disease and Weak Public Health Infrastructure
The final reason why Africa is not developed is widespread and epidemic diseases on the continent, combined with poor public health infrastructure.
Sadly, many African countries have epidemic diseases that cause illness and death on a wide scale. These include HIV/Aids, malaria, yellow fever, and Ebola. Although some of these diseases are present on other continents, the scale of a pandemics in Africa means the impacts are enormous.
There are many ways that widespread disease and ill-health holds back development. For individuals and families, ill-health removes people from the workforce either by being unable to work or having to care for family members that are ill. For governments, widespread disease means resources must be dedicated to combating outbreaks, limiting funds and manpower for other medical needs.
Another reason why Africa is not developed is because of many countries poor healthcare systems. African countries such as Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria have some of the weakest health infrastructure in the world. This means people are unable to access quality care, limiting their opportunities, reducing their economic activity, and removing them from the workforce.
Although significant amounts of foreign aid is directed towards improving access to medical assistance across Africa, for the continent to develop African countries need to invest heavily in their healthcare systems.