Africa is the second largest continent after Asia. It is separated from Asia by the Suez Canal, the Gulf of Suez, and the Red Sea, and from Europe by the Straits of Gibraltar and Mediterranean Sea. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the Indian Ocean on the east. Offshore islands considered part of Africa include, in the Indian Ocean, \TMadagascar\t, \TMauritius\t, \TReunion\t, \TZanzibar\t, \TPemba\t, the \TSeychelles\t and the \TComoros\t. In the North Atlantic Ocean are the \TCanary Islands\t, \TCape Verde\t \Lisland\ls, and \TMadeira Islands\t; in the South Atlantic are \TAscension Island\t and \TSaint Helena\t; and in the Gulf of Guinea (See \TGuinea, Gulf of\t) are Pagalu, \TBioko\t, and \TSao Tome\t and \LPrincip\le. The earliest known protohuman fossils have been found in Africa, primarily in Kenya and Tanzania. The continent was also the home of one of the world's oldest civilizations, that of ancient Egypt. Egyptian influence spread south up the Nile into present Sudan by the 1st millennium BC, at the same time as the Phoenicians were founding Carthage and other city states along the Mediterranean coast north of the Atlas Mountains. North Africa came under European influence during the period of Roman rule (1st century BC-7th century AD). Beginning in the 7th century, Arab culture and the Muslim faith spread across the Sahara following trade routes between the north coast and towns along the Sahara's southern border region. There a number of powerful African kingdoms, including Ghana, Mali, \TKanem-Bornu\t, and \TSonghai\t, flourished during the Middle Ages. Further south in the rainforests the kingdoms of \TAshanti\t, BENIN, KONGO, Oyo, and Dahomey emerged after the 14th century and lasted until the colonial partition of Africa. East central Africa was occupied by the kingdoms of Ankole, Buganda, Bunyoro, Luba, and Lunda. The modern European colonization of Africa was begun by the Portuguese, who established trading stations on the coasts in the 15th and 16th centuries, but the interior of what Europeans called "the Dark Continent" was not explored or colonized until the 19th century. By the early 20th century nearly all of Africa had been subjected to European rule. Since World War II, 48 nations have gained their independence, but the colonial experience left Africa with arbitrarily defined boundaries, a diversity of political systems and problems, and economies dependent upon the industrial world. (The Republic of South Africa, though independent, is controlled by descendants of European settlers; its black African majority is not represented in the government.) Africa's peoples remain divided by race, language, religion, and politics in a complex cultural mosaic. In 1990, Africa contained about 12% of the world's population and was the second most populous continent after Asia. LAND AND RESOURCES Africa has a number of outstanding natural features that have influenced its history and development. The northern coastal area is separated from the rest of the continent by the \TSahara\t, the largest desert in the world. The coastlines are remarkably straight with a few large bays, estuaries, and protected indentations that can serve as harbors. Most major rivers have waterfalls and rapids close to the coast, which hindered colonial penetration and still limit navigation. In Subsaharan Africa a narrow coastal plain, often swampy along the Gulf of Guinea, arid from Angola south to Cape Town, and swampy, forested, or arid northward along the east coast to the Red Sea, is backed by steep escarpments and mountain ranges that form the edge of the African high plateau. Africa lacks a major mountain system like the Andes of South America or the Himalayas of Asia. Several small ranges, however, break the monotony of the flat to gently rolling plateaus that constitute the bulk of Africa. The \TAtlas Mountains\t of northwest Africa extend from east to west across Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, reaching their highest elevation, 4,166 m (13,668 ft), at Mount Toubkal, Morocco. The \TDrakensberg\t, rising above 3,000 m (10,000 ft), extends through eastern South Africa and Lesotho. The high plateau of Africa stretches from Ethiopia southwest to Angola and Namibia and includes the Ethiopian Massif, the East African Plateau, the \TRuwenzori\t (Mountains of the Moon), the Munchinga Mountains of Zambia, and the Bihe of Angola. Rising above this plateau are Mount \TKilimanjaro\t (5,895 m/19,340 ft), a semiactive volcano and Africa's highest peak, Mount Kenya (5,199 m/17,058 ft), and Mount Elgon (4,321 m/14,178 ft), also of volcanic origin. The Sahara is interrupted by the \TTibesti Massif\t and Ahaggar and Air mountains. The Cameroon Mountains, a volcanic chain extending northeast through Cameroon, are the highest mountains in western Africa. The Futa Jallon of Guinea and Liberia contains the headwaters of the \TNiger\t (Djouf) \Triver\t and the \TSenegal River\t, West Africa's largest. Between these highland zones are a series of shallow sedimentary basins usually associated with rivers. They include the basins of the Niger, Chad, and Sudd rivers on the southern margins of the Sahara, the \TCongo\t (Zaire) \Triver\t of central equatorial Africa, and the \TKalahari Desert\t in southern Africa. One of Africa's most distinct topographical features is the \TGreat Rift Valley\t. This is a giant trough that cuts into the high plateaus and extends from the Dead Sea in the Middle East southward to Mozambique and Swaziland, a distance of almost 8,000 km (5,500 mi). The northern section is filled by the Red Sea between Africa and Arabia. The central section cuts through Ethiopia and divides near Lake Rudolf, or Turkana (see \TRudolf, Lake\t), into two branches: the western rift arcs through Uganda to Lake \TNyasa\t (Lake Malawi), and is occupied by Lakes Albert, Edward, Kivu, and Tanganyika (see \TAlbert, Lake\t; \TEdward, Lake\t; \LKivu, Lak\le, \TTanganyika, Lake\t); the eastern rift cuts through Kenya and Tanzania and joins the western rift near Lake Nyasa. In places the rift-valley walls rise more than 3,200 m (10,500 ft) above the flat and sometimes drowned valley floor. (See also \TEast African Rift System\t.) Geology Africa is a massive crystalline platform of ancient granites, schists, and gneisses, the oldest of which are more than 3.2 billion years old. They contain rich and varied minerals including copper, zinc, lead, gold, uranium, diamonds, and many rare metals. Present-day Africa was once part of the supercontinent known as \TGondwanaland\t, which also included Australia, Antarctica, South America, Madagascar, and the Indian subcontinent. During the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous periods these land masses drifted apart, but compared with the other continents, Africa remained relatively stable. South America was separated from Africa about 80 million years ago when the floor of the Atlantic Ocean was opened up by seafloor spreading. Arabia split off approximately 20 million years ago. As Gondwanaland fractured and drifted, Africa acquired its scarp-dominated coastline, interior seas that occupied shallow depressions emptied, and rivers carved steep gorges and formed new courses. Volcanic outpourings covered vast areas of east and southern Africa. As the Cretaceous Period came to an end, the sedimentary rocks of northwestern Africa were severely folded and uplifted in a series of orogenic phases to form the Atlas Mountains, which geologically are part of Europe's alpine system. Epicontinental seas extended across North Africa linking the present Mediterranean with the Gulf of Guinea, which in their wake left extensive deposits of limestone and sandstone. Gigantic meridian fractures occurred in the African shield producing the Great Rift Valley. As tensional forces wrenched the land apart, some land blocks sank while others rose and tilted, allowing volcanic materials to break the surface. Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Cameroon were formed this way. During Gondwana's last 100 million years of existence, southern Africa was covered by the Dwyka ice field, which scoured the crystalline surface and deposited tillites hundreds of meters thick. Following the glacial age, southern Africa became progressively drier, and a lengthy period of sedimentary accumulation began in the Kalahari and Karroo basins. These sediments in turn were covered by outpourings of basalt as much as 7,600 m (25,000 ft) thick. Climate The climates of Africa are predominantly tropical. Limited areas of subtropical and temperate climates are found only at the northern and southern extremities and in the high altitudes of Ethiopia and East Africa. The cold ocean currents that parallel the western Sahara (Canaries Current) and Namibia (Benguela Current) modify the temperatures of the adjoining coastal lowlands. The absence of lengthy high mountains and other weather divides permits a free circulation of tropical air over the continent so that changes in climate occur very gradually. Rainfall is heaviest along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, in the equatorial lowlands facing the Atlantic, in scattered mountain locations, and in eastern Madagascar. There the average annual rainfall exceeds 2,032 mm (80 in). Africa's wettest place is in western Cameroon (10,160 mm/400 in). Rainfall decreases polward from the equator to the Sahara, Kalahari, and \TNamib\t deserts, regions that generally receive less than 150 mm (6 in) of rain in the average year. Rainfall rather than temperature is the most variable element of climate effecting distribution of soils, vegetation, and populations. There is increasing evidence that much of Africa is becoming progressively drier. Six major climate types prevail and are arranged in a series of parallel zones ordered around the equator. The tropical wet climate is characterized by uniformly hot temperatures, a heavy and evenly distributed rainfall, and year-round high humidity. This climatic region is burned by the tropical wet-dry, or savanna, climate, which is distinguished by its long dry season (coincidental with the period of low Sun) and by a short, wet summer. The savanna gives way to tropical steppes where rainfall is light and highly variable from year to year, and prolonged droughts are common. The steppes of West Africa are called the \TSahel\t, literally the "border" of the desert. The tropical deserts have the least rainfall and the greatest temperature range of any African climate. Diurnal temperature ranges may exceed 10 deg C (50 deg F). Africa's highest temperature (57.8 deg C/136 deg F) was recorded in the Libyan desert. Small areas of Mediterranean climate occupy coastal Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and South Africa's Cape of Good Hope region. A narrow zone of humid subtropical climate, similar to that of the southeastern United States, is located along South Africa's Natal coast. Drainage Africa's major rivers have cut deep gorges in their upper courses and through the coastal rimlands before emptying into the oceans. Waterfalls, rapids, and irregular flows due to seasonal variations in rainfall all make river navigation difficult. Only a small percentage of the continent's vast waterpower potential is used to generate electricity. The Congo River alone has the potential to produce 13% of the world's hydroelectric power. The \TNile\t, the world's longest river (6,650 km/4,132 mi), rises in Burundi and Uganda in equatorial east Africa. From Lake Victoria it flows north through the swampy Sudd of Sudan and over six cataracts before entering the Mediterranean, where it has built a 25,000-sq km (9,653-sq mi) delta. Its majority tributary, the Blue Nile, rises in the headwaters of the Lake Tana (see \TTana, Lake\t), Ethiopia, and joins the White Nile at Khartoum. The \TAswan\t \Tdam\t and Lake Nasser now regulate the flow of water downstream to the densely settled farmlands of lower Egypt. The Congo, Africa's second longest river (4,670 km/2,900 mi), drains an area larger than the Nile. Fed by many tributaries including the \TUbangi\t, Kasai, and Kwango, it sweeps around the Congo Basin and cuts through the Crystal Mountains to empty into the Atlantic. Africa's third longest river, the Niger (4,185 km/2,600 mi), rises in the Futa Jallon of West Africa, flows northeast through the Djouf Basin of Mali, and then southeastward to Nigeria to form a delta on the Gulf of Guinea. The \TZambezi\t (about 2,650 km/1,600 mi) rises in south central Africa and flows east over the \TVictoria Falls\t and through a narrow gorge between Zimbabwe and Zambia to the Indian Ocean in central Mozambique. The \TOrange River\t (2,100 km/1,300 mi) rises in the Drakensberg and flows west through South Africa to the Atlantic. Africa's largest and deepest lakes are found in East Africa, generally associated with the rift valley. They include, from north to south, Lakes Albert, Edward, Kivu, Tanganyika, and Nyasa in the western rift, and Lakes Rudolf (Turkana), Natron, and Eyasi in the eastern rift. Lake Tanganyika is the world's second deepest lake (1,436 m/4,710 ft). Between the two limbs of the rift valley lies Lake Victoria, Africa's largest (69,481 sq km (26,827 sq mi). Lake Chad (see \TChad, Lake\t), between Nigeria and Chad, is extremely shallow, and its boundaries vary greatly with rainfall. Soils Few areas of Africa possess fertile soils. In the humid tropics, lime, potash, phosphorus, and humus material are washed out of the soil's top layers while high temperatures accelerate bacterial activity. What remains is a soil high in iron and aluminum that forms a hardpan through which roots penetrate with difficulty and that facilitates runoff and the loss of surface water. In the dry regions the soils are thin, stony, high in calcium, and low in humus. The richest soils are associated with Africa's rivers. Among the richest, most extensive, and most productive alluvial soils are those along the Senegal, the central reaches of the Niger, and the lower Juba, those at the confluence of the White and Blue Niles in central Sudan, and those in the Nile delta. There, large-scale irrigation projects have been developed. Nonalluvial soils of good quality, often associated with volcanic materials, are found on the high veld of South Africa and in parts of Kenya and Cameroon. Inappropriate technology and overuse have destroyed millions of hectares of marginal soil in several climatic regions. Vegetation Africa has little natural vegetation that has not been modified by humans and their livestock. Overgrazing in the Sahel has destroyed the short grassland ecology and hastened desert encroachment. The forests and grasslands have been cut and burned to provide building materials, agricultural land, and pastures. The tropical forest of the west equatorial belt produces mahogany, teak, ebony, rubber, oil palm, and silk-cotton trees. Mangrove swamps clog many estuaries. North and south of the rainforests stretch the tropical grasslands or savannas with their characteristic acacia trees and baobabs. As rainfall decreases, the savannas give way to scrubby grasslands, thorn bush, and eventually to the deserts that are virtually devoid of vegetation other than such widely scattered xerophytic plants as the stipa grass, tamarisk, and date palm. In the Mediterranean climatic zone, stands of pine, juniper, cork, cedar, and olive are common. Fauna Animal life in Africa is remarkable for its great diversity, vast numbers, and the presence of both primitive and more advanced forms of life. This is due to the continent's general climatic stability and land connections with Asia. Animals such as the elephant evolved in Africa and spread to Asia across the Suez land bridge. Asia's elephants, monkeys, great apes, and certain bird groups such as the hornbills exhibit close relations with those in tropical Africa. Among the truly indigenous African animals are the aardvark, the secretary bird, and the whale-headed stork of the Nilotic marshes. Africa's rainforests contain gorillas, chimpanzees, monkeys, wild pigs, and bongos. The tropical rivers, lakes, and swamps are populated by crocodiles, hippopotamuses, lizards, snakes, and an abundance of bird life including flamingos, pelicans, herons, storks, and kingfishers. The grasslands of the east and south contain some of the world's largest herds of elephant, rhinoceros, wildebeest, giraffe, zebra, buffalo, and antelope as well as the carnivores that prey upon them, such as lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and jackals. The grasslands also support a great diversity of birds including the bustard, falcon, hornbill, and ostrich. Uncontrolled hunting and poaching have severely reduced the animal populations, especially the elephant and rhinoceros, which are killed for their ivory tusks. Africa's insects and other invertebrates are as varied as the larger animals. The tsetse fly, which carries sleeping sickness, and the malaria-bearing mosquito limit the amount of land that humans and livestock may occupy. Common snakes include the cobra, python, and mamba. Among Africa's largest and most famous game reserves are Tanzania's \TSerengeti National Park\t, Kenya's Tsavo Park and Amboseli Game Reserve, and South Africa's Kruger National Park. Mineral Resources African mineral resources are plentiful but only partially explored and exploited. Mining became an important and highly profitable activity during the colonial period, and today the bulk of prospecting and exploitation remains in the hands of multinational corporations. With few exceptions, Africa's minerals and fuels are exported and have not given rise to local industry and general economic prosperity. Minerals provide the bulk of foreign revenues in several states including Angola, Algeria, Libya, and Nigeria (petroleum); Liberia and Mauritania (iron ore); and Zambia (copper). South Africa has the greatest variety, total reserves, and current output of minerals in Africa. It has the world's largest known reserves of manganese, platinum, chromium, vanadium, gold, and aluminum ore and is the largest producer of chromium, antimony, and manganese. The major oil and natural gas reserves are located in Algeria, Libya, Egypt, and in the coastal areas of Nigeria, Gabon, and Angola. Africa has limited coal reserves, especially coking coal for steel manufacture. The largest reserves are found in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Nigeria. Uranium is widely distributed, but significant deposits occur in South Africa, Niger, Namibia, and Gabon. The largest iron ore deposits are found in South Africa, Liberia, Mauritania, Angola, and Algeria. The major copper producers are Zambia, Zaire, and South Africa. Africa has the largest known reserves of chromium, antimony, and manganese, as well as significant amounts of bauxite (Guinea), diamonds (South Africa, Botswana), cobalt, and zinc. Water Resources Africa has approximately 40% of the world's hydroelectric potential, about half of it in Zaire. Most countries have chosen to build a few large facilities rather than several small dams. Large hydroelectric facilities in Africa include Egypt's Aswan High Dam, Mozambique's Cabora Bassa, Zaire's Inga Dam, Ghana's Akosombo Dam, Nigeria's Kainji and Jos projects, and Cameroon's Edea project. A few projects, including the Aswan Dam, the Kariba Dam (shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe), and South Africa's Orange River Project, provide not only power but water for irrigation, fishing, and soil-conservation purposes. PEOPLE Africa contains a complex mosaic of peoples, languages, and cultures. Few of its states are ethnically homogeneous, and few have developed a strong sense of national unity. For centuries traditional values prevailed. Africans identified first and foremost with members of their own tribe or nation and avoided or competed with those who spoke a different language and were of a different culture. The imposition of colonial boundaries without regard for the indigenous cultural mosaic further divided the African people. Population is unevenly distributed. Highest densities occur along the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, in the lower reaches of the Nile, in the highlands of East Africa and Madagascar, along the northern coast, and in the urban and mining areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zaire. Lowest densities are found in the deserts, high mountains, and thick forests where economic opportunities are poor. In the Saharan states the dominant groups are \TArabs\t, \TBerbers\t, and \LTuareg\ls. Beyond the cities the Berbers are agriculturists, and the Tuaregs are pastoral nomads. The Sahara forms an effective divide between these peoples and the predominantly Negroid peoples to the south. In the Sahelian zone sedentary farmers are interspersed with pastoralists, the major groups being the \THausa\t, \TFulani\t, \TBambara\t, and \TWolof\t. In the Horn of Africa (Somalia and eastern Ethiopia), the pastoral \TSomali\t and \TGalla\t are dominant, while the Dinka and Nuer prevail in the upper Nile. The densely settled coast of the Gulf of Guinea is home for literally hundreds of different ethnic groups, each with its own language, territory, culture, and values. Among the numerically strongest are the \TYoruba\t and \TIbo\t of Nigeria, the \TAshanti\t and GA of Ghana, and the \TKru\t of Ivory Coast and Liberia. The sparsely populated forests of equatorial Africa are home to \TFang\t, Bateke, \TPygmy\t, and others. In the east African savannas, the pastoral people, including the \TMasai\t, \TKikuyu\t, and \TKamba\t, have historically competed for grazing land and watering places. The \TLuo\t and Baganda occupy densely settled farms along the north shore of Lake Victoria. Ethnic diversity and population density tend to be less south of Zaire, except in the urban areas of South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. South Africa has ten indigenous groups, the largest being the \TZulu\t in Natal and the \TXhosa\t of the eastern Cape; South Africa's \TAfrikaners\t are a people of Dutch and French descent. Swaziland, Lesotho, and Botswana are rare examples of ethnically homogeneous states and are populated by the \TSwazi\t, \TSotho\t, and \TTswana\t respectively. Arid Namibia's population includes the \TSan\t (Bushmen), who are hunters and gatherers, and the \THerero\t, Damara, and \TOvambo\t. Other major groups in southern Africa are the \TShona\t and \TNdebele\t of Zimbabwe, the \TBemba\t of Zambia, the Makonde and Makua of Mozambique, the \TYao\t of Malawi, and the Ovimbundu of Angola. Madagascar is populated by the Betsimisaraka and by the Merina and Betsileo, whose ancestors came from Southeast Asia some 2,000 years ago. The nonindigenous peoples of Africa include Europeans and South Asians in southern and eastern Africa, especially South Africa and Kenya; Europeans in most capital cities; and a few Syrians and Lebanese who live primarily as traders in the urban areas of the coast along the Gulf of Guinea. Languages The number of languages spoken in Africa has been variously estimated at between 800 and 1,700. Five major stocks are generally recognized: Afroasiatic languages, dominant in North Africa and the Horn, include Berber, Kushitic, Semitic, Chad, and Coptic languages; \Tclick languages\t, so named because of their characteristic implosive "click" sounds, include Khoisan, which is spoken by the Khoikhoi of southern Africa. The Niger-Congo languages cover almost all of West Africa south of the Sahara and most of the Congo Basin and southern Africa and include Hausa, Peul, and Wolof in West Africa and \TSwahili\t, Tsonga, and Bemba east and south of Zaire. Sudanic languages include Kanuri, Songhai, Turkana, and Masai. The \TMalayo-Polynesian languages\t of Madagascar were introduced from Southeast Asia about 2,000 years ago. (See \TAfrican languages\t; \TAfroasiatic languages\t.) Superimposed on this linguistic mosaic are English, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, and languages of the Indian subcontinent. English is the official language, or one of the two official languages, in all ex-British colonies, excluding Tanzania, where Swahili has been adopted. French is the official language of most former French possessions south of the Sahara. Arabic is the official language of seven Saharan states. Numerous lingua franca, such as Lingala in Zaire and Manding in West Africa, are used for commerce and in mixed-language areas. The multilinguistic nature of most African states has hindered nationalism and perpetuates tribal and local identities. Religion The dominant religion of northern Africa is Islam, which replaced Christianity in the 7th century and spread west and south across the Sahara and into the equatorial zones. With an estimated 155 million believers, Islam is the fastest-growing faith in Africa. The Christian churches claim a membership of some 140 million Africans of whom 55% are Protestants. Numerous denominations are present. Christianity's earliest hold in Africa was in Egypt and Ethiopia, home of the \TCoptic church\t. European missionaries introduced Christianity into Subsaharan Africa during the 19th century. Approximately two-fifths of the African population follows traditional religions and animism. Education Educational standards, facilities, and programs vary considerably and reflect differences in class, ethnicity, sex, and location. In all countries literacy rates for women are lower than those for men, more males than females attend primary school, and urban education is superior to rural. The richest countries invest more in education than the poorest, and in most states, secondary school enrollments are less than half the primary school enrollments. Only a small fraction of Africa's young people attend universities. Adult literacy rates range from 6% in Niger and 10% in Mali to approximately 70% in South Africa and Tanzania. Because of the lack of prestigious universities in Africa, many qualified students receive their training in U.S. and European universities. Health There is an urgent need to improve general health and nutritional standards in Africa. A significant number of persons in every country suffers from chronic malnutrition due to poverty, ignorance, and poor agricultural practices. On a per capita basis, food production declined in the 1970s and 1980s, and malnutrition rates are the highest in the world. In several countries of the Sahel, Guinea Coast, and equatorial Africa, as much as 40% of the population are malnourished and suffer from such diseases as malaria, dysentery, schistosomiasis, and yaws. The Sahelian states from Senegal to Somalia recorded exceptionally high rates of death and malnutrition during the severe droughts of 1968-74, and again in the 1980s. Other common ailments include influenza, tuberculosis, river blindness, and a host of parasitic disorders associated with unsanitary living conditions. Most of the doctors and general hospitals are situated in the capitals and towns, as the more populated rural areas have few health facilities and high incidences of disease, malnutrition, and infant mortality. Since World War II, national and international efforts to control mosquitoes, locusts, tsetse fly, and other pests have increased, but \TAIDS\t (see \TAIDS\t) is a growing problem, especially in central Africa. Demography Africa's population numbers 661 million (1990 estimate). The most populous states are Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Zaire, and South Africa. If Africa's population continues to increase at its present rate, it will double by the first decade of the 21st century. Improved diets and sanitary conditions and improved medical technologies and insecticides have lowered death rates considerably since 1960, but infant mortality rates remain the highest in the world. Life expectancy at birth is about 50 years, compared with more than 70 years in the United States. Birth rates will remain high unless the general desire for large families changes and more Africans accept family planning. Africa has the highest fertility rates in the world, and nearly half its population are under 15 years of age. Africa is the most rural and least urbanized of the continents. Less than a third of the population live in cities, but several countries, including South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco, have large urban-industrial areas. In most countries the largest city is the capital, which is often also the only city of significant size. Urban-population growth rates exceed rural growth rates as more and more Africans migrate to the cities in search of jobs, education, and security. Slums are growing and urban living conditions are deteriorating in most countries. In the 1970s and 1980s civil strife and political upheaval displaced millions of people in Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Angola, and other areas. Few countries have been willing or able to accommodate the refugees despite United Nations (UN) assistance. ECONOMY Despite Africa's great natural resources and energy potentials, industrialization is in its infancy. Africa contributes only 1% of worldwide industrial production. South Africa is the only modern industrial state, although manufacturing is becoming increasingly strong in Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Egypt, and Algeria. Among the handicaps to rapid industrialization are weak agricultural economies, inadequate and poorly integrated transport facilities, insufficient capital technology, political instability, a poorly trained work force, a small purchasing power, and economic policies and practices determined outside of Africa. Since gaining independence, most African countries have promoted import substitution industries to reduce their dependence on European and American manufactured goods. Light industries, including textiles, clothing, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and beverages, are the most common and account for 70% of industrial employment. Heavy industry, including the manufacture of petrochemicals, iron and steel, rubber products, and cement, is concentrated in South Africa, which supplies a higher percentage of its industrial needs than any other African nation. Industry tends to be concentrated in the capital cities, is generally small scale, and is capital rather than labor-intensive despite the abundance of cheap labor. Agriculture Agriculture accounts for about one-third of the continent's total economic output and more than half its export earnings; agriculture also employs 75% of the work force. Two distinct agricultural systems operate side by side: a traditional subsistence sector and a modern commercial sector. The traditional sector employs the majority of Africa's rural population and is characterized by small and frequently fragmented farms, little use of technology or fertilizer, high reliance on human labor, low yields, infrequent surpluses, and an emphasis on staple crops such as corn, millet, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, peanuts, and other high-starch foods. Work on the farms is increasingly being left to women, children, and the aged as men migrate to the cities. Traditional slash-and-burn practices are being restricted as population increases and land-ownership systems change. The modern commercial sector is the economic backbone of many countries and the principal source of their foreign-exchange earnings. Coffee, for example, is a major export for Burundi, cocoa for Ghana, and peanuts for Gambia. Other major cash crops include cotton, sugar, bananas, tea, oil palm, tobacco, and citrus fruits. These are produced on large estates and plantations that are frequently owned by expatriates, urban elites, the state, and multinational corporations, and depend on cheap, abundant, and often seasonal labor. They tend to have much higher inputs of fertilizer, insecticides, and capital in the form of machinery, processing, and storage facilities than the traditional sector. The raising of cattle, goats, and sheep is very important in much of the savanna and steppe lands. Africans are only gradually improving the quality of their herds, decreasing the traditional emphasis on herd size and the social importance attached to cattle ownership, and commercializing this activity. Commercial cattle farming is most advanced in areas of European settlement such as South Africa, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. Africa possesses about 14% of the world's cattle population. In the 1970s food production for subsistence and local markets failed to keep pace with population growth and rising demands, especially in the urban areas. Famine conditions, which first appeared in the Sahel and Ethiopia during the droughts of 1972, later worsened and became more general. Low prices for farm products, rising costs of fertilizer, fuel, and seed, poor farm management, soil deterioration, and the common practice of using land for export crops rather than staple foods, have all contributed to the shortage of food. On a per capita basis, less food is produced today than in 1970, and food imports are rising. Forestry and Fishing Although forests cover about 25% of Africa's land surface, the forest industry in general is not developed. High costs of clearing the forests, poor and costly transport, and a limited amount of usable forest have hindered profitable exploitation. Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, and Ivory Coast are the main producers; mahogany, ebony, and okoume are the major commercial woods. Ocean commercial fishing is economically more important than freshwater fishing. The major fishing grounds are off South Africa, Namibia, and Angola; the West African coast from Morocco to Liberia; and in the Mediterranean Sea. Much of the catch from southern Africa is exported as fish oil, fish meal, and fertilizer. Fresh and dried fish are important as food in certain areas of Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Zaire, but in general fish plays only a minor role in the African diet, despite government efforts to promote it. Tilapia is the most widely consumed fish. Transportation and Communications Africa's transportation systems were developed during the colonial era to move minerals and other raw materials to seaports for export. Roads and railroads were used by the Europeans mainly to facilitate control over their African possessions. As a consequence, neighboring colonies were rarely linked, and even today the countries of Africa are poorly interconnected by road, rail, and air. Africa has the lowest railroad density in the world, and 13 countries (including landlocked Niger, Chad, and Burundi) have no railroads. South Africa has more than one-third of the continent's railroad tracks and the most modern railroad facilities. Railroads continue to convey the bulk of Africa's minerals. The Great Uhuru (or Tan-Zam) Railway, built with help from China and completed in 1976, connects the copper mines of Zambia with Tanzania's Indian Ocean port of Dar es Salaam. The Benguela Railway carries copper from Zaire's Shaba province across Angola to the Atlantic port of Benguela. Zimbabwe's mineral areas are linked by rail with ports in Mozambique and South Africa. Africa has the least developed road system in the world. Less than 100,000 km (62,000 mi) of the 1,350,000 km (837,000 mi) of roads are paved. The greatest densities of well-maintained roads occur in South Africa and the Mediterranean states. All countries need additional feeder roads to link the rural populations and agricultural projects with the towns, cities, and railroads. Isolation, particularly severe during the rainy season when unpaved roads may become impassable, is a major handicap to development. River transport is handicapped by waterfalls and rapids and in many areas by irregular stream flow due to seasonal rainfall. Countries dependent on rivers to supplement their road and rail systems include Zaire, Congo, Nigeria, and Sudan. Lengthy unnavigable stretches of the Congo River are bypassed by railroads that carry copper and other exports to the coast. Air transport is of growing importance in Africa. Since independence, many countries have established national airlines and extended their international routes. Few are profitable. In remote areas air travel is often the only practical means of transportation. Africa's telecommunications systems are underdeveloped but expanding. Radio, television, and telephone systems are concentrated in the urban areas, however, and rural districts are poorly served. Trade Africa's principal trade is with Europe and North America. In most cases, an African country's leading trade partner is the colonial power with which it was formerly connected. Since independence, however, trade contacts have diversified and increased, especially with the United States and the Soviet Union. Under the Lome Convention, first signed in 1975, 63 African, Caribbean, and Pacific (APC) countries have preferred trade and economic-aid agreements with the European Economic Community (EEC). The African members of APC send about half their exports, mainly agricultural and mineral products, to the EEC and receive about half their imports, mainly manufactured goods, from the EEC. Trade between African nations is very limited, but mechanisms exist to promote it. West Africa has two regional trade groups: the 16-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the smaller, French-speaking Communaute Economique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (CEAO), whose six members also belong to ECOWAS. In southern Africa, South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland are joined together in the South African Customs Union. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS Since independence Africa has faced a variety of obstacles to economic growth, many of which are beyond its ability to control. Nearly three-fourths of all African nations are dependent upon one or two exports for the bulk of all foreign exchange earnings. Drops in world prices for many of these commodities, coupled with rising prices for imports, have reduced the money available for development. In addition, many governments borrowed heavily to finance prestigious but often economically unviable large-scale projects; the cost of debt service has nearly bankrupted some countries. Improvements in health care contributed to rapid population growth that, in most countries, exceeded gains in food production and resulted in an overall decline in the standard of living. In the 1980s the spread of \TAIDS\t placed new burdens on health facilities in central Africa. Prolonged and recurrent drought and other natural disasters have aggravated food shortages and destructive pressures on marginal lands and increased the refugee population. (Africa has less than 12% of the world's people and more than one-third of its refugees.) The percentage of Africans living in urban areas more than doubled between 1960 and 1985. By keeping urban food prices low to discourage unrest, governments accelerated rural-to-urban migration and deprived farmers of incentive to grow more food. African food imports tripled between 1974 and 1984, heightening trade imbalances. Initially, most governments focused on the manufacturing sector, especially import substitution industries. However, only South Africa has achieved a high order of industrial self-sufficiency. Most industries are final-stage assembly operations, and shortages of imported raw materials and spare parts have forced factories to cut production and lay off workers. The majority of governments have recognized the failure of industry to alleviate poverty and have turned their attention to agriculture, including agro-based industry. On the political front, Africa continues to be plagued by instability and corruption. Few African leaders have relinquished power voluntarily; force has been the most common mechanism of political change. Many African countries are under military rule, and the great majority are formal or de facto one-party states. Tribal conflicts and civil wars have diverted scarce resources and hampered efforts at nation-building. One of the most persistent problems in inter-African relations is the antagonism between white-dominated South Africa and the other African states, which regard South Africa as an oppressive relic of colonialism. Other inter-African disputes have hampered the work of the \TOrganization of African Unity\t, founded in 1963 to foster pan-African cooperation. African leaders, while seeking international aid and foreign investment, generally agree that African-based regional organizations must play a more active role in combating poverty, under-development, and political instability. Alan C. G. Best Bibliography: \TGeneral\t: Best, Alan C. G., and deBlij, Harm J., African Survey (1977); Davidson, Basil, Africa: History of a Continent (1966); Europa Publications, Africa South of the Sahara (annual); Legum, Colin, Africa Contemporary Record (1984) and Africa in the 1980s: A Continent in Crisis (1979); Martin, Phyllis M., and O'Meara, Patrick, Africa, 2d ed. (1987). \Tgeography\t: Boateng, E. A., A Political Geography of Africa (1978); Brown, Leslie, Africa: A Natural History (1963); Dorst, J. and D., A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa (1970); Hance, W. A., The Geography of Modern Africa (1975); Moreau, R. E., The Bird Faunas of Africa and Its Islands (1966); Thompson, B. W., The Climates of Africa (1964). \Teconomics\t AND \LPolitic\ls: Aluko, Olajide, Africa and the Great Powers in the 1980s (1986); Austin, Dennis, Politics in Africa, 2d ed. (1984); Bates, R. H., Essays on the Political Economy of Rural Africa (1983); Cartwright, J. R., Political Leadership in Africa (1983); Duignan, P., and Jackson, R. H., Politics and Government in African States (1987); Economic Intelligence Unit (London), A Study of the African Economies (1981); Gutkind, Peter C. W., and Wallerstein, I., eds., The Political Economy of Contemporary Africa (1976); Guyer, J. I., Feeding African Cities (1987); Jackson, R. H., and Rosberg, C. G., Personal Rule in Black Africa (1982); Liebenow, J. G., African Politics (1986); Mazrui, Ali A., The African Condition: A Political Diagnosis (1980); Meredith, M., First Dance of Freedom (1985); Odetola, T. O., Military Regimes and Development (1982); Organization of African Unity, Famine in Africa: Situation, Cause, Prevention and Control (1982); Offiong, D. A., Imperialism and Dependency: Obstacles to African Development (1982); Rosenblum, M., and Williamson, D., Squandering Eden: Africa at the Edge (1987); Tordoff, W., Government and Politics in Africa (1984); Young, C., Ideology and Development in Africa (1982); Young, Crawford, Ideology and Development in Africa (1982). \LPeople\ls AND \Lculture\ls: Boamah-Wiafe, Africa Today: Its Peoples and Contemporary Cultures (1987); Economic Commission for Africa, Demographic Handbook for Africa (1975); Hance, W. A., Population, Migration and Urbanization in Africa (1970); Hibbert, Christopher, Africa Explored: Europeans in the Dark Continent (1985); Lamb, D., The Africans (1983; repr. 1984); Mazrui, Ali A., The Africans: A Triple Heritage (1986); Mojekwu, C. C., and Uchendu, V. C., eds., African Society, Culture and Politics (1977); Mortimer, D. M., Population Problems in Africa (1973); Murray, J., ed., Cultural Atlas of Africa (1981); Udo, R. K., The Human Geography of Tropical Africa (1982).