Africa: underdeveloped, why?

            In the 21st century still it is said that Africa is the  only  continent which is   underdeveloped. There  are many causes for this  underdevelopment. There are many theories published that try to explain that why the African continent is the case of global basket. It has been found that the per capita income in Africa  was US$ 1800 while in the rest of the world it was US$ 8800 in the year 2000. It has been majority observed that the life expectancy of the Africans is very low because of many diseases and starvation. The literacy rate is also found to be lower amongst all other continents. Many funds and donations are also given to the continent for its aid and development but still it has been the most underdeveloped of all. Approximately of about US$ 568 billion have been given to Africa for its aid and progress but still it is the underdeveloped.(Joana, 2007)

Historical perspective

            The historical background is very important to understand why Africa is still underdeveloped.  African countries have failed to take part in theinternational economic development in this era of globalization. Geographically and demographically, there are many issues that why Africa is still underdeveloped. The agricultural revolution and the iron tools have reached African countries very late than compared to other countries. Some observers say that in this way the African countries have to suffer 1000 year lag.

            The whole continent is inhospitable for the agriculture. It does not have a friendly environment for the farmers. There are many reasons for this. One of the major reasons is that in Africa, there is a disease carrying tsetse fly. It causes damage to many things for example crops, animals etc.

Demographically, African countries have many less population and many of the people are still migrating to new areas. In this way the able people migrates to some other areas and the Africa remains still undeveloped. Their civilizations are now divided into many parts as a major portion of their people have migrated.

            Africans countries also lack of technology. Many things and areas became barrier in his way to be developed. The Sahara has been a barrier in the north  and the Atlantis coast have no contact with the rest of the world until the first European arrived in around 1500. Today communication plays a great role in the economic progress and in Africa there is a vast lack of communication. They can’t communicate with the rest of the world like Europeans countries do. This is also the major reason for why Africa is undeveloped.

            Lack of political stability is also one of the reasons. In the era of post colonial, many problems were raised. The Africans can’t even unite on its language as linguistic explains us that around 900 different languages were used to be spoken in different parts of Africa. That's why the Nation building was a difficult task. Ethnicity problems also arised. (Jarle)

Slave Trade

Africa’s poor development is one of the biggest mysteries of the world. Historical facts have highlighted the effect of the slave trade upon the development of the Africa. Slave trade causes instability in the politics, weakened the states and results in the worsening of local legal organizations. Slave trade promotes the social and political destruction. For about 500 years the continent faced four concurrent such trades. The biggest trade happened in the continent was of trans-Atlantic slave trade. Other three are known as the trans-Saharan, Indian Ocean and Red Sea slave trades. If it is said that the slave trades are more responsible for the underdevelopment of the continent than it is not false because if one observes that the areas of Africa that are in poorest state are the areas from where a large number of people were taken as slaves. About 12 million people are taken from Africa as slaves. It has been studied that if the trade had not occurred in the past, then 72% of the average revenue gap amid Africa and the parts of the world would not be present today, and 99% of the gap amid Africa and the underdeveloped parts would not be present. (Nathan, 2007)

Colonial Rule

                        The colonial rule can also be a factor in the underdevelopment of Africa. The main accomplishment of this rule was the state building, which engaged the forcing of the European system into the Africa through a process of capture and conquest. Europe was investing in certain areas of Africa to get the ultimate profits. Immediate super profits were expected. The mines of South Africa and building up of the Suez Canal l offer great profits of trade to Europe. Europeans have developed colonial rule in different parts of Africa in the form of short and long term planning for their own interests. The fact that Africa has been colonized is because of its own weakness in  the political, military and economic  forces. The colonial rule meant to develop the continent of Europe with the underdevelopment of Africa. It was all because labor was cheap and Europe invested to get future profits. Due to this colonial rule the lands of the people were confiscated ad the people were subjected to forced manual labor (Walter, 1972)

            Africans themselves caused underdevelopment of Africa. Many internal wars occurred between different pats over the health clinics roads schools loss of lives, provision of shelter for displaced people adequate food, water and medicine. Child malnutrition increased up to  40 %, which causes serious damage to infrastructure of Africa. 

References

Nathan Nunn (2007, December 8), The Historical Origins of Africa’s Underdevelopment, VOX, retrieved from, http://www.voxeu.org/article/slave-trade-and-african-underdevelopment

Joana Breidenbach (2007, December 13), Why Africa is Still Underdeveloped?, Betterplace, retrieved from, http://betterplaceorg.wordpress.com/2007/12/13/why-is-africa-underdeveloped/

Jarle Simensen (n.d), Africa: the causes of under-development and the challenges of globalization, UTEN RIKS DEPARTEMENTET, retrieved from, http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/ud/kampanjer/refleks/innspill/afrika/simensen.html?id=533474

Walter Rodney (1972), How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, East African Publishers