My dad forwarded me the below article written by an economist about Africa. I found it to be an interesting commentary. I've copied it in it's entirety below but will summarize the points I particularly resonated with here:
1) In general, little is known about nations in Africa by either the media or the general public. Anything positive is especially unknown by most people.
2) Several African countries are recognized as being in the top twenty countries worldwide in economic growth.
I don't know what source the author used for this information on the top twenty countries, but according to the CIA World Factbook, Burundi's GDP growth in 2011 was 4.2% (ranked 93/216 countries). The U.S. is at 1.5% (#169/216).
3) Significant demographic changes on the continent (having the youngest population in the world) have contributed greatly to the fast economic growth.
Median age in Burundi is 16.9 years.
4) Another relevant factor is Africa becoming more urban and less rural.
This is still not seen dramatically in Burundi - only 11% of the population lives in cities. As land gets divided up further and further with each subsequent generation, more people will likely need to move to cities for jobs.
5) Four key areas of growth in Africa:
a) Education - 75% literacy in some countries
Still a ways to go in this area in Burundi. Literacy rate is 59%. Due to a long civil war lasting 10+ years (ending in 2005), a large subset of the population has received minimal education.
b) Health - decline in disease outbreaks, lower rates of AIDS than in previous years, more availability of HIV medications
The funding for much of the HIV treatment programs across the continent comes from PEPFAR and other other international and NGO sources. Only a few countries have the resources to provide the medications reliably to their citizens without external assistance.
c) Less violence: "The reality is that right now only 2%
of the entire African continent is experiencing civil unrest and that
is affecting roughly 6% of the total population of the continent."
This is not the picture portrayed by the media and thus not the understanding of most of the U.S. population. Thankfully Burundi is not one of the countries currently experiencing civil unrest.
d) Exporting manufacturing & consuming disposable incomes
Another article reported that Africa is now the second largest mobile phone market with 600 million users. BBC reported that 65% of the population has some form of mobile phone connection. But again, Burundi is behind in this area. The CIA World Factbook reports that in Burundi, "Telephone
density one of the lowest in the world; fixed-line connections stand at
well less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage is increasing
but remains at roughly 10 per 100 persons."
The litany of little known facts about nations
in Africa is exceedingly long. It seems that every tidbit of positive
news comes as a shock to the media in general and surveys indicate
that there is no region of the world that is more misunderstood. It
surprises people to learn that several African nations are among the fastest
growing economies in the world today. Depending on how one measures the
growth rate the
nations of Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya,
Mozambique, Angola, Uganda and Zambia are all in the top twenty as far
as economic growth is concerned and that puts them above many of the nations in Asia or Latin America. The changes in Africa have been profound in the
last ten to fifteen years and most of these are predictable. In the last
two decades there have been significant strides made in four key
areas and the impact is being felt now. These changes have come on top
of significant demographic changes that accelerate the impact
of these shifts. The continent has the youngest population in the world
and that brings all the dynamism that one expects from people who
are just entering their most productive years. The population of Africa
is also becoming more urban with 40% of the continent living in
the cities. By the end of this decade that percentage is expected to be
60%. The dramatic growth of the Asian economies took place when
the population became around 50% urban. That is the point that many of
the economic factors for growth come in. The four factors that have been identified as
underpinning growth in many African nations include a dramatic increase
in the education infrastructure. The literacy rate in Africa has
improved throughout the continent but in the fastest growing states the
rate is now well over 75% and gaining. The secondary schools are
churning out millions of qualified workers and the university systems
are bursting at the seams. African students are attending university
in the US, Europe, China, Japan and many other nations and at a far
higher rate than in the past. The second major factor is that many
nations in Africa are much healthier than they have ever been. The rate
of AIDS is still high in Africa but much lower than in past decades and
there are far more programs designed to address the issue. Many of the
diseases that once ravaged the continent have been nearly
eradicated and almost all have seen a decline in outbreaks. This is not
to say that there is not much left to be done on both of these fronts but the progress has been impressive by any measure. The third factor is that there has been far less
violence in the last ten years than in many of the past decades. The
spotty media coverage of Africa tends to treat the continent as if it
was a single nation and a small one at that. An outbreak of rioting in a
single nation gives the impression that there are raging civil wars
throughout the entire region. It is the equivalent of taking the crime
statistics of a single embattled city in the US and assuming that this
describes life in Omaha as well. The reality is that right now only 2%
of the entire African continent is experiencing civil unrest and that
is affecting roughly 6% of the total population of the continent. There
are 54 nations in Africa and at the last count there are seven that are contending with active civil unrest. The fourth factor is that Africa has been
demonstrating that it has started to transition from being a pure
commodities based export driven region into a region that manufactures
and a region that consumes. There is a growing level of disposable
income in these nations and that can be seen by the surging expansion of
the cell phone and the fact that in the last 12 months there has been a
revolution in consumer patterns. In Zambia alone there have
been six major shopping centers opened in the capital city and all six
are thriving.
Analysis: The growth in Africa is real
and it is still spotty. This is not a developed region by any stretch
and it is far easier to do business in other parts of the world but the states of
Africa that have seen growth have seen it consistently and there is a
sense of future expansion. The reality is that there are six nations that
have sported growth rates of over 6% for six years or longer and that is
a signal of real expansion.
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