Transcript Central Africa

Central Africa
Economy, Culture, and Human Impact
Economy
 Mostly rural
 Subsistence agriculture instead of cash crops
 Why? What about the climate/vegetation makes
plantations difficult?
 Dense vegetation in equatorial region (the area
around the Equator) makes clearing land for
farming difficult
Economic Activity
 Timber (wood)  hardwood exports
 DRC, Cameroon, Gabon
 Gems
 SW DRC (near Kinshasa)
 Hydroelectric power
 DRC on the Congo River
 Petroleum
 Along the coasts of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon,
Congo
Culture
 At least 250 ethnic groups in DRC and Cameroon
 Central African Republic  each group has own language
 ~ 700 local languages in DRC
 One of the least densely populated populated regions in
Africa
 Where it is densely populated, cities hold millions of
people
 Kinshasa (capital of DRC) = political, economic, and cultural
hub of the region
 Colonization
 Missionaries, rulers, & businessmen promote Euro. culture at
expense of traditional cultures
 Christianity becomes predominant in many areas (sometimes
mixed with other religions)
 Independence
 Serious conflicts
 Late 1960s-1990s: DRC led by dictator Mobutu Sese Seko

Human rights abuses, single party rule, war
 Conflicts hurt education systems
 Under colonial rule, religion dominated education
 Trying to raise literacy rates in rural areas but lack
support
 Range from 50% (Cent. Af. Rep.) to 85% (Equatorial
Guinea)
 Typically lower for women
 Why do you think that is?
 Like East Africa, Central Africa has trouble eradicating
common diseases
 Sleeping sickness carried by tsetse fly
 Ebola spread by rats, bugs, and monkeys
 Lack of safe drinking water
 Vaccine shortages
 Rising number of AIDS victims
Human Impact
 Dams for hydroelectric power change surrounding
landscape
 Mining
 Deforestation
 Pollution
 Road and railway building
 Waste from sites
 Climate change