Burundi is a landlocked country located in Eastern Africa neighboring Tanzania to the East, DR Congo to the West and Rwanda to the North. Following its independence from Belgium in 1962, Ruanda-Urundi split into two countries: Rwanda and Burundi. Presently, Burundi is going through a major political unrest that erupted in April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza intended run for a controversial third term by violating the constitution. This sparked widespread violence across the nation which included arrests, torture of rebel groups and assassinations. The unrest so far has claimed more than 500 lives, and has caused more than 230,00 people to flee the country, mostly to its neighboring countries. As a result, not only the civilians have …show more content…
Subsistence agriculture dominates the economy by employing 90% of the population, despite the scarcity of cultivable farmland. Coffee and tea account for 90% of foreign exchange earnings. The country’s economic development has emphasized strongly on strengthening basic social services, modernizing public finance and diversifying economic infrastructure, mainly in the mining and energy sector, with an upgrade of the private sector. Burundi now focuses on enhancing opportunities for employment and improving overall standards of living. Between 2010 and 2014, Burundi’s average annual economic growth was 4%, however, due to sociopolitical unrest in the country since April 2015, the GDP is estimated to have plummeted by 4.1% as the growth rate dropped. To date, Burundi remains to be a low-income country with a GDP per capita of $276, as recorded in 2015 by the World Bank, making it one of the poorest countries in the world. Moreover, the current political unrest in the country has furthered the already existing economic crisis. People fled the country in abundance as the country descended into violence and consequently, the market prices of goods and services rapidly declined. This led to a downturn in overall food production and getting the produce to market, resulting in a shortage of food in the long run. When the current state of affairs in the country are taken into account, the economic prospects does not look good in the near future. Burundi experienced a negative annual GDP growth rate in 2015 of -7.2%, for the first time in 10 years, and it is set to deteriorate further with an increasingly insecure business
Since Burundi’s independence in 1962, there have been two instances of genocide: the 1972 mass killings of Hutus by the Tutsi-dominated government, and the 1993 mass killings of the Tutsis by the Hutu populace. Both of these events in Burundi received different levels of attention by the international community and the western media due to a lack of foreign governmental interest, political distraction, and an unwillingness to acknowledge the severity of these atrocities in Burundi. Interestingly, events of genocide occurring at times without these distractions received more foreign attention than those ignored due to these factors. Because of this, much of the western world is unaware of the Burundian genocide and events similar to it.
Somalia is one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries (Campbell). Because of the Civil War, which broke out in 1991, much of Somalia’s economy has been devastated. The war left many homeless and drove them to raise livestock as a means of survival. The economy used to be based on exports of cattle, goats, and bananas but as of early 1992 much of the economic trade had come to a halt. Now the economy is primarily based on the raising of livestock, which accounts for 40% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Alhaus). Due to overgrazing, soil erosion, and the clearing away of many trees, Somalia has very few natural resources, which have not been exploited.
The Demographic Profile of the Country Ethiopia is located in the north-eastern portion of Africa. It is a landlocked country, commonly known as the Horn of Africa. The country is split diagonally by the Great Rift Valley. The western highlands get the most precipitation, while the lowlands and eastern highlands are arid. Ethiopia has three different climate zones that change with elevation:
Fund, I. M. (2011, April 1). International Monetary Fund. Retrieved March 18, 2012, from World Economic Outlook Database, Ethiopia: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?pr.x=52&pr.y=2&sy=2008&ey=2011&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=644&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=#cs1
Since Congo’s independence in 1960, its history has been marked by a series of political conflicts. The economy of Congo, a nation endowed with resources of vast potential wealth has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The two political conflicts (first and second Congo wars), which began in 1996, have dramatically reduced national output and government revenue, have increased external debt, and have resulted in deaths of more than one million people.
usually around 52 when they die. This is why only 5% of the population is older
South Sudan is the newest country in the world, the fifty-fourth country in Africa, and the newest country to join the United-Nations. South Sudan is a landlocked country and is located in Eastern-Africa. South Sudan is filled with plains in the north and center parts of the country. Within South Sudan lays the White Nile, a major tributary of the Nile River, which is the longest river in the world spreading four thousand two hundred fifty eight miles long. South Sudan is bordered by six countries: Central African Republic, Kenya, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, and Sudan.
The Congolese economy is excessively based in the oil sector, which represents about 52% of its GDP, 85% of its exports, and 70% of public revenue. The industry, non-oil sector, despite to Congo’s great potential is underdeveloped. The GDP was $12.6 billion and GDP per capita $3,700. Formerly ranked as a lower-middle- income country, per capita income has declined steadily since the late 1980s. The inflation and annual real growth were respectively 2.6% and -1.6%. We may significantly notice that more of the Congolese economic activities are not reflected the in GDP data and took place in the informal sector. The GDP by sector was represented as follow, industry (65%), agriculture (5%), and services
Embroiled in “Africa’s World War” for decades now; the Congolese are no strangers to instability and violence. Located in the heart of Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo (commonly known as ‘Congo’) has for decades also been the centre of conflict in the formerly known ‘dark continent’.
There are many interesting things about Uganda. In this research paper, I'm am going to talk about Uganda's history, government, geography, religions and customs. Uganda is like the United States in some way even though they are 8,180 miles away.
When studying Angola’s inflation rates and economy structure it is important to understand the inherent challenges faced. Unlike the US, Angola has a poorly developed infrastructure that makes moving goods and equipment difficult and costly. Also Angola suffers from an inefficient trading system with her African neighbors. Each side is required to first exchange their currencies into a third party foreign currency, like the US dollar, then they can conduct business. This makes transactions complex, time consuming, and expensive. Examples like this form the basis on why Angola’s inflation rates are relatively high. From 2009 to 2011 Angola dealt with rates between 13.5% and 14.5%. From 2012 to 2014 the inflation rates have steadily declined
Over a period from 1960-1965, the first Republic of the Congo experienced a period of serious crisis. There was a terrible war for power that displayed senseless violence and the desperation to rule. There were many internal conflicts among the people. The country eventually gained independence from Belgium. For many countries this would be a time for celebration. Unfortunately for the people of the Congo this became a time to forget. Almost immediately after independence and the general elections, the country went into civil war. Major developed cities like Katanga and Kasai wanted to be independent from the Lumumba government. Different factions started to fight the government and Katanga and Kasai tried to secede from the rest of the country out of fear of the mutinous army that was out of control looting and killing.
Throughout history the region of Africa, presently known as Rwanda has seen a major rivalry and political instability. From the early 14th century to the 20th century the Hutu’s and the Tutsi’s were foraged into the perfect ingredients for a ticking time bomb. The political structures set up along the way by the earliest settlers and the German and Belgian colonists ultimately lead to a divide and hatred between the two groups. This hatred built up and eventually caused a massive genocide. This genocide could have been prevented if the political structures didn’t bring on favoritism and political divide.
Genocide, destruction, poor infrastructure, Rwanda a recovering country that cannot shed it’s bad reputation. Before Belgium colonized Rwanda there were Hutu’s and Twa’s, later on in the 1300’s the Tutsi’s migrated over. When these ethnic groups met they created a common culture and language, they were equals. However the ethnic divisions perpetuated by Belgium resulted in a Genocide that tarnished Rwanda’s global image. People can note that Belgiums reign created chaos and terror, in addition politic issues regarding government power and the treatment of it’s people shaped modern day Rwanda.
Overall Central Africa’s dependence on agriculture could improve the wellbeing of the people but a long history of corruption, violence, and prevalent transportation issues have hindered an improvement in the economy resulting in poverty among the region. Poverty will not subside unless these issues are dealt with and improved.