Africa by Far is the Poorest Continent in the World

Welcome to Africa, or better yet welcome home. Examining fossils that date back several million years, scientific data supports the fact that human life began somewhere in Africa. This isn’t known by everyone though, in fact, unless some sort of archaeology is studied, or an ancient civilizations class, many are unaware of this. What people aren’t unaware of however, when it comes to Africa as a whole, are the issues. Words such as AIDS, war, strife, poverty, hunger, corruption, slavery, piracy, and genocide are all synonymous with Africa.

Africa by far is the poorest continent, where the bottom eighteen countries on the Human Development Index all belong to Africa, 36.2% of the population lives on less than a dollar a day, and the total GDP of all of Africa is 1.184 trillion USD (about one sixteenth that of the United States). Researchers, reporters, and NGO’s alike go into Africa and bring the west back images; images which society as a whole connects with Africa; pictures of the homeless, the utterly distressed, the displaced, and the hungry. This is the Africa that the west as a whole knows. So the question is put into place; how can a continent of over one billion, spanning over thirty million square kilometres, just be a land of despair and tragedy? Where are the good stories, where are the stories of business, of social programs, of success? To answer this, let’s examine where Africa is going.

Africa seems to be, in its own way booming. As a whole, incomes have doubled since the year 2000. Life expectancy increases by one year every three years. HIV rates are down significantly in South Saharan Africa, to a point where 600 000 less people contract this disease every year. The fight against malaria is being won, where ...

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...e could be said about produce, and of running water.

This is what works in Africa, opening up businesses, creating free markets, allowing them to self sustain. These newly adopted fundamentals have changed the face of Africa.

Africa as a whole’s GDP is expected to rise by at least 6% a year for the foreseeable future.

The Middle Class across sub Saharan Africa is growing and over the last 10 years incomes have increased 30%.

Consumer power is growing where less than 50% of Sub Saharan households in 2000 made over 2 500 dollars. By the end of this calendar year that figure will be at 75%.

Africans as a whole are better educated, healthier and more urban than ever before. Where nearly 15% live in cities with more than a million people making it comparable to Europe where that number is 19%

Secondary school enrolment has jumped nearly 50% in the last 6 years.