Africa: Geography and Growth

Currently, many African economies are growing more rapidly than they have for three decades. This is partly the result of high prices for commodity exports but also reflects deeper changes. The last time Africa enjoyed a commodity boom was in the mid-1970s. It was followed by a decade of unparalleled economic disaster. It is vital that Africa’s current opportunities for growth are not dissipated in the same way. On average over the period 1960-2000, Africa’s population-weighted per capita annual growth of gross domestic product (GDP) was a mere 0.1 percent. In effect, it stagnated while other regions experienced accelerating growth. Indeed, between 1980 and 2000, the annual rate of divergence was an astounding 5 percent. To understand both why this happened and whether it is likely to recur, a geographic perspective is essential. Africa’s geography has shaped its economic opportunities. Africa is distinctive both in its physical geography and its human geography.