The ethnic composition of Africa is extremely complex. Now in Africa there are from 500 to 7000 folk and ethnic groups belonging to 16 different language families. Of these, 11 large (over 10 million people each) are such peoples as: Egyptian Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Algerian Arabs, Moroccan Arabs, Fulbe, Igbo, Amhara, Aromo, Malagasy, Zulus; 30 peoples, numbering over 5 million people and about 100, numbering more than 1 million people each. Most of the peoples of Africa number several thousand or even hundreds of people and inhabit 1-2 villages.
At the same time, it should be borne in mind that almost every ethnic group has its own language, with the exception of Arabic, which is spoken by one fifth of the African continent.
In cultural and ethnographicohmrelationandterritoriesIAfrican decayeare divided into 2 historical and ethnographic provinces - North African and Tropical-African.
The North African ethnographic province is subdivided into:
Egyptian-Sudanese;
Maghrebian-Moorish historical and ethnographic regions
The tropical-African province, in turn, includes 6 historical and ethnographic regions:
West Africa, or West Sudan
Equatorial Africa (Western Tropical Africa)
South Africa
East Africa
North East Africa
Madagascar
1. Arab s North Africa - (self-name al Arab) a group of peoples (Algerians, Egyptians, Moroccans, etc.). Total population sinceabove 125million people. Arabs speak Arabic. By religion, the majority of Arabs are Sunni Muslims, some belong to other areas of Islam (Shia and Druze in Lebanon; Abadites (Ibadis) in North Africa), as well as to various areas of Christianity (Copts in Egypt).Modern Egypt is the largest country where a third of all the Arabs of the world live. In Algeria, the number of Arabs is more than 80%. Sudanese (Sudanese Arabs) are the main population of Sudan. The total number of over 18 million people.
2. Berbers inhabit North Africa from the Atlantic coast to the Siwa oasis in Egypt, from the Mediterranean to the Niger River.Berbers speak the Berber language, the number of speakers of which reaches 30 million people, have their own script - Tifinagh, which comes from the Phoenician language. The Berbers break up into many tribes, of which the largest are the Reef, Tuareg, Kabil, Nafusa, etc.
3. Tuareg. The Tuareg, a mysterious people, lives in the Sahara desert and in the countries adjacent to it. And although this word often flashes on the pages of foreign chronicles, in fact, not much is known about this people, their history and culture. And at the same time, the Tuareg are strikingly different from all other peoples of Africa. They say that the Tuareg are the people of the Berber group, although outwardly their indigenous part is very different from the Berbers. And yet it is believed that the language of the Tuareg "Tomashek" belongs to the group of Berber languages. The Tuareg have their own special writing system "tifinagh", which, according to scientists, comes from the ancient Libyan writing system.
The Tuareg are the only people in the world who do not have women, but men cover their faces with a bandage-veil, which is why they and their kindred tribes call them “crucible must” - the people of the cover. And until now, a young man who has reached maturity receives two things from his father as a sign of this - a double-edged sword and a facial veil. To appear to anyone without a bandage is considered the height of indecency, as in our case - naked in public. The bandage is not removed even at home, while eating and sleeping.
4. Mursi (or Mun, as they call themselves) are a Nilotic ethnic group living in southwestern Ethiopia. They mainly inhabit the territory of South Omo in the region of Southern nationalities, nationalities and peoples near the border with South Sudan. According to the 2007 national census, the number of Mursi is 7,500 people. Mursi speak the Mursi language, which is classified as a Nilo-Saharan language. The language has two spellings - based on the Ethiopian and Latin letters, respectively.
The Mursi tribe is perhaps one of the most famous and popular tribes of the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia in Africa. The main reason for their fame is the women who wear large clay plates in their lower lip. This attracts crowds of tourists who rush here in search of unique photos and videos of "evil savages". At the age of 15 or 16, the girl is made an incision on her lower lip and knocked out two front teeth so that they do not knock on the plate, then a small plate is inserted. Over the years, the size of the plate increases, while the lip stretches. The larger the plate a woman can wear, the larger the size of the ransom at the wedding.
Regardless of gender, the Mursi adorn their bodies with intricate scar patterns. To create such drawings, you need to resort to rather cruel methods: first an incision is made, then ash is placed in it, or insect larvae, the reaction of the body to such actions will be tissue capsules, which are the elements of the picture.
5. Surma. The Surma people are one of the least studied African tribes. The area of their settlement is the borderland of Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan. The group has 20,622 members, of whom 19,622 live in Ethiopia and 1,000 in South Sudan.
By the way, the first white people who were able to establish contact with this tribe were immigrants from Russia. It happened in 1980. An interesting fact is that initially the natives mistook strangers for the living dead because of their white skin color.
Describing the Surma tribe, one cannot help but dwell on their tradition of covering the body with various patterns (body painting). To do this, they use only two colors: white (obtained from natural chalk) and red-orange (obtained from ocher). Due to the fact that the Surma have a dark skin color, they use white paint as a background, and already apply their intricate patterns with red. The application of such body art is preceded by a little preparation, which can be compared to applying a primer.
6. Caro. FROM The smallest tribe in southern Ethiopia, and possibly in the world. There are only 250-1500 of them. Their village stands on a beautiful cliff above the Omo River. The inhabitants of the tribe are traditionally engaged in animal husbandry and gathering. The Karo are considered masters of body painting, especially in preparation for dances and festivals. For drawings on the body, natural paints are used. Chalk (former), iron ore (red), ocher deposits (yellow), coal (black). Usually, the drawings that are applied to the body, arms, legs and face repeat natural motifs - the spotted skin of a leopard or light gray specks on the dark plumage of guinea fowls, or human palms. Karo likes a strict geometric style - stripes, circles, spirals. Almost every day they put a new pattern on the bodies. Karo wear pink flowers of a tree growing near the village behind their ears.
7. Hamer . One of the friendliest peoples of the country of Ethiopia is the Hamer tribe. Their number is about 35-50 thousand people. It is believed that this tribe appeared in the 5th century AD. The main features of the Hamers are high cheekbones, elaborate costumes, brightly colored beads, and thick copper necklaces. The faces of women are refined and beautiful.
The main occupation of these people is beekeeping and cattle breeding. Cows in the tribe are the main currency. So the position in the tribe depends on the number of this cattle in the native.
Any man who has his own house can be considered a leader in a tribe. Among the Hamers, polygamy is accepted and men buy wives for tribal currency - cows. According to custom, the Hamer tribe considers the birth of children to be an important basis for marriage, and when the first wife "gets tired" of producing heirs, her husband remarries. He is obliged to build a separate house for each of his wives, where she brings her dowry: several bags of grain, a dozen chickens, tools, and so on. The husband leads the so-called nomadic life, that is, he lives with each of the wives in their houses in turn. As a rule, such houses are located not far from each other, or in the same yard.
The most significant rite among the people of the Hamer tribe is the rite of initiation. The essence of the event is for the boy to prove in front of the whole tribe that he is ready to become a man. Only one initiation can take place on one day. In fact, it is not mandatory for a man, but after the successful fulfillment of all the conditions of the ceremony, the guy has the right to choose any bride and she will not be able to refuse him. Only the son of a wealthy father who owns at least 300 cows can take part in the ceremony. The main task is to run on the backs of cows lined up in a row seven times in a row and not stumble. Another custom of the Hamer tribe, which is difficult for us to perceive, is that before the "race" itself, the women of the tribe endure beatings with rods from their men. They deliberately provoke their husbands, give them tools in their hands and steadfastly withstand blows. The Hamers are sure that such a beating is nothing more than an expression of great love and respect for their woman. A lady who does not get hit will feel left out and ugly. Hamer - Sunni Muslims.
8. Masai . The Masai are a semi-nomadic African indigenous people living in the savannah of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. The Masai are one of the most famous tribes in East Africa. Despite the development of modern civilization, they have almost completely preserved their traditional way of life, although this becomes more difficult every year. They speak Masai. The Maasai number from about 900 thousand to a million, of which, according to various estimates, 350,000-453,000 live in Kenya.
The Masai are very careful about traditions, and try not to violate the established way of life for centuries. This also applies to traditional clothing that has not changed over the centuries, sacrifice rituals, wedding traditions.
Jewelry is an important attribute of the tribe. They prefer silver earrings, long necklaces, headbands and bracelets.
Maasai ritual dances are performed during wedding celebrations and special holidays. Young representatives of the tribes jump high in one place to show their strength and dexterity. And they also have a popular original rite of matchmaking.
9. Somalis . Somalis (Somal. Soomaaliyeed, Arabic.الصوماليون ) - a people living near the Horn of Africa and numbering about 15-17 million people. They speak the Somali language from the Cushitic branch of the Afroasian family of languages. Somalis live mainly in Somalia, where they make up the majority of the population, as well as in northeastern Kenya, eastern Ethiopia (Ogaden, where for some time they fought for reunification into Greater Somalia) and Djibouti. Large communities of Somali migrants and refugees exist in many countries of the world, mainly in Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands and the USA.
10 Bushmen (san, sa, sonkwa, masarwa, basarwa, kua) is a collective name applied to several indigenous South African hunter-gatherer peoples who speak the Khoisan languages and are classified as a capoid race. The total number is about 100 thousand people. According to the latest data, they have the most ancient ethnotype, carriers of the most ancient Y-chromosomal haplogroup A.
Bushmen, a people living in the desert regions of Namibia and adjacent areas of South Africa, Botswana, Angola, and also in Tanzania. The Bushmen do not have leaders, as in other African tribes. Being in conditions of constant half-starved vagrancy in the desert, they could not allow themselves such a luxury as the existence of leaders, sorcerers and healers living at the expense of society. Instead of leaders, the Bushmen have elders. They are chosen from among the most authoritative, intelligent, experienced members of the family, and they do not enjoy any material advantages.
The Bushmen speak the Khoisan languages, which are also spoken by the Hottentots. These languages differ from all other languages of the world in that click consonants are widely used in them.
There was no written language before the arrival of the Europeans. Tales, legends and songs are passed on orally from generation to generation. Most of the people adhere to national forms of shamanism, but there are also Christians represented by Orthodox and Catholics.
11. Pygmies (Greek Πυγμαῖοι - “people the size of a fist”) - a group of undersized Negroid peoples living in the equatorial forests of Africa. Another name for African pygmies is negrilli. The total population of pygmies is about 300 thousand people. Including in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda over 100 thousand people, Zaire - 70 thousand, Congo - 25 thousand, Cameroon - 15 thousand, Gabon - 5 thousand. mid-mund.
The shortest people on earth, whose average height does not exceed 141 cm, live in the Congo Basin in Central Africa. "The size of a fist" - so translated from the Greek pygmalios - the name of the pygmy tribe. There is an assumption that they once occupied the whole of Central Africa, but then they were forced out into the region of tropical forests.
Pygmies make up the Pygmy Negroid race, they are short in stature, have a yellowish skin tone, narrow lips, and a narrow and low nose bridge.
The average life expectancy is no more than 45 years for men, women live a little longer. The first child is born at the age of 14-15, but there are no more than two children in the family. Pygmies roam in groups of 2-4 families. They live in low huts covered with grass, which can be done in a few hours.
12. Tootsie . One of the largest tribes of the African continent is the Tutsi people, also known as Watusi. About two million people occupy the territory of Central Africa. Tutsi is located on the lands of modern Sudan, Burundi and Rwanda.
Today, the tribe professes such religious movements as Catholicism, Islam and beliefs in the god of health and fertility.
The appearance of the Tutsi representatives distinguishes them from the rest. The average height among women is an average of 1.75 m, for men - 1.93 m. Therefore, Tutsi is considered the tallest people. Tutsis are characterized by hostility and militancy. But their identity is also distinguished by their love for culture. The Tutsis speak the Rwanda (Kinyarwanda) and Rundi (Kirundi) languages, which belong to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family of languages. Rwanda and Rundi are mutually intelligible and have a script based on the Latin alphabet. Many Tutsis speak French. The majority of Tutsi profess Catholicism, but some ancient beliefs have also been preserved.
Tutsi traditions surprise with their diversity and beauty. The tribe has a huge folklore heritage, namely: poems, songs, sayings, myths and folk beliefs. The Tutsis are excellent authors, so their poetry is magnificent and worthy of the attention of art connoisseurs.
13. Karamojong - the people of the Nilotic group living in Uganda. Total: 320 thousand The social system is based on kinship and clan system. The tribe is led by the oldest generation. The tallest people on the planet.
The growth of these amazing people, with stern looks and eyes that rarely touch the shadow of a smile, exceeds 1.8 meters, and they look down on their neighbors and white people. The Karamojongs are an extremely ancient people, from time immemorial, treating aliens with caution, if not extremely negatively. These tribes have not lost their connection with their native land today, they zealously protect their herds and pastures from the invasion of strangers, and among themselves, often start wars and just fights, at the slightest pretext. They are true warriors, these strange giants of the Red Steppes of Karamoji.
14. Fudba. In West Africa, there is a people who have attracted the close attention of scientists for more than one century. These are Fulbe cattle breeders. Where did people with a light skin tone come from on the Black Continent, why there is so much “civilized” in them, where they got their knowledge, no one can say ...
Indeed, the Fulani on the African continent seem to be aliens. Scientists suggest that the whole way of life, all their cultural values, the Fulbe endured thanks to contacts with highly developed civilizations, but it is still unclear with which ones ...
Fulbe or Fula, Fulani (Fula: fulɓe, singular fullo) is a people living in a vast territory in West Africa: from Mauritania, Gambia, Senegal and Guinea in the west to Cameroon and even Sudan in the east. They speak the Fula language of the Atlantic family of the Niger-Kordofanian macrofamily of languages. Them today, apparently, more than 20 million people (no exact data). They live mainly in West Africa - in almost all countries, but most of all in Northern Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, Cameroon; there are separate groups both in the central part and in the east of the continent (in Sudan).
This is a dispersed people who do not have a single center. Their very name (plural full`-be, singular - pool-o) means in their language "scattered, dispersed" (in any case, the famous French Africanists A. Gadin and M. Delafosse thought so).
The predominant part of the Fulani are Muslims (very zealous); only a few nomadic groups retain pre-Islamic beliefs.
Fulbe, in fact, African trendsetters, they created the famous Phrygian cap, bell hat, pointed straw hat - shepherds' hats. Famous throughout Africa and women's hairstyle with a "cockscomb" of the finest braids stretched over a special frame of bamboo sticks. Fulani are Muslims.
15. Nguni are a group of related peoples in South Africa who speak the Nguni languages. Includes Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele (Matabele).
Ndebele (Ndebele) are a people of the Nguni group living in South Africa, mainly in the territory of the former province of Transvaal. The Ndebele were one of the Nguni clans that lived on the east coast of South Africa. The first Nguni, followers of a leader named Musi, settled in the Transvaal in the 18th century.
Ndebele men decorate their houses with multi-colored ornaments, and women wear jewelry weighing up to 25 km.
The woman with the longest neck was considered the most beautiful among the Amandebele. From early childhood, women of this nation wore brass hoops around their necks, thanks to which the neck could lengthen by 40-50 cm. These hoops could not be removed, since the absence of cervical muscles would lead a woman to immediate death. It is now rare to see such things on young girls.
16. Hottentots (Khoi-Koin; self-name: khaa, khaasen) - an ethnic community in southern Africa. Now they inhabit South and Central Namibia, in many places living mixed with Damara and Herero. Separate groups also live in South Africa: Grikva, Koran and Nama groups (mostly immigrants from Namibia). Traditionally, the Hottentots were divided into two large groups: the Nama and the Cape Hottentots, who in turn were divided into smaller groups, and those into tribes.
The Hottentots today are an extremely small nation, there are no more than fifty thousand people. But until now they have retained their own customs and traditions.
17. Zulus (Zulu amaZulu, English Zulus) - an African people of about 10 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the Republic of South Africa. Small groups of Zulus also live in Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. The Zulu language belongs to the Nguni group of the Bantu family. The Zulu kingdom played an important role in the history of present-day South Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries. During the apartheid era, the Zulus in South Africa, being the largest ethnic group, were treated as second-class citizens.
In modern conditions, most of the tribe's representatives are mining workers, and some of them play a crucial role in the politics and economy of South Africa - they occupy the highest government posts. The most striking example is the current President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, a Zulu by nationality.
18. Himba - people (20,000 - 50,000 people) living in northern Namibia in the Kunene region. The Himba are a nomadic people descended from the Herero people and speak the Otjihimba language, a dialect of the Herero language.
Due to the harsh desert climate in which the Himba live and their isolation from the outside world, the tribe has managed to maintain their traditional way of life. Himba live in a tribal system based on bilateral inheritance.
According to the concept of bilateral inheritance, each member of the tribe belongs to two clans: on the paternal side (patriklan) and on the maternal side (matriklan). The oldest men lead the clans. Sons live in the clan of their father and mother, and daughters, when they get married, go to live in the clan of their husband. The Himba have retained their traditional beliefs, including the cult of ancestors and rituals associated with the sacred fire (oruwo), which are considered an important link between the world of the living and the afterlife.
The Himba people do not need the trappings of civilization. They carefully keep their established way of life from strangers. They practically do not wear modern clothes, do not use technology and do not shed other people's blood, they do not know writing. On the other hand, they have a mass of unique knowledge about nature and man, replenished from generation to generation. Observance of customs, worship of the souls of the dead and the graves of ancestors, a peaceful existence and raising livestock - this is how the days of the members of the tribe flow.
19. Malagasy (Malag. foko malagasy, French malgache) - the people, the main population of the Republic of Madagascar (up to 20 million people). They also live in Reunion (5 thousand people), the Seychelles (1 thousand people), Comoros (2 thousand people) and France (2 thousand people). They speak Malagasy (Malgash), which belongs to the Indonesian group of the Austronesian language family. Divided into several ethnic groups, sometimes called tribes.
They profess Christianity (Protestantism or Catholicism), preserving elements of traditional animistic beliefs. Also, some Malagasy converted to Islam. No country in Africa has such a diverse and numerous national intelligentsia (doctors, paramedics, nurses, lawyers, artists, writers, agronomists, etc.) as in Madagascar.
We met only with some representatives of the ethnic groups of Africa.
Africa is a huge continent with 61 states. But almost every one of them is home to hundreds of tribes whose language and customs are very different from each other. It is difficult to name the exact number of tribes and nationalities, since most often they are either densely mixed with each other, or vice versa, radically separated. Because of this, there are dialects and dialects on the territory of the African continent, which are sometimes only understood by representatives of a particular tribe. And the variety of rituals, cultural systems, dances, customs and sacrifices is huge and amazing.
In Africa, according to various sources, there are from five hundred to 8,000 peoples., including small peoples and ethnic groups that cannot be clearly attributed to one of them. Some of these peoples number only a few hundred people, there are really not so many large ones: more than a million there are 107 peoples, and only 24 - more than five million. The largest nations in Africa: Egyptian Arabs(76 million) hausa(35 million) Moroccan Arabs(35 million) Algerian Arabs(32 million) yoruba(30 million) igbo(26 million) fulbe(25 million) Oromo(25 million) amhara(20 million) Malagasy(20 million) Sudanese Arabs(18 million). In total, 1.2 billion people live in Africa on a territory of just over 30 million square kilometers, that is, approximately one sixth of the population of our planet. In this article, we will briefly talk about the main peoples into which the population of Africa is divided.
North Africa
As you may have noticed, among the largest nations there are many those in whose name the word Arabs appears. Of course, genetically all these are different peoples, united primarily by faith, and also by the fact that more than a thousand years ago these lands were conquered from the Arabian Peninsula, included in the Caliphate, and mixed with the local population. The Arabs themselves, however, were relatively few in number.
The Caliphate conquered the entire North African coast, as well as part of the west coast as far as Mauritania. These places were known as the Maghreb, and although the countries of the Maghreb are now independent, their inhabitants still speak Arabic and practice Islam, and they are collectively called Arabs. They belong to the Caucasoid race, its Mediterranean branch, and the places inhabited by Arabs are distinguished by a fairly high level of development.
Egyptian Arabs form the basis of the population of Egypt and the most numerous of the African peoples. Ethnically, the Arab conquest had little effect on the population of Egypt, in the countryside it had little effect at all, and thus for the most part they are descendants of the ancient Egyptians. However, the cultural image of this people has changed beyond recognition, in addition, most of the Egyptians converted to Islam (although a considerable number of them remained Christians, now they are called Copts). If we count together with the Copts, then the total number of Egyptians can be brought up to 90-95 million people.
The second largest Arab people Moroccan Arabs, which are the result of the conquest by the Arabs of various local tribes that did not constitute a single people at that time - Libyans, Getuls, Mavrusians and others. Algerian Arabs formed from a diverse range of Berber peoples and Kabyles. But in the blood of Tunisian Arabs (10 million) there is some negroid element that distinguishes them from their neighbors. Sudanese Arabs make up the majority of the population of northern Sudan. Also, from the largest Arab peoples of Africa, Libyans(4.2 million) and Mauritanians(3 million).
A little to the south, in the hot Sahara, the Bedouins roam - this is the name of all nomads, regardless of their nationality. In total, there are about 5 million of them in Africa, they include various small peoples.
West and Central Africa
To the south of the Sahara, the swarthy, but white-skinned Africans belonging to the Mediterranean sub-race of the Caucasoid race are being replaced by people of the Negroid race, which is divided into three main sub-races: Negro, negrillian and Bushman.
The Negro is the most numerous. In addition to West Africa, the peoples of this sub-race also live in Sudan, Central and South Africa. Its East African type is distinguished primarily by its tall stature - often the average height here is 180 cm, and is also characterized by the darkest skin, almost black.
In West and Equatorial Africa, the peoples of this sub-race dominate. Let's highlight the largest of them. First of all, this yoruba living in Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Ghana. These are representatives of an ancient civilization that left a legacy of many original ancient cities and developed mythology. Hausa live in the north of Nigeria, as well as in Cameroon, Niger, Chad, CAR, they also had a developed culture of city-states in antiquity, and now they practice Islam, are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry.
Igbo live in the southeast of Nigeria, having a small area of \u200b\u200bsettlement, but a high density. Unlike previous peoples, the Igbos do not have an ancient history, since they were formed from many different peoples relatively recently, already in the era of European colonization of Africa. Finally, the people fulbe settled over a vast territory from Mauritania to Guinea and even in Sudan. According to anthropologists, they originated from Central Asia, and already in modern times, this people was noted for its militancy, participating with great enthusiasm in Islamic jihads in Africa in the 19th century.
South and Equatorial Africa.
In contrast to the representatives of the Negro sub-race, people from the Negrill sub-race are short, their average height barely exceeds 140 cm, which is why they are called so - pygmies. Pygmies live in the forests of Equatorial Africa. But there are very few of them, but other peoples dominate in this territory, primarily from the Bantu group: these are dual, fang, bubi, mboshi, Congo and others for equatorial Africa and Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele for South. The basis of the population of Zimbabwe is the people Shona(13 million), also belonging to the Bantu group. In total, there are 200 million Bantu settled in half of the continent.
Also in Equatorial Africa live representatives of the third subrace, Bushman or capoid. They are characterized by short stature, a narrow nose and a flat nose bridge, as well as skin that is much lighter than that of their neighbors, which has a yellowish-brown tint. The Bushmen themselves are distinguished here, as well as the Hottentots, who live mainly in Namibia and Angola. However, representatives of the capoid subrace are not numerous.
In the very south, the minimal competition to the Bantu is made up of groups of Afrikaners, that is, the descendants of European colonists, primarily the Boers. In total, there are 3.6 million Afrikaners. South Africa can generally be called a melting pot - if you count with Madagascar, where the Malagasies from the Mongoloid race settled, then immigrants from almost all parts of the world live here, because in addition to the Malagasy Mongoloids in southern Africa, they also settled Hindustanis, Biharis, Gujaratis speaking Indo-Aryan languages, as well as Tamils, Telugu speaking Dravidian languages. They came to Africa from Asia, while the Malagasy sailed from distant Indonesia.
East Africa
First of all, it is worth highlighting the Ethiopian subrace. As the name implies, it includes the population of Ethiopia, which genetically cannot be attributed either to the swarthy, but white-skinned northerners, or to the representatives of the Negroid race living in the south. This subrace is considered the result of a mixture of Caucasoid and Negroid, combining the features of both. It should be noted that “Ethiopians” is a collective concept, the following peoples live in this country: Oromo, Amharas, tigers, gurage, sidama and others. All these peoples speak Ethio-Semitic languages.
The two largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia are the Oromo, also living in northern Kenya, and the Amhara. Historically, the former were nomadic and lived on the east coast, while the latter gravitated towards agriculture. Muslims predominate among the Oromos, while Christians predominate among the Amharas. The Ethiopian race also includes the Nubians living in southern Egypt, numbering up to two million.
Also, a significant part of the population of Ethiopia is the Somali people, who gave the name to the neighboring state. They belong to the Cushitic language family along with Oromo and Agau. There are about 16 million Somalis in total.
In eastern Africa, peoples are also common Bantu. Here it is Kikuyo, Akamba, Meru, Luhya, Jaggga, Bemba living in Kenya and Tanzania. At one time, these peoples ousted the Cushitic-speaking people from here, from which something still remains: iraco, gorowa, burungi, sandawa, hadza- but these peoples are far from being so numerous.
Among the great African lakes live Rwanda, Rundi, Ganda, Sogo, Hutu, Tutsi, and also Pygmies. Rwanda is the largest people in this area, numbering 13.5 million. The lakeside region is inhabited by Swahili, Comorians, mijikenda.
He studies the history of the formation of the population of a certain territory, the patterns of its natural and mechanical movement, distribution over the territory, the ethnic, age and sex structure of the population, etc.
Definition 1
Population These are people who permanently live in a certain area.
Definition 2
Population- this is the number of people in a certain territory (in thousand people, million people).
Definition 3
Population density is the number of people per unit area (number of people/$km²$).
Definition 4
Population structure- this is the division of people into groups according to certain criteria (age, place of residence, ethnicity, etc.).
The distribution and reproduction of the population is influenced by both natural and social factors.
The history of the formation of the population of Africa
It is Africa, according to anthropologists, that is the cradle of mankind. After all, the most ancient remains of the ancestors of modern man were discovered here.
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In ancient times, one of the oldest states known to modern historians arose in Northeast Africa - this is Ancient Egypt. Ethiopia was known to the east, Ghana to the west.
Throughout the history of mankind, the population of Africa has changed as a result of wars, geographical discoveries and research, natural disasters, and social changes.
Today, the population of Africa, belonging to the three main races, can be divided into indigenous and alien. The main part of the inhabitants is the indigenous population.
The period of the colonial past, which lasted almost four centuries, led to a significant decrease in the population. Only during the period of the slave trade, about $100 million people were taken out of Africa.
Many inhabitants, especially children, died from the harsh conditions in the colonies, from diseases and poor sanitary conditions.
The resettlement of the peoples of Africa
About $500 million people live in Africa - about $1/10 of the world's population. It is distributed very unevenly across the territory. The reason is the natural conditions, the history of the development and development of territories, the policy of states.
Example 1
The highest population density is in the Nile Delta (over $1,000$ people/$km²$).
This is one of the most densely populated areas not only in Africa, but on the entire planet. Remember that this is where Ancient Egypt was located.
The coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Guinea and the southeastern coast of the continent are relatively densely populated. And in the areas of the Sahara and Kalahari deserts, the population is very small (mostly residents of oases). Some desert areas are completely deserted.
Modern racial and ethnic structure of the population of Africa
After the decline of the ancient states, the north of the mainland was occupied by the tribes of Arabs and Berbers - representatives of the Caucasoid race. To the south of the Sahara, the continent is inhabited by representatives of the Negroid race. But this group is not homogeneous. They differ from each other in the shape of the head, skin color, height. This category includes Bushmen, Hottentots, Pygmies, Nilots, Ethiopians.
As a result of the mixing of the Negroid and Mongoloid races, the Malagasy people inhabiting Madagascar were formed. The Mediterranean coast was inhabited by people from the adjacent countries of Europe, and people from the Netherlands and Britain settled in the south.
Definition 5
Their descendants were called Afrikaners.
In the equatorial part, the Portuguese captured the colonies. This affected the formation of the state languages of most modern African countries. After gaining independence, many African countries began to carry out demographic policies aimed at improving the sanitary conditions of residents. This has significantly reduced mortality and increased the population of African countries. There is also a liberalization of ethnic relations. A mixture of racial traits, customs, languages, and cultures is formed.
The development and formation of the ethnic structure of the population of the mainland continues. The nation is currently in the process of being formed. Ethnic groups are represented by tribes and nationalities.
Africa belongs to the second type of population reproduction. Population growth is very high - $2.7$% per year. This led to a population explosion in the second half of the $XX$ century.
Africans profess various religions - both world (Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism), and local pagan cults.
Africa. Population
Ethnic composition
The ethnic composition of the modern population of Africa is very complex (see map of peoples). The continent is inhabited by several hundred large and small ethnic groups. 107 of them, numbering more than 1 million people each, make up 86.2% of the total population (1983 est.). The number of 24 peoples exceeds 5 million people, and they make up 55.2% of the population of Africa. The largest of them are Egyptian Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Algerian Arabs, Moroccan Arabs, Fulbe, Igbo, Amhara, Oromo, Sudanese Arabs.
The countries of North and Northeast Africa are inhabited by peoples who speak the languages of the Afroasian family. The most common of the Semitic languages - Arabic is native to 101 million people (1 / 5 of all Africans). Arabs - the main population of Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco; 49.1% of them live in Sudan, 26% in Chad.
In the Ethiopian group of Semitic peoples, the largest is the Amhara, which, together with the related Tigray, Gurage, Tigre, form the core of the emerging Ethiopian nation.
Peoples who speak Cushitic languages live in Ethiopia and neighboring countries; the largest of these is the Oromo in southern Ethiopia. The Kushite group also includes Somalis and inhabitants of the mountainous regions of southern and central Ethiopia - ometo, kaffa, shinash, yamma, sidamo, etc. The vast desert areas in the northeast of Sudan and the adjacent regions of Egypt and Somalia are occupied by the Beja.
The ancient population of North Africa - the Berber peoples (shilh, tamazight, reefs in Morocco, Kabils and Shaviya in Algeria) - survived only in the mountainous and partly desert regions of the Sahara. A special place among them is occupied by the Tuareg (self-name imoshag), who roam the desert highlands of Ahaggar and Tassilin-Ajer in Algeria, occupy the Air highlands and the adjacent regions of the Central Sahara in Niger; there are many of them in Mali.
To the south of the Sahara, there are peoples who speak Chadic languages (or Hausa languages): Hausa, Bura, Vandala, etc. The vast majority of Hausa are settled in Northern Nigeria. They also live in the adjacent regions of Niger. Hausa-related peoples - the Bura, Vandala, Bade, Masa, Kotoko, etc., are settled on the hills in the east of Nigeria.
The most extensive territory in Africa is occupied by peoples who speak the Kongo-Kordofanian languages. Among the peoples speaking the Niger-Congo languages, the ethnic groups that speak the Benue-Congo languages stand out for their multiplicity. They also include the Bantu peoples, who make up the vast majority of the population in many countries of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. The 43 Bantu peoples number over 1 million people each. The largest of them are rwanda (in Rwanda, Zaire, Uganda and some neighboring countries), makua (in Malawi, Tanzania and other countries), rundi and ha (in Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania and Uganda), congo (in Zaire, Angola , Congo), Malawi (in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique), Zulu (in South Africa), Shona (in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana), Xhosa (South Africa), Luba (in Zaire and neighboring countries). Other major Bantu peoples include Kikuyu, Tsonga, Nyamwezi, Ganda, Mongo, Luhya, Ovimbundu, Pedi, Bemba, Suto, Tswana.
The Benue-Congo languages are spoken by a number of large and small peoples of Nigeria and Cameroon (Ibibio, Tiv, Bamileke, Tikar, Ekoi, etc.).
Kwa-speaking peoples inhabit a vast area of the Guinean coast from Liberia to Cameroon: large peoples - Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, as well as Nule, Gbari, Igbira, Ijo and others in Nigeria, a group of Akan peoples in southern Ghana and in the BSC, Ewe in southern Ghana, Togo and neighboring countries; fon (eastern ewe) in Benin; a group of Kru peoples in the BSC and Liberia, small peoples of the coastal lagoons of the BSC, etc.
The peoples who speak Western Atlantic languages make up the main population of many countries in the extreme west of Africa: Wolof, Fulbe, Serer and others in Senegal, Balante, Fulbe and others in Guinea-Bissau, Temne, Limba, Fulbe and others in Sierra Leone , fulbe, kisi and others in Guinea. The most numerous are fulbes.
The peoples speaking Gur languages are settled in Burkina Faso, Ghana, BSK, Mali. The largest of them is mine, closely related peoples - Lobi, Bobo, Dogon. Other peoples of this group include pears, gourma, tem, cabre, etc.
Of the Mande peoples, the Mandinka are widely settled - in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, BSK. Close to them, the Bamana inhabit the central regions of Mali, the Mende live in Sierra Leone, the Soninka in northern Mali in neighboring states, and the Susu in the coastal regions of Guinea. The Mande group also includes Dan, Queni, Mano, Diula, Vai, Busa, Bandi, Loma, etc.
The peoples speaking the Adamawa-Eastern languages make up the majority of the population of the Central African Republic, they are also settled in Zaire, Cameroon and Sudan. The largest peoples are: Banda, Gbaya, Azande (Zande), Chamba, Mbum.
The Kordofan languages are spoken by the small peoples inhabiting the Kordofan mountains in Sudan: Koalib, Tumtum, Tegali, etc.
The peoples who speak Nilo-Saharan languages make up six groups. Shari-Nile languages are spoken by many peoples of the Nile river basin. Most of the Eastern Sudanese peoples (southern Luo - Acholi, Lango, Kumam, etc.; Joluo, Dinka, Nubians, Kalenjin, Teso, Turkana, Karamojong, Nuer, Masai, etc.) live in southern Sudan, in Uganda, Kenya. The Central Sudanese group is formed by the Moru-Madi, Mangbetu, Bagirmi and Sara, as well as the Pygmies - Efe, Aka, Asua and some others.
Khoisan peoples inhabit semi-desert territories in the southwestern part of Africa (in Namibia, Botswana, Angola, South Africa). These include Bushmen, Hottentots, mountain Damara. The island of Madagascar is inhabited by Malagasy speakers of Austronesian languages.
Indo-European languages (Germanic, Romance and Indo-Aryan) are spoken by the population of European (Afrikaners, or Boers, British, French, Spaniards, Italians, Portuguese, etc.) and Asian (immigrants from India and Pakistan, Indo-Mauritians, etc.) origin. Individuals of European descent make up less than 1.5% of the African population. Their number after the African countries gained political independence has noticeably decreased. However, in South Africa they occupy a dominant position in economic and political life.
In terms of language and partly in culture, the mixed mestizo population adjoins the Europeans. In South Africa, it includes the so-called colored people. They are subjected, along with other "non-white" peoples, to severe racial discrimination. On the oceanic islands surrounding the African continent, as a result of ethnic mixing, various mestizo ethnic groups were formed (Reunion, Green Mys, Mauritian Creoles, etc.).
B. V. Andrianov, S. I. Bruk.
Ethnic processes - a change in the main features of an ethnic community (language, culture, self-consciousness, etc., that is, those features that distinguish this community from others) - are divided into processes of ethnic unification, including assimilation, consolidation and integration, and processes of ethnic separation . In Africa, not only their different types are represented, but also various stages of consolidation, integration and assimilation processes, as well as various forms of ethnic communities - from small wandering groups of gatherers and hunters, preserving the remnants of the tribal system, to various ethnic groups of a transitional type, ethnolinguistic and ethnopolitical communities , large nationalities and multi-million nations.
The formation of the population of Africa took place for a long time as a result of complex migration processes, interaction and mutual influence of different ethno-cultural components. One of the important stages in the ethnic history of Africa is associated with the movement of the inhabitants of the Sahara as it dries up (from the 3rd century BC). Gradually, the Negroid tribes spread to the south of the continent. As a result of centuries-old migrations of peoples, different in anthropological type and language, stages of consolidation and assimilation, a mixed population was formed in West Africa. The next stage is associated with the movement of the Bantu peoples from the west (starting from the 1st millennium AD). In East Africa, they pushed back to the north and partially assimilated the tribes of the Kushites and in the southwest - the Bushmen and Hottentots. As a result of the contacts of the newcomer Bantu-speaking tribes with the original ethnic substrate, the formation of the ethnic image of modern peoples took place. In the VII-XI centuries. Arabs migrated to North Africa, then to Central and Eastern Sudan, to the East African coast and the islands of the Indian Ocean. The ancient and medieval states of Africa - Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Congo, Cuba, etc., had a great influence on the ethnic history. Within their borders, related tribes were united and gradually consolidated into nationalities. However, this natural process was disrupted by the slave trade, which led to the devastation of vast territories. The period of colonialism had a significant impact on the ethno-cultural development of Africa. Colonial dependence, the reactionary policy of the colonialists, aimed at maintaining socio-economic backwardness, at separating peoples, conserving obsolete institutions of the tribal society, separating the borders of colonies of single ethnic groups - contributed to ethnic stratification and isolationism, hampered the process of rapprochement of various ethnic groups. However, unification processes also developed during the colonial period. Centers of ethnic consolidation were emerging in different countries, and processes of ethnic integration were outlined. In the struggle against the colonialists, national self-consciousness developed and strengthened. After the achievement of political independence by the African states, a new stage in their ethno-cultural development began. In the new historical conditions, the processes of formation of large ethnic communities are developing rapidly, capturing at the same time various levels and forms of the ethno-social structure - from families (large and small) to entire nationalities. Most ethno-social communities have already passed the stage of development denoted by the term "tribe". Everywhere there are processes of formation of nationalities, mixing, transformation of ethnic communities of different levels, replacement of tribal ties with territorial ones, strengthening of social stratification.
The conquest of independence contributed to the destruction of the patriarchal-feudal isolation of many areas, the strengthening of economic ties, the spread of common forms of culture and common literary major languages (Swahili in eastern Africa, Hausa and others in the west). There is a process of folding nations in the north, the extreme south (Afrikaners), in a number of countries of Tropical Africa (among the Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo in Nigeria, Congo in Zaire and some others). As a rule, this process takes place on the basis of the consolidation of already existing nationalities. As for the formation of nations within state borders, at the present stage of ethno-social development, one can only speak of the trend of this process.
The diversity, lack of formality and amorphousness of ethnic communities in the states of Tropical Africa, the mobility of ethnic boundaries, the presence of a large number of transitional types do not always make it possible to characterize the level of ethnic development with certainty.
The processes of ethnic consolidation are intensively developing in Africa - the formation of large ethnic communities on a more or less homogeneous ethnic basis, or the further consolidation of the formed ethnos as its socio-economic and cultural development. They are observed among the Luhya and Kikuyu in Kenya, among the Akan peoples in Ghana, among the Igbo, Yoruba, Nupe and Ibibio in Nigeria, etc. Thus, ethnic groups similar in language and culture are grouped around the Kikuyu, living on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kenya: Embu, Mbere, Ndia, Kichugu, Meru. In terms of language, Embu, Kichugu, Mbere and Ndia are closest to the Kikuyu. Tribal languages and ethnic self-names are still preserved; Kikuyu, Embu and Meru are counted separately in censuses.
The level of consolidation processes varies among different ethnic groups. The Igbos in Nigeria are compactly settled and have a common material and spiritual culture. However, remnants of tribal division, tribal dialects remain, there are local differences in culture. If, according to the 1952-53 census, all the Igbos considered themselves to be a single people, then during the Nigerian crisis of 1966-70 (see article Nigeria. Historical outline) and subsequent years, there was a tendency to separate ethnic divisions. Ethnic divisions continue to exist among the Yoruba (Ijesha, Oyo, Ife, Egba, Egbado, Ondo, etc.). The trend towards the isolation of individual ethnic divisions is holding back the consolidation processes among the Igbo and Yoruba.
Along with the consolidation in many countries, the processes of interethnic integration, the rapprochement of different ethnic groups, the emergence of common cultural features have developed. They proceed on the basis of the interaction of various ethnic components that differ in language, as well as the level of socio-economic and cultural development. These processes can develop into complete ethnic integration of different ethnic groups within the framework of one state.
Integration processes are taking place everywhere in Africa, and in some countries they are taking place on the scale of the entire state and at the level of individual nationalities. Socio-economic transformations, the creation of a single national market, the gradual emergence of a national culture within state borders, consisting of many ethnic cultures, contribute to the gradual formation of a community consciousness - Nigerian, Congolese, Guinean, etc. Africans are increasingly calling themselves non-traditional ethnonyms, and by the name of the state - Nigerians, Congolese, Guineans, etc.
An example of integration at the level of individual nationalities is the ethnic processes of the Hausa. Around the Hausa, who make up the majority of the population of Northern Nigeria, not only closely related ethnic groups are grouped, but there is also a gradual assimilation of many small tribes in the central regions of the country: the language and culture of the Hausa is spreading more and more. From these heterogeneous ethnic components, the Hausa nation is formed. It consists of: proper Hausa, Angas, Ankwe, Sura, Bade, Boleva, Karekare, Tantale, Bura, Vandala, Masa, Musgu, Mubi, etc. Most of these groups retain their self-names. The majority speak Hausa, others are bilingual and speak their native languages. Many of these peoples were part of the Hausa states (see Hausa states), their economic and cultural contacts with the Hausa have a long history, which contributes to the integration processes. In some cases, integration processes can lead to the formation of a single ethnic community within state borders. In other cases, in conditions of ethnic pluralism and the complexity of interethnic relations, several centers of integration and, accordingly, several ethno-social communities may arise. As a result of integration processes in African states, new ethno-political ones are being formed. (meta-ethnic) communities.
Assimilation processes are obvious where people live in the neighborhood, which differ sharply in terms of socio-economic development, origin, language and culture. Such are the Kikuyu in Kenya and the Ndorobo groups assimilated by them, the Luo Nilots and the Bantu-speaking Kisii and Suba; in Rwanda, Rwanda and the Twa Pygmies; in Botswana, the Tswana and the Bushmen; in Togo, small ethnic communities gradually merge with the Ewe - akebu, akposo, adele. In Guinea, there is a merger with Kisi close in language and culture to Baga, Mmani, and Landum. At the same time, many Baga and Landuma speak the Susu language and are partly assimilated by the Susu. In the Sudan, the Arabs assimilate the Nubians, the Beja, and others. In the BSK Baule, the Lagoon peoples, the Krobu, the Gwa, and others assimilate.
Along with the unification processes in a number of regions of Africa, processes of ethnic division are also observed, although in the past their role was incomparably greater. Thus, in the history of Africa, widespread migrations of Arab tribes are known, which led to the formation of separate ethnic groups. In ancient times, for centuries in Central Africa, there was a complex process of spreading and separating the Bantu-speaking ethnic groups; Medieval migrations of the Luo from the banks of the Nile to the south - to the Mezhozerie are known, accompanied by their division into a number of ethnic groups; a similar process took place in the 19th century, when part of the South African Zulu (Nguni) tribes migrated north. In Kenya, the Masaba and Bukusu ethnic groups separated from the Gishu.
The nature and pace of ethnic processes in Africa are determined by historical, socio-economic, and political factors: general economic backwardness, the multi-structural nature of the economy, the dominance of foreign monopolies in many countries, the unresolved social problems, the acuteness of the national question, extraterritorial problems inherited from colonialism, etc.
Many of the African ethnic groups retain a complex hierarchical ethno-social structure, when the same set of people is simultaneously part of ethnic communities of different levels. Such, for example, is the multimillion-strong ethnolinguistic community of the Akans, which unites a group of ethnic groups in southern and central Ghana and neighboring regions of the BSC. The proximity of the Akan languages contributes to ethno-cultural rapprochement both within the framework of the entire broad ethno-linguistic community and at the level of large ethno-social divisions - Ashanti, Fanti, Akim, etc. The socio-economic transformations taking place in Ghana contribute to the formation of ethno-social communities among different Akan peoples - nationalities. This process is developing in parallel with the formation of a broad ethno-political community within the state of Ghana.
Ethnic processes in modern Africa are not only complex, but also extremely contradictory. On the one hand, there is an increase in self-consciousness, the erasure of tribal differences, the creation of larger ethno-social and ethno-political communities, the rejection of narrow tribal interests and the emphasis on national ones. On the other hand, there is an increase in ethnic self-consciousness, an increase in its role in political life, and an increase in tribal separatism.
Progressive economic and cultural processes, urbanization, and population migration contribute to the rapprochement of peoples. African cities with a rapidly growing working class, developing bourgeoisie and intelligentsia have become the center of the development of consolidation and integration processes. In cities, there is an intensive exchange of cultural values between representatives of different peoples, convergence of languages and dialects, and the formation of literary languages. All this is an important condition for the elimination of tribal isolation (detribalization).
New inter-ethnic ties are emerging in the cities, although this does not mean that the city dweller immediately breaks with his ethnic group. There are numerous ethnic unions and fraternities in the cities, which testifies to the preservation of community-tribal ties.
Mass migrations of the population, work in cities at the same enterprises of people of different ethnicity contribute to the breakdown of traditional tribal structures and activate ethnic processes. Small ethnic groups, as a rule, quickly adapt to a different ethnic environment and can be completely assimilated; numerous migrants prefer to settle together and, to a certain extent, retain the ethnic characteristics inherent in their way of life in their homeland, and a certain specificity of their social organization. In some cases, migrants are forced to stick together not always by the friendly attitude of the local population and the risk of conflict. Ethnic particularism is also promoted by the order of population distribution established in colonial times in many cities and large villages: settlement in quarters is ethnic in nature, people from the same ethnic group prefer to settle together. In Ghana, the quarters where the alien population lives are called "zongo", in Northern Nigeria - "sabon gari" (in the Hausa language - "new city"). This situation not only does not lead to detribalization, but, on the contrary, strengthens ethnic self-awareness.
The African states that were formed within the framework of former colonial borders inherited all the difficulties arising from the discrepancy between political and ethnic borders. Such large peoples as the Ewe, the Kongo, and others found themselves in different states. The division by political borders of a single ethnic territory of a people and the long-term preservation of such a division lead to the emergence of serious differences between parts of the people. The general socio-economic and political conditions in which ethnic processes take place are of significant importance. State policy can promote integration processes and the formation of a single community from different ethnolinguistic components, otherwise several ethnic communities may form. So, in Togo, with the favorable development of integration processes, the Ewe can merge into a single Togolese ethnic community, in Ghana they can remain as an independent ethnic unit.
In the conditions of a multistructural economy, the social structure of ethnic communities, including nationalities and emerging nations, is extremely heterogeneous. The preservation of many archaic institutions and structures that originate from the depths of the tribal society: castes, patriarchal slavery, contempt for certain professions, ethnic prejudices and prejudices, tribal morality, a significant role of traditional power systems, ethnic stratification, etc. - leave a significant imprint on the pace and level of ethnic, primarily integration processes.
Specific historical conditions predetermine various variants of ethnic development. In the countries of North Africa with a more or less homogeneous ethnic composition, multi-million Arabic-speaking nations have already formed - Algerian, Egyptian, Moroccan, etc. In most countries, ethnic development is proceeding along the path of strengthening the largest ethnic communities and strengthening integration processes. The most striking example of the formation of a single ethno-political community is Tanzania, where on the basis of the Swahili language, recognized as the official language of the country, more than a hundred different ethnic groups form a single community that can turn into a Tanzanian nation.
In South Africa, the ethnic development of the indigenous African peoples is deformed by the reactionary racial policy of the ruling circles of South Africa. The processes of formation of large ethnic communities (nationalities and nations) among the Bantu peoples are actively going on. The creation of bantustans and the ongoing conservation of traditional institutions of tribal society in South Africa have a negative impact on the processes of national consolidation.
Africa is the second largest continent in the world (after Eurasia). Its subregions (their economy, population, nature and states) will be considered in this article.
Options for dividing the territory of the continent
The territory of Africa is the largest geographical region of our planet. Therefore, the desire to divide it into parts is quite natural. The following two large areas stand out: Tropical and North Africa (or Africa north of the Sahara). Between these parts there are quite large natural, ethnic, historical and socio-economic differences.
Tropical Africa is the most backward region of the developing world. And in our time, the share of agriculture in its GDP is higher than the share of industrial production. 28 of the 47 least developed countries in the world are located in Tropical Africa. Also here is the maximum number of countries that do not have access to the sea (there are 15 such states in this region).
There is another option for dividing Africa into regions. According to him, its parts are South, Tropical and North Africa.
Let us now turn to the consideration of regionalization itself, that is, the allocation of large macroregions (subregions) of the continent of interest to us. Currently, it is considered that there are only five of them. Africa sub-regions has the following: South, East, Central, West and North Africa (on the map above). At the same time, each of them has specific features of the economy, population and nature.
North Africa
North Africa borders the Red and Mediterranean Seas, as well as the Atlantic Ocean. Thanks to this, its ties with Western Asia and Europe have been established since ancient times. Its total area is approximately 10 million km 2, on which about 170 million people live. The Mediterranean "façade" defines the position of this sub-region. Thanks to him, North Africa neighbors Southwest Asia and has access to the main sea route that runs from Europe to Asia.
Cradle of civilization, Arab colonization
The sparsely inhabited spaces of the Sahara desert form the "rear" of the region. North Africa is the cradle of the civilization of Ancient Egypt, which made a great contribution to culture. The Mediterranean part of the continent in ancient times was considered the granary of Rome. To this day, among the lifeless sea of stone and sand, you can find the remains of underground drainage galleries, as well as other ancient structures. Many cities located on the coast trace their roots back to Carthaginian and Roman settlements.
Arab colonization, which took place in the 7th-12th centuries, had a huge impact on the culture of the population, its ethnic composition and way of life. And in our time, the northern part of Africa is considered Arab: almost the entire local population professes Islam and speaks Arabic.
Economic life and population of North Africa
The economic life of this subregion is concentrated in the coastal strip. Here are the main manufacturing enterprises, as well as the main areas of agriculture. Naturally, almost the entire population of this subregion lives here. Mud houses with earthen floors and flat roofs predominate in rural areas. Cities also have a very characteristic appearance. Therefore, ethnographers and geographers single out the Arabic type of city as a separate variety. It is characterized by the division into the old and the new part. North Africa is sometimes referred to as the Maghreb, but this is not entirely accurate.
Economy
There are currently 15 independent states in this subregion. Republics are 13 of them. Most of the states of North America are underdeveloped. In Libya and Algeria, the economy is somewhat better developed. These countries have a significant supply of natural gas and oil, which are today a hot commodity on the world market. Morocco mines phosphorites used in the production of fertilizers. Niger is a major producer of uranium, but remains one of the poorest countries in North Africa.
The southern part of this subregion is very poorly populated. The agricultural population lives in oases, where the main commercial and consumer crop is the date palm. Only nomadic camel breeders can be found in the rest of the region, and even then not everywhere. There are gas and oil fields in the Libyan and Algerian parts of the Sahara.
A narrow "band of life" only along the Nile valley wedged into the desert far to the south. For the development of Upper Egypt, the construction of the Aswan hydroelectric complex on the Nile with the technical and economic assistance of the USSR was of great importance.
West Africa
The sub-regions of the continent we are interested in is a rather extensive topic, so we will limit ourselves to their brief description. Let's move on to the next sub-region - West Africa.
Here are the zones of savannahs, tropical deserts and humid equatorial forests, which are located between and the Sahara desert. It is the largest sub-region of the continent by population and one of the largest by area. The natural conditions here are very diverse, and the ethnic composition of the local population is the most complex - various peoples of Africa are represented. This sub-region was in the past the main region of the slave trade. At present, agriculture is developed here, represented by the production of various plantation consumer and cash crops. There is also industry in the subregion. Its most developed industry is mining.
Population of West Africa
According to 2006 data, the population of West Africa is 280 million people. It is multi-ethnic in composition. The largest ethnic groups are the Wolof, Mande, Serer, Mossi, Songhai, Fulani and Hausa. The indigenous population is divided by language into 3 metagroups - Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo and Afro-Asiatic. Of the European languages in this subregion, English and French are common. The main religious groups of the population are Muslims, Christians and animists.
Economy of West Africa
All the states here are developing countries. As we have said, the sub-regions of Africa differ considerably economically. The table presented above characterizes such an important economic indicator of the countries of the continent we are interested in as gold reserves (2015 data). The West African states in this table include Nigeria, Ghana, Mauritania and Cameroon.
The leading role in the creation of GDP in this subregion is played by agriculture, as well as the extractive industry. The minerals available in West Africa are petroleum, iron gold, manganese, phosphates and diamonds.
Central Africa
From the very name of this subregion it is clear that it occupies the central part of the mainland (equatorial). The total area of the region is 6613 thousand km2. A total of 9 countries are located in Central Africa: Gabon, Angola, Cameroon, Congo and Democratic (these are two different states), Sao Tome and Principe, Chad, the Central African Republic and Also here is the island of St. Helena, which is a British Overseas Territory.
They are located in the zones of savannahs and humid equatorial forests, which greatly influenced their economic development. This sub-region is one of the richest regions, not only in Africa, but also in the world. The ethnic composition of the local population, unlike the previous region, is homogeneous. Nine-tenths of it consists of the Bantu peoples of Africa, who are related to each other.
Economy of the subregion
All states of this subregion, according to the UN classification, are developing. Agriculture plays the main role in the creation of GDP, as well as the mining industry. In this respect, West and Central Africa are similar. The minerals mined here are cobalt, manganese, copper, diamonds, gold, natural gas, and oil. The sub-region has a good hydropower potential. In addition, significant reserves of forest resources are located here.
These are the main central.
East Africa
It is located in the tropical and subequatorial climate zones. East Africa goes to the Indian Ocean, so it has long maintained trade relations with the Arab countries and India. The mineral wealth of this subregion is less significant, but the diversity of natural resources is generally very high. This is what largely determines the various options for their economic use.
East African population
East Africa is a highly mosaic sub-region ethnically. The borders of many countries were set arbitrarily by former colonial powers. At the same time, the cultural and ethnic differences that the population of East Africa has were not taken into account. Due to significant social and cultural differences, there is significant conflict potential in this sub-region. Often there were wars, including civil ones.
South Africa
It is located in the southern part of the continent, which is the most remote from Asia, America and Europe, but it goes to the sea route that goes around the southern tip of Africa. This subregion is located in the subtropical and tropical latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. There is a significant amount of natural resources, of which mineral resources stand out especially. The Republic of South Africa (South Africa) is the main "core" of this subregion. This is the only economically developed state on the continent.
Population and Economy of South Africa
A significant number are of European origin. Bantu peoples make up the vast majority of the inhabitants of this subregion. The local population is generally poor, but South Africa has a well-established road network, efficient air traffic, and good tourism infrastructure. Mining, as well as deposits of gold, platinum, diamonds and other minerals form the backbone of the economy. In addition, southern Africa is increasingly developing technology, tourism and manufacturing industries.
Finally
As you can see, in general, the mainland is not very developed economically. Its population is unevenly distributed. Currently, about a billion people live on a continent like Africa. Its subregions were briefly characterized by us. In conclusion, I would like to note that this continent is considered the ancestral home of mankind: the oldest remains of early hominids, as well as their probable ancestors, were found here. There is a special science of African studies, which studies the cultural, political, economic and social problems of Africa.
