Equatorial or Central Africa for the most part extends along the channel of the Congo - the territory of the subcontinent includes a huge valley of this river, as well as several large hills in the north and south. Western part- the coast of the Atlantic, and the opposite border coincides with the line of the East African continent flax break.

Among the nine states of this macro-region, the largest and most densely populated is Democratic Republic Congo (formerly Zaire), and closes the list of Sao Tome and Principe, located on volcanic islands Gulf of Guinea.

Climatic conditions, flora and fauna

The region is located in the equatorial and subequatorial belts, it has a consistently hot and humid climate. A large amount of precipitation is brought by air currents from the Atlantic, heavy showers regularly feed an extensive system of rivers. The Congo Valley is dominated by rainforests, there are wetlands and mangroves.

Closer to the outer borders of the region are savannahs, where he finds refuge great amount large mammals, both herbivores and carnivores. For human life local conditions do not fit too well, so the countries Central Africa extremely unevenly populated.

History and modern stage development

The colonization of the region began in the 16th century, but at first it affected only the coastal areas. Despite the abundance of minerals (diamonds, iron ore, oil, copper, tin) Central Africa was developed very slowly due to high mortality European settlers. Besides local tribes actively fought against the invaders. The conquest of the Central African Republic was completed only in 1903, with half of the indigenous population killed in a number of areas.

Your independence Central African countries achieved in the 70s of the XX century, but most of them are still experiencing strong influence from the former metropolitans. The standard of living, including medicine and healthcare, is extremely low. Holding economic reforms slows down political instability in the region, frequent civil wars and border conflicts.

The main part of the revenues received by the state budget comes from raw material exports, although in recent times many countries have begun construction or modernization of processing plants. In addition to minerals, valuable timber, rubber, cotton, fruits (primarily bananas), peanuts, cocoa beans and coffee are supplied to the world market.

List of Central African countries

The article contains background information about the Central African region. Gives an idea of ​​the level economic development. Forms a picture of the prospects that are possible in Central Africa.

Central Africa

Central Africa is located in the western part of the continent and lies in the equatorial and subequatorial climatic zones.

In the West, equatorial Africa adjoins Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea. In the northern part is the Azande plateau. In the west, the highlands of southern Guinea can be observed. In the southern region lies the Lunda Plateau and the Angolan Plateau, which continues it. From the east, the region borders on a branch of the Western Rift of the East African system.

Rice. 1. Region on the map of the mainland.

The area of ​​the central African region is 7.3 million square meters. km. The population is approaching 100 million people.

The region is the "heart" of the mainland. It is also a major mineral resource "storage" of the world.

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In this area, the well-known "copper belt" is located. It passes through the southeast of Zaire and the Zambian region. In addition to copper, there are also cobalt, lead, zinc ore deposits.

In the expanses of the Equatorial part of the black continent, iron ore reserves, deposits of tin, uranium and diamonds are concentrated.

Recently, recently discovered oil fields in the territory of the Congo have been actively developed.

In this region, as almost everywhere else on the mainland, the economy is in a state of decline. Only Zaire and Zambia had non-ferrous metallurgy.

Rice. 2. Modern industry.

Economic reforms are hampered by unstable political situation in the region. Armed civil conflicts are not uncommon here.

During the years of sovereignty of the region, the entire cycle of production was created, from ore mining to the subsequent smelting of metals High Quality. Significant importance is given to the harvesting of tropical timber for export.

Rice. 3. Civil conflicts

The agricultural sector is focused mainly on the production of coffee and cocoa, tea and tobacco, as well as rubber and cotton.

Central African countries

Among the states of this macro-region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is a large and densely populated one.

List of states in the region:

• Cameroon;
• Gabon;
• Congo;
• Zaire;
• Angola;
• Central African Republic;
• Equatorial Guinea;
• Sao Tome;
• Principe.

What have we learned?

We learned which countries belong to equatorial Africa. The causes of weak and unstable economic development have been established. met with historical facts which had an impact on the standard of living in the region. Found out when countries central region gained independence.

The region is second in area only to North Africa. It accounts for about 1/4 of the mainland, nine countries are located here, in particular Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Cameroon, Congo, the Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, etc. The states of the region border on all African regions and are located in the center of the mainland.

The region is located in equatorial and subequatorial latitudes, covers a large flat basin of the Congo, which adjoins the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea in the west. The territory is mostly flat, only the Cameroon mountain range rises to a height of more than 4000 m. The Nadras of the region have not been studied enough. The most famous is the "Copper Belt" (DRK), in which, in addition to copper, cobalt, lead, and zinc are also of industrial importance. The DRC is one of the world's leading miners and exporters of diamonds, as well as gold, platinum, and uranium. Near the equator, an equatorial climate reigns with constant humid air and autumn and spring rainfall maxima. On both sides of the equator there is a subequatorial climate zone with rainy summers and dry winters. The equatorial regions, especially the Congo Basin, have the densest network deep rivers in Africa, the largest of which is the Congo (Zaire). The rivers are rapids, with significant hydropower potential. Huge spaces The region is swampy.

Africa map

As elsewhere in Africa, the region is characterized by a very high natural increase population, low life expectancy and extremely high infant mortality. A large part of the population belongs to negroid race, there are a lot of mestizos here. Ethnic composition inhabitants of the region are extremely motley, they belong to negroid peoples speaking Bantu languages. Pygmies are widely represented. State languages of all countries of the region, the languages ​​of the former metropolitan countries: French, Portuguese, Spanish. Sparsely populated northern and southern regions bordering deserts, and especially the center of the region, is covered equatorial forest. The level of urbanization is low, although there are some areas with a significant concentration of cities and towns, such as the "copper belt" in the DRC. The millionaire cities are Kinshasa (10.1 million people), Luanda (1.8 million), Brazzaville (1.2 million) and others.

The countries of the region differ greatly in terms of economic development. However, traditional occupations - agriculture) and cattle breeding remain the main source of livelihood for 80% of the total population. The countries of the region are represented in the ICPP by the extractive industries (oil, copper, manganese, extraction of rare earth metals, diamonds). Of the agricultural sectors, the export direction is the cultivation of oil palm, cotton, cocoa, bananas, sisal, coffee, rubber plants. Great importance has the harvesting and export of tropical timber (mat. 208), since Central Africa has the largest on the mainland forest resources. Traditional crafts (black and mahogany and bone carving, leather processing, basket weaving) are preserved everywhere.

Until now, there is no consensus on the origin of the name Africa. Initially, the inhabitants of Ancient Carthage called the word "Afri" people who lived near the city. This name is usually attributed to the Phoenician afar, which means "dust". When Carthage became a Roman province, the Romans kept the word and added the suffix "ka" which meant "country" or "land". Later they began to call Africa everything famous regions this continent, and then the continent itself. Another theory is that the name of the people "Afri" comes from the Berber ifri, "cave", referring to the cave dwellers. According to other thoughts, the word "Africa" ​​comes from ancient language Ta-Kem (Egypt), according to which "Afros" is a foamy country. This was explained by the collision of several currents that form foam when they approach the continent in the Mediterranean Sea.

Beautiful and vibrant Africa is the second largest continent in the world. More than 1 billion people live in its open spaces. And its lands are conditionally divided into 5 regions. Traditionally, the countries of Africa, the list of which consists of 62 items, belong to the following regions:

• South.
• Western.
• Northern.
• East.
• And Central.

This division is due to different geographical and climatic conditions, differences in cultures and forms of government of states.

There are dependent and independent territories in Africa. There are 37 countries with access to the seas and oceans. Present (10 units). And 16 countries located in the interior of the continent.

African countries: list of states of the southern region

South Africa keeps memories of the colonization period in its memory. On its territory, it was developed nuclear weapon which the government then abandoned. It includes countries such as:

• Zimbabwe;
• Mozambique;
• Comoros;
• Seychelles;
• Mauritius Island;
• Reunion;
• Madagascar;
• Lesotho;
• Botswana;
• Swaziland;
• Namibia.

The most big country on this earth Republic of South Africa(SOUTH AFRICA). Almost the entire population of the Southern Region lives and works there. There are 11 official languages ​​in this territory. The ethnic composition of South Africa is diverse group from numerous religious communities.

proximity to the Atlantic and indian ocean do South Africa attractive for tourism. In the southern part of the continent all year round warm and humid. But the climate is temperate, so the heat is tolerated quite easily.

African countries: list of states of the Western region

Wet and windy climate West Africa directly depends on capricious trade winds. This territory consists of the following countries:

• Sierra Leone;
• Senegal;
• Benin;
• Burkina Faso;
• Gambia;
• Ghana;
• Togo;
• Guinea;
• Guinea-Bissau;
• Cape Verde;
• Cameroon;
• Mauritania;
• Nigeria;
• Niger;
• Mali;
• Liberia;
• Ivory Coast;
• Saint Helena.

The Western Region is home to many African languages. Even today oral folklore is valued on its territory. And ceremonial dances are included in the program of every significant holiday.

The Cameroon Mountains are the natural boundary of this land in the east. In the south of the region itself, the legendary Sahara desert begins. And in the west, the natural boundary forms the Atlantic Ocean.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria a few years ago received the status of the largest oil producer. Most of the population speaks several dialects at once. 527 languages ​​are officially recognized in this country. Among them there are 11 "dead" dialects, English and several other languages ​​​​of the local ethnic group are taught in state schools.

Abuja is the Nigerian capital, chosen by the government as the most ethnically neutral place. Western region. After the completion of the main stages of construction in 1976, Abuja received the status of the main city of Nigeria instead of the overcrowded Logos.

African countries: list of states of the Northern region

significant portion Northern region occupied by the sands of the Sahara desert. Bordered by an endless sandy sea major states throughout the African continent:

• Sudan;
• Tunisia;
• Algeria;
• Morocco;
• Libya;
• SADR;
• Egypt.

mediterranean natural area considered very comfortable to live in. Therefore, there are large tourist sites of the African continent, which are known throughout the world.

The economy of this region is in more good condition than in other parts of Africa. The proximity of Europe affects not only the development of the region, but also its cultural heritage.

Tunisia is the country with the most competitive economy of all African countries. About 10 million people live in Tunisia, most of of which speaks Arabic. Almost the entire population northern state professes Islam. The Mediterranean climate makes Tunisia an important tourism sector. The culture of the country contains a wide variety of trends that are organically woven into everyday life Tunisian people.

African countries: list of countries in the Eastern region

East of the mysterious Nile there are several countries that make up Eastern region. Among them are such states as:

• Ethiopia;
• Eritrea;
• Uganda;
• Tanzania;
• Somalia;
• Mayotte;
• Kenya;
• Djibouti;
• Zambia;
• Comoros;
• Malawi.

The climate of East Africa is arid central regions. But on the coast, it quickly changes to tropical. Former colonists set the borders of states rather arbitrarily. Due to the fact that cultural and religious directions were not taken into account, the development of the Eastern region is taking place at a very slow pace.

Kenya is not only a favorite place for tourists, but also a place that has amazing flora and fauna. In Kenya, there is a large number of reserves that are protected international organization UNESCO.

In Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, people speak English and the local language, Swahili. For a long time given country was a British colony.

African countries: list of states of the Central region

In the heart of Africa are the following states:

• Angola;
• Congo;
• Sao Tome;
• Equatorial Guinea.

These countries are endowed with a subequatorial climate. Thanks to extensive river system it is there that you can see endless forests consisting of evergreen and deciduous trees.

The Republic of the Congo is extremely rich in minerals. This circumstance several centuries ago contributed to the emergence of the African "gold" rush in the country.

The capital of the country unusual name Brazzaville is quite developed in terms of education. The literacy rate of the population there reaches 82%. The economy of the state is based on oil production and agriculture. The cultural sector is represented folk art. The trend of contemporary art is also well developed.

All African countries listed above are considered officially recognized states. Meanwhile, many territories of the African continent have recently embarked on the path international recognition and so far they are not real states. But still they have conventions borders on some maps.

Anthropologists call Africa the cradle of civilization. According to research, human culture first appeared there. Paradoxically, in the place of origin of all living things, there are still corners where no human foot has set foot. Out of 29 million square meters only a small part is inhabited by people. The rest of the space is deserts and tropical forests. African fauna is unique. this continent is not found anywhere else.

Exploring the countries of Africa, the list of which is so diverse, it is difficult to imagine that the Sahara Desert covers an area larger than the entire territory of the United States. Also on the territory of the continent, half of all the gold in the world is mined. And the name of this part of the world comes from one of the most ancient tribes "Afri".