West Africa. North Africa and Southwest Asia: a commonality of two regions. North African PGP Practice 5 table comparison of African sub-regions

13.02.2021

93. Division of Africa into sub-regions

As already mentioned, Africa forms the largest in terms of territory geographic region planets. Therefore, it is quite natural to strive to subdivide it into separate large parts. In its most generalized form, this usually leads to the isolation Northern And Tropical Africa(or sub-Saharan Africa). There are quite sharp natural, historical, ethnic, and socio-economic differences between these two parts. Especially when you consider that Tropical Africa is the most backward region of the entire developing world, in which even today the share of agriculture in the formation of GDP exceeds the share of industrial production. Of the 47 least developed countries in the world, 28 are in Tropical Africa. Here - largest number countries (15) landlocked. A kind of modification of this two-term division is the three-term subdivision of Africa into northern, tropical And South which, apparently, should be considered more correct.

As for the actual regionalization, i.e. subdivisions of Africa into separate rather large sub-regions (macro-regions), then its five-member division is actually generally accepted - into North, West, Central, East and South. At the same time, each of the five subregions has specific features of nature, population and economy.

North Africa goes to the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and this contributed to its long-standing ties with Europe and Asia Minor. It is located for the most part in subtropical latitudes, which determines the specialization of its agriculture in the production of cotton, olives, citrus fruits, and grapes. Industry is associated with both the extraction of mineral raw materials and their processing. North Africa is inhabited mainly by Arabic-speaking peoples, who have rich traditions in crafts, irrigated agriculture, nomadic animal husbandry, and an original culture. Sometimes North Africa is also called the Maghreb, but this is not entirely accurate.

West Africa covers the zones of tropical deserts, savannas, equatorial rainforests, located between the Sahara desert and the Gulf of Guinea. It is one of the largest sub-regions of the continent in area and the largest in terms of population, with an extraordinary variety of natural conditions; the ethnic composition of its population is also the most complex. In the past, it was the main region of the slave trade. The modern "face" of the subregion is determined both by agriculture, which is represented by the production of plantation cash crops and consumer crops, and by a fairly developed industry, primarily mining.

Central Africa, as its name itself shows, it occupies the central (equatorial) part of the mainland. It is located in the zones of humid equatorial forests and savannas, which largely predetermined its economic development. It is one of the richest mineral resources not only in Africa, but throughout the world. Unlike West Africa, it has a homogeneous ethnic composition of the population, 9/10 of which are Bantu peoples related to each other.

East Africa located in subequatorial and tropical climate zones. It has access to the Indian Ocean and has long maintained trade relations with India and the Arab countries. Its mineral wealth is less significant, but the general diversity natural resources very large, which largely predetermines the variety of types of their economic use. Ethnic composition The population is also highly mosaic.

South Africa occupies the southern part of the continent, the furthest from Europe, America and Asia, but on the other hand, leading to that important world sea route that goes around the southern tip of Africa. It is located in the tropical and subtropical latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere and also has a wide range of natural resources, among which minerals stand out in particular. The main "core" of South Africa forms the Republic of South Africa - the only economically developed country on the continent with a significant population of European origin. The vast majority of the population of the subregion are Bantu peoples.

Rice. 143. Subregions of Africa (according to Yu. D. Dmitrevsky)

Approximately such a scheme of regionalization was adhered to and adhered to by the majority of domestic African geographers: M. S. Rozin, M. B. Gornung, Yu. D. Dmitrevsky, Yu. G. Lipets, A. S. Fetisov and others. individual sub-regions between them is by no means complete unity.

Exploring the mineral wealth of Africa, M. S. Rozin in the early 1970s. traditionally considered North Africa as part of five countries, but included Zambia, closely connected with Zaire in terms of minerals and raw materials, in Central Africa, and Mozambique in eastern Africa. In the mid 1970s. in his monograph on Africa, Yu. D. Dmitrevsky singled out not even five, but six macro-regions, which are distinguished by significant internal homogeneity (Fig. 143). It is easy to see that he singled out the East African island region as the sixth macroregion. As for the macro-regions on the mainland, attention is drawn to the strong "cutting" of the Central sub-region, as well as the inclusion of Egypt in the North-East and Angola in South Africa. In the early 1980s M. B. Gornung proposed a zoning grid in which Sudan, Western Sahara and Mauritania - which can be justified primarily from ethnographic positions - were included in the North Africa, which has thus been turned into the largest sub-region in terms of area. East Africa was greatly reduced in size, but included Zambia. In the mid 1980s. geographers of Moscow State University proposed their own version of zoning, which differed from the previous one in such significant details as the inclusion of not only Zambia, but also Zimbabwe and Mozambique in East Africa, and Mauritania in West Africa. Some of these regionalization grids have found application in educational literature, primarily in textbooks for universities and pedagogical universities, as well as in popular science publications, for example, in the 20-volume geographic and ethnographic series “Countries and Peoples”.

Rice. 144. Sub-regions of Africa allocated Economic Commission UN for Africa

Such discrepancies in the regionalization of Africa can be considered to some extent natural. At the same time, they are explained not so much by differences in the goals of individual scientists, but by the general insufficient development of scientific approaches to such regionalization. It also follows from a particularly complex combination of various natural resource, historical, ethnic, socio-economic, geopolitical factors in Africa. It should also be taken into account that the process of forming integral economic regions is still in its early stages.

Table 49

SUBREGIONS OF AFRICA

* Including SADR.

IN Lately Russian African geographers in their research are increasingly using the scheme of macroeconomic zoning of Africa, which is now adopted by the UN, more precisely, by its Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). This scheme is also five-membered and covers the same five regions (Fig. 144). For their development, ECA has established five regional centers in Africa: for North Africa in Morocco, for West Africa in Niger, for Central Africa in Cameroon, for East Africa in Zambia and Rwanda. As can be seen from Figure 144, the UN distribution of countries among the five sub-regions is quite different from the patterns discussed above. It is on the basis of ECA macro-zoning that Table 49 was compiled.

The material gives an idea of the sub-regions of Africa. Characterizes them in relation to economic activity and level economic development. Forms a general picture of the standard of living of the population in various parts of the African continent.

Sub-regions of Africa

The economic zoning of the black continent has not been fully formed. Africa is usually divided into two large natural, cultural and historical sub-regions:

North Africa;
Tropical Africa.

As part of Tropical Africa, in turn, there are:

Western;
Central;
Eastern;
South (excluding South Africa).

In the MGRT, South Africa is positioned mainly in the mining industry and certain segments of the manufacturing industry.

Table "Sub-regions of Africa"

Rice. 1. Sub-regions of North Africa.

North Africa includes a territory whose area is close to 10 million square meters. km., and total number population is 194 million people.

The states located on this territory are characterized by the greatest orientation in the field of the division of labor on an international scale. The population of the region is concentrated in the coastal zone, as well as its economic activity.
Sub-Saharan Africa is part of Tropical Africa. Within the territory, the subregion is divided into Western, Central, Eastern and Southern parts. The main population of the countries located in these territories is classified as the Negroid race.

What have we learned?

We learned where the largest industrial region in Africa is located. We found out which of the megacities of the continent took over the function of the economic capital. We found out which of the subregions is recognized as the most backward from an economic point of view. Established the number of states that belong to the least developed countries in the world. Supplemented existing knowledge on the subject of geography (Grade 11).

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Historically, Africa has been divided into two natural sub-regions: Tropical Africa and North Africa. But Tropical Africa still separately includes Central, Western, Eastern and Southern Africa.

North Africa: characteristics and features

This region is adjacent to Southwest Asia and Southern Europe and covers an area of about 10 million km2. North Africa has access to sea routes from Europe to Asia, and part of this region forms the sparsely populated expanses of the Sahara desert.

In the past, this region formed the ancient Egyptian civilization, and now North Africa is called Arab. This is due to the fact that most of the population speak Arabic and the main religion of the region is Islam.

The cities of North Africa are subdivided into two parts: the old part of the city is located on a hill and surrounded by protective walls, and the new part of the city is modern and stylish buildings.

North Africa is the center of the manufacturing industry, especially its coastal strip. Therefore, almost the entire population of this part of Africa lives here. Also North Africa is a region of subtropical agriculture.

Tropical Africa: characteristics of a backward region

This region is called "black Africa", as the bulk of the population belongs to the Negroid race. The ethnic composition of Tropical Africa is diverse, the population of South and Central Africa speaks closely related languages, but still they differ from each other. Swahili is the most widely spoken language.

The population of Tropical Africa is 650 million people, and the area is 20 million km2. This region is recognized as the most backward from the developing world, as it contains 29 countries that are considered the least developed in the world. .

This is due to the fact that the main industry is agriculture, which does not contribute to the development of such a large area and population of the region. It is noteworthy that the soil is cultivated in the absence of a plow, and agricultural activities are carried out by women and children.

Animal husbandry is not very developed, but there are regions in which hunting and fishing are practiced, mainly equatorial forests. Most of the population of Tropical Africa lives in rural areas, as people work either on plantations or on farms.

The life of the population is connected with subsistence farming, which is the basis of their life. In addition to Christianity and Islam in Tropical Africa, traditional beliefs are developed - belief in the spirits of nature, fetishism and the cult of ancestors. This region of Africa is called the least industrialized and least urbanized.

Only eight countries have millionaire cities: Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Luanda in Angola, Dakar in Senegal and Nairobi in Kenya. This region is characterized by deterioration environment desertification, depletion of flora and fauna and deforestation occur.

In one of the desert regions of Tropical Africa, the "Sahel tragedy" occurred - due to the lack of precipitation for ten years, the Sahel became a scorched earth zone. Since 1974, droughts began to recur, subsequently killing millions of people and reducing the number of livestock.

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 maximum amount 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 civilization ancient egypt who 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 division into old and 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 states 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 development 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 of interest to us is a rather extensive topic, so we will limit ourselves to them. 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. natural conditions here they 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. Indigenous people According to the language, it is divided 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.

Agriculture plays a leading role in the creation of GDP in this subregion, as well as the mining 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, oil. The sub-region has a good hydropower potential. In addition, significant reserves forest resources are 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 basis 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.

It is divided into two parts: North Africa and Tropical Africa.

First, in your own way geographic location it no longer belongs to Tropical Africa.

Secondly, in terms of socio-economic development, it does not apply to. This is a country of “settlement capitalism”. It accounts for: 5.5% of the territory, 7% but 2/3 of its GDP, more than 50% of the manufacturing industry and the car park.

In Africa, the largest industrial region of the Witwatersrand has formed with a center in, which plays the role of the "economic capital" of the country.

In the MGRT, the face of South Africa is represented by the mining industry (gold, platinum, diamonds, uranium, iron, manganese ore, coal), some manufacturing industries (, as well as the production of certain types of agricultural products (cereals, subtropical crops, fine-wool sheep breeding, cattle cattle).

South Africa has the most dense transport network on the continent, large seaports.

However, the effects of the apartheid policy are still being felt in the country's economy. There are big differences between "whites" on one side and "blacks" and "coloreds" on the other. Therefore, South Africa is often called a country with a dual economy. It has features of economically developed and developing states.

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