Introduction

In the early 21st century, Africa is widely perceived as being the world’s poorest continent, with a seemingly endless agenda of development priorities. Africa’s rapid population growth rates, the world’s highest and averaging 2.45 per cent annually, will lead to an estimated total population of 1,688 billion in 2030, a fifth of the world’s population, and larger than either China or India. In terms of the quality of life in Africa as reflected in levels of happiness, 16 of the world’s lowest ranking countries between 2018 and 2020 were in Africa, with Lesotho, Botswana, Rwanda and Zimbabwe among the bottom 5, together with Afghanistan. In the post-independence period, African countries suffered greatly in the 1970s with the knock-on effects of the oil price rise in 1974–1975 and the subsequent world recession and associated debt crisis. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.

Geography · African history and culture studies

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  Open Access•Stephen R Hurt•Journal of Contemporary European…•2020

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