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what are the changes that are taking place that will allow Africa to be an economic power in twenty years?

by ishjoh 8y ago

StreamBright 8y ago
For example building roads and infrastructure for everyone instead of building oil rigs for few? https://qz.com/africa/1326618/china-is-building-expensive-roads-in-uganda/ https://qz.com/africa/1326618/china-is-building-expensive-ro... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18973637 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18973637
beat 8y ago
"Africa" isn't one place, but rather a collection of dozens of countries. But in general, most of them are on the aggressive-growth path that leads from agrarian/illiterate poverty to urban/literate middle class over the course of 2-3 generations, just like Asian and European countries before them. Many African nations are growing economically at rates north of 5% annually, far faster than any "first world" nation. Colonialism has been replaced by international trade, which expects nations to hold up their end of business. That means businesses want - need - workers who can read and do arithmetic, who are reasonably healthy, have access to transportation and personal communication (phones, internet). They need roads, clean water, good airports, stable local currencies, effective legal systems, all sorts of things that the old colonial system did not require. Provide schools, roads, vaccinations, clean water, and good currency, and it affects everyone. Things get much better very quickly. This happened in America, too. Hell, both my grandfathers were illiterate. One didn't even have running water or electricity on his farm, when I was a small child and he was an old man. It wasn't weird then.
- qnsi 8y ago
  Ireland grew 4.1% in 2018. 26 out of 54 African countries had higher growth in 2017. Africa had an average growth of 4.34%, but Libia had 55% growth. Without Libia, average growth was 3,38%. This says little about the overall state, one should examine more years, also I am comparing 2018 to 2017 but I am too lazy. Bearish on Africa
  - beat 8y ago
    I'm looking at ten year averages from Global Finance magazine. Over ten years, Ireland is at 3.3%, and even that makes it an outlier among western nations (it's the highest ranked European country). By comparison, the US is at 1.4%, and most of Europe is around 1%. Libya is at -9.4% over the decade, largely due to the civil war there. Much of Africa is over 5% average for the decade (Kenya is 5%). Except for a few failed states like Libya and South Sudan, almost every country in Africa is above 2.5% growth over the past decade. I'm really bullish on Africa. The numbers support it.
  - sanxiyn 8y ago
    Ethiopia grew ~10% per year for >10 years. Very bullish on Ethiopia. Yes, I am agnostic about "Africa", that's too big a unit.
elsonrodriguez 8y ago
Chinese outsourcing of labor to many African countries.
Balgair 8y ago
The late Hans Rosling's Factfullness is good for many reasons, but it also espouses Africa's coming demographic and economic explosion. I'm skeptical as well on the 2040 date, but the 2099 date has Africa becoming a major player in world affairs. Changes are already taking place at incredible rates for western minds. Let's do a quick quiz for readers to introspect about their current views on the 'dark' continent: 1) How fast is the bullet train from Nairobi to Mombasa? 2) How much hydro-electric power does Guinea sell to it's neighbors? 3) How many riders/day does the light-rail serve in Addis Ababa? 4) In terms of current-day 'Californias', how many people will live in the city of Dar Es Salaam by 2099? 5) Where is the Great Wall of Nigeria? Hint: It's not dry.

what are the changes that are taking place that will allow Africa to be an economic power in twenty years?

by ishjoh 8y ago

what are the changes that are taking place that will allow Africa to be an economic power in twenty years?

For example building roads and infrastructure for everyone instead of building oil rigs for few? https://qz.com/africa/1326618/china-is-building-expensive-roads-in-uganda/ https://qz.com/africa/1326618/china-is-building-expensive-ro... https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18973637 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-18973637

beat 8y ago

"Africa" isn't one place, but rather a collection of dozens of countries. But in general, most of them are on the aggressive-growth path that leads from agrarian/illiterate poverty to urban/literate middle class over the course of 2-3 generations, just like Asian and European countries before them. Many African nations are growing economically at rates north of 5% annually, far faster than any "first world" nation. Colonialism has been replaced by international trade, which expects nations to hold up their end of business. That means businesses want - need - workers who can read and do arithmetic, who are reasonably healthy, have access to transportation and personal communication (phones, internet). They need roads, clean water, good airports, stable local currencies, effective legal systems, all sorts of things that the old colonial system did not require. Provide schools, roads, vaccinations, clean water, and good currency, and it affects everyone. Things get much better very quickly. This happened in America, too. Hell, both my grandfathers were illiterate. One didn't even have running water or electricity on his farm, when I was a small child and he was an old man. It wasn't weird then.

qnsi 8y ago
Ireland grew 4.1% in 2018. 26 out of 54 African countries had higher growth in 2017. Africa had an average growth of 4.34%, but Libia had 55% growth. Without Libia, average growth was 3,38%. This says little about the overall state, one should examine more years, also I am comparing 2018 to 2017 but I am too lazy. Bearish on Africa
- beat 8y ago
  I'm looking at ten year averages from Global Finance magazine. Over ten years, Ireland is at 3.3%, and even that makes it an outlier among western nations (it's the highest ranked European country). By comparison, the US is at 1.4%, and most of Europe is around 1%. Libya is at -9.4% over the decade, largely due to the civil war there. Much of Africa is over 5% average for the decade (Kenya is 5%). Except for a few failed states like Libya and South Sudan, almost every country in Africa is above 2.5% growth over the past decade. I'm really bullish on Africa. The numbers support it.
- sanxiyn 8y ago
  Ethiopia grew ~10% per year for >10 years. Very bullish on Ethiopia. Yes, I am agnostic about "Africa", that's too big a unit.

elsonrodriguez 8y ago

Chinese outsourcing of labor to many African countries.

Balgair 8y ago

The late Hans Rosling's Factfullness is good for many reasons, but it also espouses Africa's coming demographic and economic explosion. I'm skeptical as well on the 2040 date, but the 2099 date has Africa becoming a major player in world affairs. Changes are already taking place at incredible rates for western minds. Let's do a quick quiz for readers to introspect about their current views on the 'dark' continent: 1) How fast is the bullet train from Nairobi to Mombasa? 2) How much hydro-electric power does Guinea sell to it's neighbors? 3) How many riders/day does the light-rail serve in Addis Ababa? 4) In terms of current-day 'Californias', how many people will live in the city of Dar Es Salaam by 2099? 5) Where is the Great Wall of Nigeria? Hint: It's not dry.