African Nations

Some African Nations

Sudan • Largest African nation in land area

• Part grassland, part desert • Nile River • Could be Africa’s “breadbasket”

• Continuing Black (south) vs. Moslem (north) civil war • Genocide in Darfur

Destroyed villages

• Food problems, refugees in camps • Population 40 million

Nigeria • Largest African nation in population - 140 million

• Oil rich, but politically unstable • 250 tribes -- biggest are Ibo, Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani l i

• Great economic potential

Ethiopia

• 75 million people, 70 languages • Long civil war ended in 1991, now has 9 i d independent d regional i l provinces

• Never colonized, Jewish and Christian religious roots

• Great famine in the 1980’s

• One of the world’s poorest countries

Somalia • “Horn of Africa”

• Longtime dictator left in 1990 and country collapsed into civil between tribes and ethnic groups gro ps

• President Clinton sent US troops to help, but they left without accomplishing much

• Economy collapsed and a widespread famine killed 300,000 in 1991-1992

• With aid, slowly recovering

Mozambique • Former Portuguese colony • 21 million people

• Civil war ended in 1992 after great famine • One of world’s five poorest countries i

Weapons become peace sculptures

Rwanda • 10 million people, most densely populated in Africa

• Bloody civil war in mid-1990’s between Hutu (farming) and Tutsi (cattle herding) ethnic groups gro ps

• Genocide -- first Hutus killing Tutsis, then reversed

• Many refugees have fled, afraid to return

• Known in peaceful times for coffee and mountain gorillas

Congo formerly Zaire, Congo, Zaire formerly Belgian Congo • Land along the Zaire River system

Belgian Congo

Zaire

• Held together for 30 years by President Mobutu

• Mobutu was away due to illness and a civil war broke out • New unstable government resulted l d

• Many ethnic groups, plus refugees from Rwanda, both Hutus and Tutsis • Population l i 65 million illi

Sierra Leone • Small country in West Africa, once a leading slave producer • Population 5 million

• Bloody civil war through the 1990’s fought by child soldiers

• Army financed by selling mined diamonds (“blood diamonds”)

• Rebels amputated hands of villagers, young and old, to keep them from fighting back

• After the war, a new government was elected