Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 13, 2004

African countries on the UNDP's list of countries by quality of life (Darker is better)

The economy of Africa comprises more than 800 million people in fifty-four different nations. Africa's economy is emerging from the after-effects of colonialism and it struggles with difficult democratic, welfare and quality of life issues. Africa is by far the world's poorest continent, and more saliently it is on average poorer than it was twenty-five years ago. While rapid growth in China and now India, and moderate growth in South America, has lifted millions beyond subsistence living, Africa has stagnated, even going backwards in terms of foreign trade, investment, and per capita income. This poverty has widespread effects, including low life expectancy, violence, and instability—factors that further increase the continent's poverty. Over the decades a number of solutions have been proposed and many attempted, but no improvement scheme has shown much success. (more...)

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