Central Africa from A to Z. Population, countries, cities and resorts of Central Africa. Map, photo and video, descriptions and reviews of tourists.
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The very center of the African continent, with one edge stretching to the equator, and with the other spreading along the waters of the Atlantic, Central Africa is the land of savannahs and plateaus, heat and humidity, waterfalls and volcanoes. The region includes nine countries and one overseas territory (where British citizens can easily go without visas and formalities - almost like a suburban Moscow ... or rather, a suburban dacha). A tourist has never set foot on most of the Central African land, occasionally the local population steps in and the hooves, paws and legs of numerous inhabitants of the animal world regularly step.
As for the tourist destiny of Central Africa, so far it cannot be recognized as outstanding. There are several reasons for this: the climate is not very suitable for voyages of pale-faced people pampered by civilization - constant high temperatures and high humidity throughout the year, as well as a large number of wetlands inhabited not only by toothy cold-blooded animals (they can still be avoided), but also all sorts of bad blood-sucking, such as tsetse flies - you can’t get away from these (so don’t forget about insurance). Add to this a long and expensive flight with a transfer, which takes at least 12 hours.
But animal diversity beats all records - only to enjoy it, you have to become like Gerald Durrell or Nikolai Drozdov, that is, endure all the hardships of the surrounding reality with the fortitude of a born naturalist.
The main objects of tourist interest in Central Africa are natural attractions. Consider there is no historical “excursion” here: the founders of the African empires of the past (such as, for example, Mali or Ghana), as well as more modern European sovereigns, considered it unreasonable to build cities in the tropical jungle - it would be too difficult to get to them through the swamps . Among the wonders of nature that attract tourists to the countries of the region, it is worth mentioning the Congo River basin, whose emerald exotic expanses are home to a good half of the African beast, the “four-thousander” volcano Cameroon, which belched out a huge amount of lava and ash just 10 years ago, Lake Chad is one from the great lakes of Africa and many national parks and reserves.
Sao Tome and Principe
Standing apart among the countries of Central Africa is the island state of Sao Tome and Principe, located 360 km from the continent, in the Gulf of Guinea. There are no swamps and marshes here, but there is a breathtakingly beautiful nature of volcanic islands, picturesque towns with many buildings of the Portuguese colonial buildings, ancient forts and mansions of European nobility, as well as absolutely ridiculous prices. It is also the best place to see the baobabs and feel like a planter, walking in a pith helmet through the cocoa fields. Of the items of "souvenir" interest, authentic ritual masks, musical instruments, figurines - everything carved from wood, as well as pretty ceramics in the spirit of African primitivism deserve attention.
The black continent is usually divided into five historical and geographical regions. One of them is Central Africa. What states are included in it? And how developed are they economically? This will be discussed in the article.
Brief geographical description of Central Africa
This region is located in the heart of the mainland, in its inner continental part. In terms of mineral resources, this is one of the richest parts of the planet. However, the colonialists at one time only “squeezed out” the local wealth, leaving behind backward and failed economies.
Central Africa is a region that is distinguished by a flat, slightly dissected relief. In the depression of the Congo there are channels of full-flowing rivers - the Congo, Ogove, Kwanza and others of the same name. The subsoil of the region contains copper, zinc, cobalt and other ores of valuable metals, as well as diamonds. Not deprived of Central Africa and deposits of "black gold" - oil.
Within Central Africa you can see a wide variety of natural areas- savannas with herds of wild animals, dense mangroves, beautiful gallery forests Very large areas of the region are swampy.
Central Africa: composition of the region
As a rule, 12 independent states of Africa are included in this historical and geographical region. This:
- Cameroon;
- CAR (Central African Republic);
- Equatorial Guinea;
- Gabon;
- Congo;
- Democratic;
- Rwanda;
- Burundi;
- Angola;
- Zambia;
- Malawi.
Some of these countries are very small (like Rwanda), while others have huge areas (Chad, Angola). All of them are shown on the map below in color.
Some geographers also include the island of St. Helena, located in the waters of the Atlantic, in Central Africa.
Population and religions
The population of Central Africa is dozens of different ethnic groups, each of which is distinguished by its culture, traditions and beliefs. The most common of these are the Yoruba, Bantu, Hausa and Athara peoples. Information about the history of these and other ethnic groups in the central part of the continent is very scarce.
Almost all the numerical and small peoples of Central Africa belong to and are distinguished by black skin, dark eyes, very wide nostrils and curly hair. In the Congo River basin, there are representatives of an amazing anthropological type - the so-called pygmies, whose average height barely reaches 142-145 centimeters.
The peoples of Central Africa have experienced many unpleasant moments in their history. These are centuries of colonization, and times of the slave trade, and military upheavals. Local traditional beliefs and rituals are still common in the region. Religions such as Islam or Christianity are also practiced here.
Features of the regional economy
The European colonialists left in Central Africa, to put it mildly, not a very good legacy - about a dozen backward and underdeveloped economies. Only in two states of the region it was possible to create full-fledged production facilities for the smelting of high-quality non-ferrous metals. These are DR Congo and Zambia. In many countries, timber is harvested in large volumes, which is ideal for export (Gabon, and others).
Agriculture the region is predominantly low-tech and unproductive. Cocoa, coffee, tobacco, rubber, cotton and bananas are actively grown here.
One of the most developed (in industrial terms) country in the region can be called Gabon. The state lives by developing rather rich deposits of oil and manganese ores, as well as by exporting timber. Gabon - the most urbanized. Almost 75% of the population lives here in cities. There are three international airports in Gabon, and several major ports operate.
An interesting country in the region is the Central African Republic - a sparsely populated state that does not have access to the oceans. Only 600 thousand people live here (for comparison: this is the population of the city of Khabarovsk). The main wealth of this country is large deposits of diamonds, which account for almost half of all exports of the Central African Republic. There is no one in the republic railway. But tourists often come here thanks to several world-famous natural parks.
The geographical area extending in the western part of Africa in the equatorial and subequatorial strip includes the huge Congo depression, in the west it is adjacent to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea, in the north it includes the Azande plateau, in the south - the Lunda plateau and the plateaus of Angola continuing it.
Almost all Central African countries state language is French. It is not surprising, because they were under French rule for a long time. In addition, the languages of the most common nationalities are also in use, such as: Bantu, Fang, Teke, Kongo, Hausa and Masa. The economy rests not only on the rich subsoil of these lands and agriculture, but also on the export of timber.
There are thousands and thousands of animal species in Central Africa. Reptiles, mammals, birds. National parks: Virunga, Upemba, Garamba, Zakuma and Manza are considered one of the best reserves in the world in terms of the richness of flora and fauna.
A hot, humid climate is typical, and this region is also called the country of rivers. The largest river in the region is the Congo. The weather has its own characteristics, there are two main cycles: the so-called dry season and the rainy season, which replace each other every few months. Moreover, if you follow from north to south, the climatic conditions change markedly.
Ethnic composition of the population
The ethnic composition of the modern population of Africa is very complex. The continent is inhabited by several hundred large and small ethnic groups, 107 of which number more than 1 million people each, and 24 exceed 5 million people. The largest of them are: Egyptian, Algerian, Moroccan, Sudanese Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Fulbe, Igbo, Amhara.
Population placement
The average population density of the continent is low - about 30 people/km/sq. the distribution of the population is influenced not only by natural conditions, but also by historical factors, primarily the consequences of the slave trade and colonial domination.
Nature
The Congo depression has a flat, swampy bottom at an altitude of 300-500 m. The highest mountains are Adamawa in Cameroon (up to 3008 m) and the Cameroon volcanic massif (up to 4070 m). However, in general, Central Africa is characterized by a calm relief, without much fluctuation.
Equatorial Africa, the Congo depression, is distinguished by the densest network of full-flowing rivers in Africa, the largest of them is the Congo River (Zaire). The Ogove, Kwanza and other rivers also flow into the Gulf of Guinea. Vast areas are occupied by swamps.
In the equatorial climate zone, dense multi-tiered tropical rainforests grow. In the subequatorial belt - gallery forests, savannahs are common in the watershed spaces different types. In the mouths of the rivers flowing into the Gulf of Guinea, mangroves are common.
Central Africa is one of the regions Africa , spread out in the equatorial and subequatorial strip. It covers the wide valley of the Congo River, in the western part it adjoins the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea, in the north it includes the Azande plateau, in the south - the Lunda plateau and the adjacent plateaus of Angola. The eastern boundary of Central Africa is the East African Rift System.
The basis of the relief of Central Africa is a spacious flat basin of the Congo River, which occupies the entire center of the region. In the north, the Congo Basin is surrounded by the Banda Upland and the South Guinea Upland, from the west by Lunda-Katanga, and from the south by the Angola Plateau. By and large, the relief of Central Africa has a calm character, without any sharp fluctuations in altitude. The exception is the northwestern outskirts of the region, where fragmented and rugged relief prevails, it is there, in the place of a large tectonic fault, that the highest (4070 m) active volcano in the world, Cameroon, is located.
The climate in the countries of Central Africa is equatorial and subequatorial. It's pretty hot and humid here. The region owes the formation of such a humid climate to air masses. Atlantic Ocean. The air temperature throughout the year is high all the time, the only cool place is the hills. Average temperatures in the Congo Valley during the warmest month range from +25 to +28 degrees, and in the coldest from +23 to +25 0 С. winter time the temperature sometimes drops to +15 0 C. Central Africa is one of the few regions of the continent where a decent amount of precipitation falls per year: in the equatorial zone they average 1500--2000 mm or more, in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Guinea - up to 3000 mm , and in some places even more. It is in Central Africa that the wettest place on the mainland is located - the slopes of the Cameroon volcano
The main form of government is a republic
Dualistic Monarchy
Vital level centrally- African population remained one of the lowest in Africa.
In Central Africa, the most numerous are such peoples: Yoruba, Oromo, Athara, Hausa, Bantu. In rural areas, where approximately 56% of the population lives, the official language of the country, French, is poorly understood. Most of the people speak Sango, the language of a small group of Ubangi people living on the Ubangi River. But every nation has its own language.
In particular, in the north and northeast of the country, one can hear Arabic and the Hausa language. From the north came the Muslim faith, which is practiced by about 15% of the population. Christian churches carry out a lot of missionary work in the country, so that at present approximately 50% of the population professes Christianity.
In the capital of Bangui is the residence of the Catholic Archbishop of the Central African Republic. Most of the population adheres to animistic religions, according to which rituals of fertility and burial are observed, as well as totem cults of ancestors.
There are also oil resources that are discovered in the coastal zones of Angola. Such deposits are significant, estimated at 10 million tons per year for each country. There are also sources of natural gas.
Significant reserves in central Africa and minerals:
metal ores;
copper ores;
manganese;
Zaire has an area that supplies 70% of all industrial diamonds worldwide.
Agriculture provides 55% of GDP. Sorghum (42.8 thousand tons) and millet are grown in the north of the country, corn (110 thousand tons), cassava (563 thousand tons), yams (350 thousand tons) and rice (29.7 thousand tons) are grown in the south. . T). Bananas and coffee are grown. The main commercial crops are cotton and coffee. Cultivate cassava, millet, sorghum, rice, peanuts. Hevea collection. Harvesting valuable timber. Livestock. River fishing.
Industry in the Central African Republic is engaged in the processing of agricultural raw materials. There are oil mills, sawmills, cotton-cleaning factories, etc. In the north, diamonds are mined, but their reserves are depleted. In the southern regions there are small gold mines.
Industry provides 20% of GDP. Diamond and gold mining is underway, but gold mining is declining. Near Bakuma there is a deposit of uranium ore, but it is not being developed. The manufacturing industry is mainly represented by food and beverage enterprises. light industry industry - food, beer, clothing, building materials. Electricity generation 102 million kWh (1995).
Republic with its rich fauna and colorful folklore national park Dzhanga-Sanga, where you can meet pygmies and trust guides from among them, who are well aware of the habits of wild animals, can offer places to stay and opportunities for ecotourism. Outside the reserves, big game hunters, who outnumber ecotourists, are offered safaris for wild animals that are not legally protected.
The colonialists left a backward economy to the Central African countries, only in Zaire and Zambia there was a non-ferrous metallurgy. Over the last years of independence, a full cycle of production has been created here, from the extraction of ores to the smelting of high-quality metals. The harvesting of tropical timber (Gabon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea) is also of great export importance. Agriculture specializes in the cultivation of coffee and cocoa, pyrethrum (ethereal), tea, tobacco and rubber, cotton and peanuts, bananas and fruits.
