REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF AFRICA

Introduction
Africa is one of the six continents in the visible world
and the second largest continent after Eurasia.
Covering an area of about 30,368,609sqkm, which is
20% of the world’s land mass, comprising 64 political
territories including adjacent islands.

The continent is strategically located astride the equator

crossed by the three latitudes i.e.
• Tropic of Cancer in the north
• Equator in the central and
• Tropic of Capricorn in the south

N.B: About 77% of the total land area in Africa lies

within the Tropics i.e., between the Tropic of Cancer
23 1\2 degrees in the north and Tropic of Capricorn
23 1\2 degrees in the south.
It is also crossed by the major longitude called Greenwich
Meridian.

Africa is also substantially occupied by the Sahara

Desert in the north and the Kalahari in the southwest.
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It is bordered by extensive water bodies like the
Mediterranean Sea in the ……., the Red sea in the
………, …….. ocean in the east and the ………
ocean in west having a continental shelf of about 300
km and a coastline that is estimated between 26,000-
30,400 km.

It is also surrounded by land masses like the Eurasia

in the north, Australia in the east, Antarctica in the
south, North and South America in the west. Africa is
also characterized by different ethnic groups, Bantu
being the largest, Nilotic, Hamites among others.

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Sketch map of Africa showing
Major latitudes, longitude, neighboring water bodies and
continents

Relief of Africa:
Relief refers to the physical or natural appearance of the
general landscape.
Africa is endowed with a spectacular landscape ranging from
plateau/plains, basins, highlands/mountains, rift valleys, etc.
There origin is attributed to a number of geological processes
e.g.
Vulcanicity, faulting, folding etc.
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A sketch map of Africa showing Relief. (Draw)

Plateau
It refers to a generally flat raised landscape that covers
a wide area (a plateau has no peak like a hill) Africa
has many plateaux that are higher in the east and
lower in the west ranging between 600m - 2000m
above sea level. E.g., Central plateau in east Africa,
Bie plateau in southwest in Botswana, Jos plateau in
west in Nigeria, Kalahari stretch in Namibia, Great
Karoo in South Africa, etc.

Benefits of plateaus
• Conducive for grazing which increases meat and milk
production
• Mineral mining e.g., oil in the which earns
governments foreign exchange.
• Tourism due to abundant fauna and flora e.g., the
Kalahari stretch in western Botswana, Eastern
Namibia.
• Wild life conservation due to existing fauna and flora
e.g., the Kalahari stretch in Namibia.
• Stone quarrying due to rock outcrops which are
blasted for construction.
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 • Areas of recreation through motor rallying, bird
watching, desert walks due to its flat nature.
• Provides space for human settlement and this
promotes productivity e.g., the Karoo in South Africa
and the Jos plateau in Nigeria.

Plain
This refers to a generally flat low land and covers many
miles.
It was formed due to perennial erosion for a long
time that removed large amounts of soil from the
earth’s crust between the east and west coast
highlands. E.g., the Veld in South Africa, Sahel
region in North Africa, etc.
The plain can also be formed due to the flowing of
basic lava that is fluid in nature and takes long to
solidify on the earth’s surface.

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Benefits of plains (consider those of plateau above)

Basin
This refers to a saucer shaped depression that is found
mainly between a plateau and mountain. It is formed
by faulting or down warping when two adjacent land
masses are raised leaving the central block to sink
forming a saucer feature. Basins become water bodies
when filled with water e.g. Nile basin, Orange
Zambezi basin, Niger basin, Congo basin, etc. while

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those that are empty are called depressions e.g.,
Qattara basin, Chad basin, Okavango basin, etc.

Illustration

Importance of basins
• Water reservoirs so they store water to be used in future.
• They contain lakes for fishing in the and therefore provide
food.
• Aquatic life conservation and so prevent their extinction.
• Promote tourism due to fauna and flora bringing in
foreign exchange
• Mineral mining especially oil which earns foreign
exchange.
• Promote settlement due to the presence of water for day-
to-day home and industrial use.

Mountains
This refers to raised landform over 3000 meters above
the sea level. There are different types of mountains
including:

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Volcanic mountains- these are formed when molten
magma from the earth’s interior is ejected to the
surface of the earth through a vent and cooling around
the vent to form a cone shape. Examples include:
Ethiopian highlands, Cameroon highlands, Futa
Djalon mountains, and the Drakensburg mountains.

Fold mountains- these are formed when

compressional forces act against the earth’s crust with
extreme pressure leading to synclines (valleys) and
anticlines (raised areas). The many anticlines form the
Fold Mountains in form of ranges. They include: The
Atlas Mountains and cape ranges.

Block mountain- these are formed by faulting when

compressional forces push from opposite sides
leading to lines of weakness/fault lines. The central
block rises higher than the other blocks making the
central block project as the highest peak.
Tensional forces pull in opposite directions leading to
normal faults. The adjacent blocks sink lower than the
central block leaving the central block projected out
as the highest peak.

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Illustration

Importance of mountains in Africa

• Expose minerals and therefore promote mining e.g. iron
ore, cobalt, copper,
• Tourism attraction due to fauna and flora so bring in
foreign exchange.
They are sources of rivers which provide water.
Promote human settlement on the gentle fertile slopes so
promote productivity.
• They expose fertile soils and therefore promote
agriculture.
• Promote forestry and this provides timber.

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 • Promote flora and fauna conservation which balances the
ecological system
• Promotes recreation research and education increases
knowledge.
Disadvantages
• Little or no rain at the leeward side limiting settlement,
grazing and cultivation
• Soil erosion on the steep slopes discouraging agriculture.
• Landslides, rock fall and mud flows on steep slopes and
volcanic eruptions that cause loss of lives and property.
• Very low temperatures on very high altitudes discourages
settlement
• Forested mountains harbor wild animals which destroy
lives and property
• They harbor criminals causing insecurity.
• Difficulty in construction of transport routes and therefore
result into inaccessibility.

Rift valley
This refers to a long narrow depression that is
bordered by fault scarps on either side formed by
faulting of the earth’s crust. The great African rift
valley is about 7200 km and 5600 km in East Africa
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with a varying width of 30 to 60 km stretching from
the Red sea in the northeast to river Zambezi in
Mozambique.

In east Africa the rift valley subdivides in central

Tanzania giving rise to the eastern arm in Kenya and
Tanzania and the western arm in Tanzania, Burundi,
Rwanda and Uganda. It has small depressions on the
valley floor called grabens that were filled with water
giving rise to rift valley lakes lakes like Turkana,
Baringo, Natron, Naivasha, Rukwa, Nyasa,
Tanganyika, Kivu, Edward and Albert lake.

Formation
The African Rift valley was formed by faulting which
can be explained in three basic theories;

• Tensional forces
• Compressional forces

Tensional force theory

The earth’s crust pulled apart by tensional forces
forming normal faults. The crust is sub-divided into3
blocks where the adjacent blocks remain in position
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while the central block sinks forming the Rift Valley
floor. This is more in the eastern arm of the rift valley
in Kenya.

Illustration
Exercise
Draw diagrams which follow the explaination given.

Compressional force theory

The earth’s crust is pushed from opposite sides by
compressional forces that push forming reversed
faults These sub-divide the earth’s crust into 3 blocks
where the adjacent blocks rise with projected scarps
which are acted upon by denudation forming a well-
structured rift valley. This is visible in the western
arm in the Albertine area.

Illustration
Exercise
Draw diagrams which follow the explaination given.

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Sketch map showing extent of the rift valley

Benefits of the Rift Valley

• Mineral exploitation in the like soda ash which earns

foreign exchange
• Gentle slopes of the Rift Valley floor are used for
agriculture which produces food
• Fishing is done in the graben lakes and it provides food.
• Wild life conservation of the fauna and flora which
balances the ecological system •Livestock farming in the
dry grasslands provides food.
• It is used for settlement in the gentle slopes and this
promotes urbanization.
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 • Tourism due to beautiful scenery brings foreign
exchange.
• Forests on the slopes are sources of timber for
industrialization and construction.
• Transport takes place on the graben lakes hence easing
movement of passengers and cargo.

Problems faced in the rift valley.

• Flooding of the rivers like the Nile in the western arm
• Steep scarps limit transportation, construction and
settlement
• Remoteness of some areas because they aren’t
connected to the major infrastructures like roads, due to
their steepness.
• Prone to landslides and rock fall because of the
existence of mountains around which when disturbed
by earthquakes, rocks can easily break and fall off.
• Western arm is dry being in the rain shadow zone hence
cannot favor agriculture and settlement.
• High temperatures in the valley floor due to low altitude
• Some lakes are salty which discourages agriculture and
industrialization.
• Earthquakes may destroy people’s property.
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GORGE.
It is a deep narrow steep sided valley formed in the
youthful stage of a river due to mainly vertical
erosion.
It is formed when a river flows across a landscape made of
alternating soft and hard rocks.
The soft rock is undercut or eroded deeper leaving the
hard rock projected out. E.g., on R. Zambezi in
Mozambique (quebra gorge), Black river in
Mauritius, Fish river in Namibia etc.

Importance of a gorge
• It is a tourist attraction earning a lot of foreign exchange to
countries.
• It promotes hydroelectric power production which
promotes industrial development.
• It provides ground for recreation and leisure
activities promoting health.
• Its narrowness is ideal for bridge construction
easing movement.

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DRAINAGE OF AFRICA
Drainage refers to the water system comprising of
rivers, lakes and seasonal or permanent swamps.
Africa is endowed with many rivers e.g., the great
Nile (Uganda, Sudan, Egypt), the Niger (Nigeria,
Niger, Burkina Faso, Liberia), the Congo (DRC), the
Zambezi (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique), the
Orange/Vaal (south Africa), Limpopo (Botswana,
south Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Shibeli
(Ethiopia, Somalia), etc.

Major lakes include Victoria (Uganda, Kenya,

Tanzania), Nyasa/Malawi (Tanzania, Malawi,
Mozambique), Nasser (Sudan, Egypt), Chad (Chad
republic), Tana (Ethiopia), etc. with seasonal and
permanent swamps like lake Kyoga in Uganda.

Sketch map showing major rivers and lakes

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Importance of rivers
• Generation of hydroelectricity along the waterfalls for
industrial development e.g., Victoria falls etc.
• Recreation like swimming, game fishing, rafting, for
health purposes
• Tourist attraction due to fauna and flora, rapids and falls,
for foreign exchange
• Water for domestic and industrial use

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 • Climate modification at micro level through evapo-
transpiration rainfall and promotes agriculture
• Navigation for passengers and goods promoting transport
• River banks have fertile alluvial soils for cultivation. in
Egypt and Sudan.
• They provide water for irrigation in the dry areas, e.g., in
Sudan for the Gezira Irrigation scheme, Providing food.
• Source of fish which provides proteins.
• Mineral mining in the valley bed e.g., gold, petroleum,
providing foreign exchange
• Habitat for wild aquatic animals and even around the river
banks promoting conservation
• Research and study in water, marine life, river-related
features, increasing knowledge
Exercise
Explain the problems caused by the rivers

OCEAN CURRENTS
This is a mass of water flowing along the coastline of
a given continental landmass either from the Equator
to the Polar regions or from the Polar region to the
Equator.
There are basically two types of ocean currents i.e., cool
ocean current and warm ocean current.
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 • Cool ocean currents flow from the poles of the
Polar regions of the northern and southern
hemisphere towards the Equator in the Tropics
e.g., the cool Canary from the north pole along the
north western coastline of Africa and cool
Banguela from the south pole along the south
western coastline of Africa

Characteristics
(a) Cool ocean currents
• Cold in nature
• Originate from the poles to the Tropics
• Carry cold conditions towards the areas they flow to e.g.,
northwest coast and southwest coast

Influence on climate
• Reduce on atmospheric temperatures of areas to
which they flow e.g., Morocco and Mauritania
• Cause the cold desert effect where heavy moist air
fails to evaporate so as to form convectional rainfall
e.g., Namib/Kalahari Desert in the south west

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 • Warm ocean currents flow from the Equator in
the Tropics towards the Polar regions of either the
northern hemisphere or southern hemisphere e.g.,
warm Guinea from the Equator along the western
coastline towards the North Pole and the warm
Mozambique from the Equator along the eastern
coastline towards the South Pole.

However, there exists the mild Equatorial current

along the western coastline towards the Equator (a
remnant of the cool Banguela current) and the Somali
current from the Gulf of Aden, south of the Red sea
towards the Equator.

(b) characteristics of warm ocean currents

• Warm in nature
• Originate from the Tropics towards the north and
south pole
• Carry warm conditions from the Equator toward the
areas along which they flow e.g., west coast and
southeast coast.

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Influence on climate
• Increase in atmospheric temperatures of coastal
areas e.g., Natal, Durban in south Africa, Maputo
in Mozambique
• Bring about on-shore rainfall experience whereby
warm moisture rises forming on-shore
convectional rainfall on the eastern and western
coastal areas

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CLIMATE OF AFRICA
Climate is the average weather condition observed
and recorded for a given region after a long period of
time between 30 to 35 years. desert, equatorial,
Mediterranean, montane, etc.
Weather is the daily atmospheric condition observed
and recorded for a particular place at a given time e.g.,
sunny, rainy, windy, cloudy, etc.

Africa experiences a variety of climate patterns all the

way from the north down south as well as from the
west to the east e.g.
• Mediterranean
• Hot desert and semi-desert
• Tropical/ savanna
• Equatorial
• Tropical maritime
• Mountain/montane
• Warm temperate continental

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 Sketch map of Africa showing climatic types

Factors influencing climate

• Relief- area with mountains and highlands tend to
have heavy rainfall on windward sides because
they trap moist winds. Leeward side receives less
rainfall.
• Aspect- slopes that are directly facing the sun
receive solar radiation tend to have high
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 temperatures unlike the other side in the shadow
zone receiving low cool temperatures
• Apparent movement of the sun- this concerns the
movement of the overhead sun north or south of the
equator forming a low-pressure belt. On June 21st, the
overhead sun in the north creates a vacuum attracting the
northeast trade winds from the Arabian desert and
southeast trade winds from the Indian Ocean giving rise
to the inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ)
• Altitude- areas near the sea level (0m) tend to
experience hot temperatures Areas which are
many meters above the sea level (1000m+) tend
to have relatively cool climatic conditions

• Vegetation cover- areas which have thick

vegetation receive convectional rainfall. The
areas with scanty vegetation or bare ground
receive low amounts of rainfall.

• Distance from large water bodies- areas near

large lakes and seas/oceans experience wet
climatic conditions due to the land and sea breeze
effect.

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• Latitudes- areas which are near and those crossed
by the equator tend to have hot wet climatic
conditions with a double maximum (two rainfall
peaks)
• Prevailing winds- Africa is influenced by three
great trade winds i.e., the Northeast trade winds
from the Arabian desert bringing with it dry
conditions southeast trade winds from the
Indian ocean bringing heavy moisture to parts of
eastern Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland and
south Africa.

• Human activities- practices engaged in by man

affect the climate of an area Activities like bush
burning, deforestation, swamp reclamation,
destroys the vegetation reducing rainfall.
Afforestation increases rainfall

• Industrialization- this concerns the discharge of

dangerous gases into the atmosphere which affect
the ozone layer that filters the dangerous sun rays
like ultra-violet and infra-red that tend to increase
atmospheric temperatures. Thus, areas which are
highly industrialized experience hot climatic
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 conditions brought by the depletion of the ozone
layer coupled with the emission of heat from
industrial machines and vice versa where other
factors are not dominant).

• Ocean currents- these affect climate with respect

to their origin e.g., the cool currents bring cool
climatic conditions in the southwestern areas like
Walvis bay, Namibia and northwest coast of
Tunisia, Morocco, etc. while the warm currents
bring about warm climatic conditions causing
convectional on-shore rainfall in those areas like
Durban, Natal, Mozambique, Madagascar in the
southeast and Tema, Accra, Lagos, port Harcourt,
etc. in the west.

Types of climate in Africa

Equatorial climate
This is experienced between 0° to 5° south and north of
the equator particularly in the western part of
Africa e.g. Nigeria, DRC, Cameroon, Gabon,

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Central African Republic, etc. As for East Africa, it receives
modified equatorial climate influenced by the mountains and
highlands.

Summary table
Month J F M A M J J A S O N D
Temp 23 23 23 22 22 22 21 22 22 22 22 23
R’fall 40 70 150 230 205 115 65 80 195 225 150 50

Characteristics
• Receives rainfall throughout the year
• Has two rainfall peaks between March to May and
September to November
• Rainfall totals range from 1500 mm and above
• Rainfall is convectional in nature due to hot temperatures
causing evapo-transpiration
• Temperatures are relatively hot ranging between 21°C
and 23°C evenly distributed throughout the year
• It has a small annual temperature range of approximately
2°C (23°C- 21°C=2°C)
• Experiences high humidity due to abundant water vapor
being discharged in the
atmosphere throughout the year

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Economic activities
• Agriculture e.g., cocoa in Ghana, palm oil in Nigeria,
rubber in Liberia, sugar cane and banana in DRC due to
heavy rainfall.
• Fishing e.g., river Congo in DRC, river Niger in
Nigeria, etc. due to heavy rainfall that fills the water
bodies.
• Forestry and forest conservation in Cameroon, DRC and
Gabon due to the rain that support tree growth
• Lumbering due to abundant flora e.g., in Gabon, DRC,
etc.
• Tourism due to abundant fauna and flora
• Wildlife conservation due to abundant fauna and flora
• Mining of oil in Nigeria, gold and uranium in DRC, etc.
• Educational research and study in botany, zoology, etc.
• Hunting of wild game in the forests.
Problems facing equatorial areas
• Pests which cause crop failure and therefore low
agricultural productivity
• disease vectors which cause disease to crops and animals.
• Wild animals which cause loss of lives.
• Seasonal flooding due to heavy rains causing loss of lives
and property.
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 • Difficulty in construction of transport and communication
networks causing inaccessibility
• Landslides, mud flows and rock fall in mountainous
causing loss of lives and property.
• Soil infertility caused by leaching where soil nutrients are
sink to deeper levels causing infertility of soils.

Tropical climate
This is experienced between 5° to 15° north of the equator
extending to 23° south of the equator. This stretches from
West Africa through east and central to southern Africa.
It is sometimes referred to as Savanna or Sudan climate and it
is the most extensively experienced in
Africa.

Summary table
Month J F M A M J J A S O N D
Temp 22 23 22 21 20 18 17 18 20 23 24 24
R’fall 250 175 100 25 20 00 00 00 00 50 100 175

Characteristics
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 • Receives two distinct climatic seasons i.e., wet season
from October to march and dry season from June to
September
• Day times are always very hot while the nights may be
warm.
• Rainfall totals range between800mm to 1000mm per
annum
• Rainfall is convectional in nature due to the hot
temperatures especially in ‘summer’
• Temperatures are relatively hot ranging between 17°C
and 24°C
• Annual temperature range varies from 4°C to 9°C
• Rainfall is received mainly in ‘summer’ while the
‘winters’ are dry
• Rainfall is unevenly distributed

Economic activities
• Agriculture especially annual crops like beans,
groundnuts, etc.
• Hunting due to abundant fauna
• Livestock farming due to abundant flora.
• Charcoal burning due to abundant
flora(woodland)
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 • Bee keeping due to abundant pollination of the flora.
• Tourism due to abundant fauna and flora in the grass land
• Mineral mining e.g., gold in Mwadui- Tanzania and
Witwatersrand- South Africa
• Wild life conservation in national parks and game
reserves
• Educational research and study in zoology.

Problems faced
• Unreliable rainfall resulting into seasonal crop failure.
• Occasional wild fires resulting into loss of property.
• Occurrence of pests causing crop failure.
• Disease vectors cause loss of crop yields and death to
man.
• Wild animals destroy lives and property.
• Soil erosion due to limited vegetation and bare ground
results into crop failure.
• Over grazing arising from over stocking causes soil
erosion.

Mediterranean climate
This is experienced in the northern extreme of Africa in
Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and extreme south particularly
Cape Town in South Africa.
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Summary table
Month J F M A M J J A S O N D
Temp 21 20 20 17 15 13 12 13 15 16 18 20
R’fall 12 12 15 50 90 110 87 87 50 35 20 15

Characteristics
• Has four distinct climatic seasons i.e., spring, summer,
autumn and winter
• Rainfall totals range between 500 to 1000 mm per annum
Occurrence of fog due to heavy moisture brought by the
cool Banguela current failing to evaporate to form
convectional rainfall
• ‘Summers’ are relatively hot and dry while the
‘winters’ are cold and wet.
• Summers are generally sunny

Economic activities
• Agriculture especially fruits and cereals like apples,
orchards, citrus fruits, barley, wheat, etc.
• Tourism due to the climatic conditions like those in
Europe
• Marine fishing near the coast of Atlantic Ocean for whales
and sharks
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 • Animal rearing e.g., merino sheep for wool and mutton,
cows for milk and beef
• Forestry and forest conservation
• Mineral mining at small scale like tin and copper in south
Africa

Problems faced
• Occasional fog causing difficulty in visibility
• Temperatures in ‘winter’ tend to be very low causing
severe coldness Sometimes the ‘summers’ get very dry
causing loss of pastures for grazing.

Hot desert and Semi desert climate

This is experienced in the tropical belt of North Africa i.e.,
Sahara Desert, and the Mediterranean coastal lands i.e.,
Kalahari and Namib deserts of southwest Africa.
Africa has two categories of deserts i.e.

Marine deserts- those next to large water bodies influenced by

cold ocean currents like the Namib
desert in southwest Africa
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Continental deserts- those found in the interior of the
continental mass like the Sahara Desert in the north and
Kalahari Desert in the southern section.

Summary table
Month J F M A M J J A S O N D
Temp 12 15 20 25 30 35 37 36 33 26 20 16

R’fall 00 00 03 10 10 35 85 50 13 12 00 00

Characteristics
Rainfall totals range between 250mm and 650mm which
sometimes reduces
• Occurrence of strong winds in form of desert storms
• Little and unreliable rainfall affecting human activities
• Clear sky with little or no cloud cover due to limited
humidity
• Rainfall is received in thunder form during the hottest part
of the year
• Temperatures between day and night have a remarkable
range which is high
• Bare ground with scattered vegetation

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Economic activities
• Tourism due to the hot conditions good for the temperate
people
• Desert sports e.g. motor rallying and
motorcycling
• Filming due to the brightness of the environment for easy
scene capturing
• Nomadic pastoralism like the Fulani and Tuaregs of north
Africa
Irrigation farming like the Gezira scheme of cotton in
Sudan along the Nile and Richard Toll scheme in Senegal
along R. Senegal.

Problems faced
• Limited open surface water due to high evaporation rates
causing water shortages.
• Prolonged drought resulting into crop failure.
• Deadly fauna like scorpions, poisonous snakes, causing
loss of lives.
• Airborne diseases due to dryness, storms, etc. causing loss
of lives
• Infertile sandy soils causing agricultural failure.

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Tropical Maritime climate
This is experienced in the coastal areas of eastern Africa
stretching from Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique influenced
by the southeast trade winds (monsoon wind) and the warm
Mozambique ocean current

Characteristics
• Generally warm, a little humid and evenly hot Rainfall is
received throughout the year due to the warm ocean
current and south easterlies causing on-shore rainfall
• Occurrence of tropical cyclones giving rise to the cyclonic
rainfall
• Temperatures are generally hot i.e., 25°C and above

Economic activities
• Tourism due to the warm conditions attracting the
temperate dwellers
• Commercial crop cultivation like sisal, cloves, coconuts,
etc.
• Marine fishing at the shores of the ocean
• Trade and industrialization at major ports like Mombasa
in Kenya, Dar-es-salaam in Tanzania, Maputo and Beira
in Mozambique

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 • Recreation i.e., leisure and entertainment at different
beaches.
• Education research and study on coastal geomorphology
and marine life
• Filming by the music industry due to the beautiful beach
scenery

Warm Temperate climate

This is experienced only in South Africa particularly in the
Veld region (Natal province). The climate belt is bordered by
the Mediterranean in the west and the Tropical Savanna in the
north.

Characteristics
• Warm and humid ‘summers’ with dry ‘winters’
• Temperatures range from 10°C in ‘winter’ to
25°C in ‘summer’
• Rainfall totals range from 500mm to 700mm per annum
• High evaporation rate especially in ‘summer’ due to the
high temperatures
Economic activities
• Tourism due to the mild conditions attracting temperate
dwellers

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 • Viticulture/market gardening/dry farming involving
growing of fruits and vegetables
• Plantation farming especially sugarcane in Natal
• Industrialization basically agro-based
• Elementary mining of tin, copper

VEGETATION IN AFRICA.
Vegetation is the plant cover in man’s visible environment.
Africa is blessed with a variety of vegetation cover from the
north to the south and from the west to the east e.g.,
Mediterranean, desert, savanna grassland/woodland,
equatorial/tropical rain forest, mangrove/swamp,
mountain/montane, temperate, etc.

Sketch map showing vegetation distribution

Draw the sketch map.

Factors determining vegetation distribution

The present day man-made and natural vegetation in Africa is
attributed to the following factors i.e.
altitude, relief, climate, soil texture and biotic factors
• Altitude- this refers Height above sea level. It brings
about climatic conditions that influence growth of
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 different vegetation types, this is common in
mountainous or highland areas with savanna, tropical
forests, bamboo, heath and moorland plus bare rock at the
peak

• Relief-. The relatively flat land is dominated by forests

and grassland while the gentle sloping land is covered
with grassland and scattered trees. But mountainous areas
have dense vegetation like the Drakensburg, Elgon,
Cameroon, etc.

• Climate- Heavy rainfall results into forests while the low

unreliable rainfall results into scanty vegetation
• Soil type-. Thin soils support very short trees and grass
while deep fertile soils support very tall trees with deep
roots though even grass does well in loam soil.

• Biotic factor- insects like caterpillars, locust/grass

hoppers, termites also destroy vegetation.

• Drainage mangrove and swamps grow in water logged

areas whereas well drained areas promote forests and
grasslands.

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Types of Vegetation
As noted, Africa has a variety of vegetation cover due to the
different soil types, drainage, relief, etc. as can be seen below

Equatorial/ Tropical rainforest

This is dominant in West Africa in Gabon, Cameroon, DRC
and Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial
Guinea though patches exist in Uganda and Kenya mainly in
areas near the equator. This vegetation cover is found in the
equatorial climate belt with hot temperatures and heavy
rainfall. The tree species include mahogany, ebony, okoume,
‘mvule’, etc.

Characteristics
• Ever green due to the abundant rainfall received
• Have broad leaves for photosynthesis
• Have a great height of 30 to 50 m
• Develop a straight posture due to competition for sun light
• Do not occur in a pure stand
• Have buttress roots due to big size and great height
• Have little or no under growth due to limited sunlight for
photosynthesis
• Have hard wood
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 • Form a thick canopy of three layers

Economic activities
• Lumbering due to abundant flora
• Tourism due to abundant fauna and flora
• Hunting due to abundant fauna
• Agriculture at the periphery or border of the forests
• Fruit and food gathering of wild fruits and tubers
• Academic research and study in zoology, botany, etc.
• Wild life conservation
• Forestry and forest conservation of extinct species
• Leisure and entertainment
• Fishing since they act as water catchment areas
• Bee keeping
• Filming

Mediterranean vegetation
This is located in the northern extreme of Africa in
Algeria, Tunisia, parts of Libya and the southern extreme in
South Africa particularly Cape town.
Tree species include pine, oats, etc.

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Characteristics
• Trees are scattered
• Do not occur in a pure stand i.e., a mix of pine and oat
• Develop long roots
• Have a considerable height of above 15m
• Have little under growth
• Have fresh bulb roots for water storage
• Leaves are waxy and shiny to reduce water loss

Economic activities
• Tourism due to abundant fauna and flora
• Lumbering of pine trees
• Arable farming especially horticulture or
viticulture
• Animal husbandry of cattle, sheep, goats
• Academic research and study
• Leisure and entertainment
• Sport hunting especially by the tourists
Savannah vegetation
This is very extensive from the western part of Senegal
through the central like Cameroon and parts of DRC to the
eastern like Uganda, Kenya towards the south like Botswana
and South Africa. It is sub-divided into;
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 • Savannah grassland- dominating the Central, Eastern and
Southern parts.
• Savannah woodland- particularly in the northern part of
Tanzania called Miombo woodlands. Tree species include
baobabs, spear grass, cactus, etc.,

Characteristics
• Trees are scattered
• Have a relative height of 2 m
• Do not occur in a pure stand
• Leaves are green during the rainy season and turn yellow-
brown in the dry season
• Dominated by grassland
• Most trees shade off their leaves during the dry season to
avoid water loss i.e., deciduous trees
• Trees are of hard wood
• Develop an umbrella shape as branches spread out with
small stalks

Economic activities
• Animal husbandry due to abundant grassland
• Crop cultivation due to extensive relatively flat land
• Tourism due to abundant fauna and flora
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 • Wild life conservation
• Hunting due to abundant fauna
• Academic research and study
• Industrialization due to extensive land
• Trade and commerce coupled with
transportation
• Settlement

Mountain/Montane vegetation
This is found mainly in mountainous and highland areas
where altitude influences change in rainfall and temperature
patterns giving rise to different vegetation types at different
levels above the sea level from the foot of the mountain to the
peak.

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Illustration

Economic activities
• Tourism due to abundant fauna and flora
• Crop cultivation on the gentle slopes and foothills of
mountains /highlands
• Animal husbandry on the foothills due to grassland
• Hunting due to abundant fauna
• Academic research and study
• Fruit and food gathering in the forests.
• Wild life conservation
• Forestry and forest conservation
• Lumbering e.g., in the tropical forest zone
• Settlement at the foothills
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Desert vegetation
This is wide spread in the northern part of Africa referred to
as the Sahel region and in the southwest part called Namib/
Kalahari region. Tree species include cacti, coarse grass, etc.

Characteristics
• Very short trees made of shrubs, thickets and thorny
bushes
• Have needle like leaves to reduce water loss
• Have waxy leaves to reflect sunlight and regulate
transpiration
• Have thin stems with thick barks to reduce water loss
• Some trees develop thorns on their barks to reduce water
loss.
• Have very deep roots to access water underneath/from
underground.
Economic activities
• Tourism in terms of sun bathing and desert travel
• Animal husbandry especially nomadic pastoralism
• Leisure and recreation like desert rallying
• Mineral mining of oil, gold, etc.
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 • Wild life conservation of desert fauna like scorpions,
snakes, tortoise, etc.
• Filming due to the bright environment i.e., the clear blue
sky.
• Agriculture especially irrigation farming in Egypt, Sudan,
Senegal, etc. in those areas that are located along major
rivers. e.g., the Nile in Sudan and Egypt, R. Senegal in
Senegal.

Temperate grassland /Veld

This is found only in South Africa in the provinces of Natal,
TransVaal and the Orange Free state partly Lesotho. It
comprises of grassland, flowers and shrubs.

Characteristics
• It shares with the savannah grass land

Economic activities
• Animal husbandry of merino sheep for wool and mutton
• Tourism due to abundant fauna and flora
• Industrialization based on processing the agricultural
products
• Wildlife conservation so promoting tourism
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POPULATION IN AFRICA
Population in the general sense refers to the total number of
living and non-living phenomena in geographical space at a
specific time. As for humans, it refers to the total number of
people living in an area at a given period of time.
Africa has diverse population patterns i.e., dense, medium
and low that is unevenly distributed throughout the continent.

The population of Africa is estimated at 1.111,000,000 with

some countries being densely populated like Nigeria, Egypt
and South Africa while others are sparsely populated like
Equatorial Guinea, Djibouti and Burundi.
Africa accounts for 15% of the world’s population, having
the growth rate of 92.293 million people per annum.

Population terms
• Population distribution- the number of people in a place
at a given time.
• Population density- the number of people in a given place
at a given time per square kilometer. PD=no. of
people/area

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• Birth rate- number of live births per a 1000 people in an
area per year.
BR=no. of live births/1000
• Death rate- the number of deaths per a 1000 people in an
area per year. DR=no. of deaths/1000
• Natural increase- the difference between the death rate
and the birth rate
NI=BR-DR
• Growth rate- the natural increase in population size of an
area in a specified period of time.
GR=current population-previous population
• Dependency ratio the ratio of the productive population
(15-65) to the economically nonproductive population (0-
14 and above 65)
• Migration- the transfer of persons from one geographical
location to another either temporarily or permanently.
E.g., RUM, URM, RRM, UUM, emigration,
immigration, etc.

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 Sketch map showing population

Factors determining population distribution

• Nature of vegetation. Thick vegetation attracts a sparse
population but savanna attracts a dense population
• Nature of landscape: very steep landscape attracts sparse
population but gently sloping or flat attracts dense
population.
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• Climatic conditions- Heavy rainfall attracts dense
population while low rainfall areas have sparse population
• Security as well determines population distribution in that
secure areas attracts a dense population while insecure
areas attract a sparse population
• Economic activities- either having viable trade and
employment opportunities attracting a dense population but
those with few employment opportunities attracts a sparse
population
• Well-developed Transport routes attracts a dense
population but remote areas attract sparse population
• Open surface water- either having diverse rivers and lakes
attract dense population while those having few water
sources have sparse population
• disease prevalence- disease free areas attract dense
population but those prone to disease vectors attract sparse
population.
• Soil fertility- areas having deep fertile cultivable soils
favoring dense settlement but very infertile sandy soils
attract sparse population.
• Government policy sometimes encourages dense
settlement but other times attracts a sparse population by
just decreeing

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• Natural occurrences areas prone to floods, earthquakes,
landslides, mudflows, drought and famine discourage
settlement but areas free from such calamities encourage
dense settlement.
• Cultural practice in that areas with nomadic culture
attract sparse population whereas those with sedentary
culture attract a dense population.
• Historical activities- slave raid areas have had sparse
population whereas tribal headquarters continue to have
dense population.

Population growth
This is the quantitative change in population over time.
Africa’s population has kept increasing over years

Factors for population growth

Exercise

Explain the factors responsible for growth of population

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Advantages of a high population growth.
• Abundant labor force to work in different sectors
• Ready market to buy goods both fresh and manufactured
goods
• Innovation, creativity, discovery and research in science
and technology increasing productivity
• Urban development resulting into better social service
delivery
• Full utilization of natural resources which promotes
Increased productivity.

Disadvantages of a high population growth.

• High crime rate due to idleness resulting into insecurity
• High levels of unemployment leading to poverty
• High government expenditure in providing social services
leading to slow development
• Slum growth leading to easy spread of disease
• Easy spread of airborne and sexually transmitted diseases
leading to ill health.
• High levels of poverty and poor living standards
• Over utilization of natural resources leading to
exhaustion.
• High cost of living resulting into low standards of living.

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 • Traffic congestion in urban and industrial areas leading to
delay
• Land fragmentation in congested areas reducing
productivity
• High rate of dependence on the working population
hindering investment
• Promotes rural-urban migration in search for better living
standards leading to low agricultural productivity
• Dependence on other countries for aid resulting into a
cycle of poverty.
• Improper waste disposal resulting into spread of diseases

Low population distribution

This is where the population is far below the sustainable
capacity of natural resources coupled with a low growth rate
and population density.

Advantages
• Easy to monitor and govern so better savings
• Easy planning and implementation of national programs
therefore increased development

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 • Less strain on social amenities and service access
therefore better efficiency
• Low occurrence of crime so better security
• Low risk of disease spread so healthy population
• Less government expenditure in providing social services
to the people so increased savings
• Low congestion in inhabited areas therefore lower risk of
disease
• Low cost of living as people seem to have the basics of
life so more savings

Disadvantages
• Shortage of labor either skilled, semi or non-skilled
therefore slow work.
• Low tax base for the governments So low revenue
• Limited market for agricultural and manufactured
items therefore low productivity
• Low infrastructure development due to low expected
returns therefore limited accessibility.
• High vulnerability to insecurity since the
population is low and cannot stand against a
strong external military force.
• Many resources remain
redundant
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 • Low creativity, innovation, so low development

Population studies in Nigeria

Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa having 1/6 of
Africa’s population with 389 ethnic groups like Hausa-Fulani,
Nupe, Tiv, and Kanuri speaking a variety of languages like
Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Fulani, I jaw and English.
The population of Nigeria stands at 149,229,090 with a
population density of 1612 people, a growth rate of 1.999%,
a birth rate of 36.65/1000, and fertility rate of 4.82/woman
and a life expectancy of 46.94 years.

Sketch map showing population distribution in Nigeria

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57
Summary table
Age group Percentage Male Female
0-14 41.5 31,624,050 30,242,637
15-64 55.55 42,240,641 40,566,672

65+ 3.1 2,211,840 2,343,250

Factors for population distribution

• The general relief- the most inhabited areas are the
plateaux, coastal low lands, river valleys where
agriculture and settlement are possible.
• Climate- being a mix of tropical savanna in the central,
equatorial in the south and desert in the north attracts
dense population
• Soils- the sandy soils in the north, alluvial soils in the
valley areas and coastal lowlands with deltas attracts
dense population
• Vegetation- the desert vegetation in the north has
attracted a sparse population savannah in the east attracts
dense population, equatorial vegetation in the west and
south attracts sparse population
• Mineral deposits especially in the south with great oil
potential in the Niger delta attracts a dense population

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 • Government policy- this aimed at resettling people in the
west has attracted dense population and the arid north
sparsely occupied by the pastoral Fulani
• Industrialization- setting up of manufacturing industries
in the south, east and north attracted a dense population
• Urbanization- the increasing level of urban development
in the south, west and along the Niger river valley attracts
a dense population
• Well laid transport and communication networks in the
south delta area, west and central parts attracts a dense
population.
Influence of ancient kingdoms especially in central and
southern parts e.g., Hausa, Yoruba, resulting in dense
population
• Culture- the pastoral nature of the Fulani in the north
makes the population sparse

Effect or impact of the high population in Nigeria

• Consider advantages and disadvantages of high
population

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