Table Of ContentPERGAMON OXFORD GEOGRAPHY SERIES
Editor: W. B. FISHER
Other Titles in the Series
CLARKE, J. I.
Population Geography, 2nd Edition
Population Geography and the Developing Countries
CLOUT, H. D.
Rural Geography
A Geography of Post-war France
COOKE, R. U. and JOHNSON, J. H.
Trends in Geography: An Introductory Survey
COPPOCK, J. T.
Second Homes: Curse or Blessing?
COPPOCK, J. T. and SEWELL, W. R. D.
Spatial Dimensions of Public Policy
DENNIS, R. and CLOUT, H. D.
A Social Geography of England and Wales
DEWDNEY, J. C.
A Geography of the Soviet Union, 3rd edition
JOHNSON, J. H.
Urban Geography, 2nd edition
KERR, A. J. C.
The Common Market and How It Works
MCINTOSH, I. G. and MARSHALL, C. B.
The Face of Scotland, 3rd edition
SUNDERLAND, E.
Elements of Human and Social Geography:
Some Anthropological Perspectives
TREWARTHA, G. T.
The More Developed Realm
The Geography of
Tropical African Development
A Study of Spatial Patterns of Economic Change
Since Independence
by
A. M. O'CONNOR
Lecturer in Geography, University College, London
SECOND EDITION
PERGAMON PRESS
OXFORD · NEW YORK · TORONTO · SYDNEY · PARIS · FRANKFURT
U.K. Pergamon Press Ltd., Headington Hill Hall,
Oxford OX3 OBW, England
U.S.A. Pergamon Press Inc., Maxwell House, Fairview Park,
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AUSTRALIA Pergamon Press (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., P.O. Box 544,
Potts Point, N.S.W. 2011, Australia
FRANCE Pergamon Press SARL, 24 rue des Ecoles,
75240 Paris, Cedex 05, France
FEDERAL REPUBLIC Pergamon Press GmbH, 6242 Kronberg-Taunus,
OF GERMANY Hammerweg 6, Federal Republic of Germany
Copyright © 1978 A. M. O'Connor
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted
in any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic,
magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
First edition 1971
Reprinted with minor corrections 1973
Reprinted 1975, 1977
Second edition 1978
Reprinted 1981
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
O'Connor, Anthony Michael
The geography of tropical African development.
- 2nd ed. - (Pergamon Oxford geographies).
1. Africa - Economic conditions - 1945 -
I. Title
330.9*67 HC502 77-30470
ISBN 0-08-021847-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 0-08-021848-2 (flexicover)
Printed in Great Britain by A. Wheaton & Co. Ltd., Exeter
LIST OF MAPS
General reference map facing page 1
1.1 Ecological zones 2
1.2 Distribution of population 5
1.3-1.6 Political units: 1956, 1959, 1961, 1965 10-11
1.7-1.10 Political units within Nigeria: 1960, 1963, 1967, 1976 15
1.11 Income levels, 1975 19
1.12 Energy consumption, 1974 20
2.1 Resettlement in the Kenya Highlands 31
2.2 Irrigation schemes in Sudan 35
2.3 Coffee production: 1955-7, 1973-5 41
2.4 Coffee and cocoa in Ghana and Ivory Coast: 1954, 1971 42
2.5 Coffee and cotton in East Africa: 1956, 1966 43
2.6 Cotton production: 1955-7, 1973-5 47
2.7 Sugar production: 1955-7, 1973-5 60
2.8 Change in total agricultural production: 1957-9 to 1973-5 63
4.1 Mineral development: 1956-7, 1974-5 77
4.2 Oil in Nigeria 80
4.3 Development on the Copperbelt 82
4.4 Iron mines, roads, and railways in Liberia 85
5.1 Textile mills 105
5.2 Cement factories 106
5.3 Employment in manufacturing, 1972 109
5.4 Industrial development in Nigeria, 1966 110
5.5 Industrial development in East Africa, 1972 114
6.1 Electricity generation: 1956, 1974 122
6.2 Major power stations, 123
6.3 Zambezi and Kafue power projects 124
vii
List of Maps
6.4 Volta power project 127
6.5 Niger power project 129
7.1 Port of Mombasa 141
7.2 Port of Tema 142
7.3 Port of Abidjan 143
7.4 Five West African ports 143
7.5 Railways 149
7.6 Railways in north-central Africa 151
7.7 Railways in south-central Africa 152
7.8 Motor vehicles in use, 1972 156
7.9 Road construction in Ethiopia 157
7.10 Road construction in Nigeria 158
7.11 Road construction in Angola 159
7.12 Tarred roads 160
7.13 Internal air routes in Gabon 165
7.14 Air routes from Zambia to other African countries 166
8.1 Population of major towns 172
8.2 Administrative boundaries of Kampala 176
8.3 Physical growth of Dar es Salaam 179
8.4 Physical structure of Nairobi 185
9.1 Regional associations, 1961 201
9.2 Regional associations, 1976 202
10.1 National income, 1958 210
10.2 Increase in national income, 1958-75 211
10.3 Growth in real per capita income, 1958-75 212
10.4 Areas of intense economic development 215
viii
LIST OF TABLES
1.1 Population 4
1.2 Educational provision 8
1.3 Tropical Africa in the world economy 16
1.4 Exports in the economy 17
1.5 Levels and sources of income 18
2.1 Index of food production 22
2.2 Value of agricultural exports 39
2.3 Coffee production 40
2.4 Cocoa production 44
2.5 Cotton production 46
2.6 Groundnut production 48
2.7 Palm oil and kernel production 50
2.8 Tea production 56
2.9 Rubber production 57
2.10 Sisal production 58
2.11 Sugar production 59
3.1 Fishing 68
3.2 Timber felling and export 72
4.1 Value of mineral production 78
4.2 Oil production 78
4.3 Copper production 81
4.4 Iron-ore production 84
4.5 Diamond production 88
4.6 Role of mining in the economy 89
5.1 Evolution of an export processing industry 102
5.2 Growth of two industries using local materials 104
5.3 Growth of two industries using imported materials 107
ix
List of Tables
5.4 Oil refineries
5.5 Employment in manufacturing
6.1 Electricity capacity and production
6.2 Major hydroelectricity schemes
7.1 Port traffic
7.2 Rail traffic
7.3 Rail construction
7.4 Motor vehicles
7.5 Airline traffic
7.6 Air routes to Europe
7.7 Intra-African air routes
7.8 Airport traffic
8.1 Urban population
8.2 Population growth of major cities
8.3 Town population growth in Ghana
8.4 Town population growth in Tanzania
8.5 Town growth in Zambia
8.6 Town growth in Rhodesia
9.1 External trade of tropical Africa
9.2 Trade pattern of selected African countries
9.3 OECD and multilateral aid
9.4 Share of France in external trade
9.5 West German trade
9.6 United States trade
9.7 Japanese trade
9.8 Soviet trade
9.9 Eastern bloc aid
9.10 Trade within tropical Africa
9.11 Dependence on external trade
9.12 Dependence on official aid
10.1 Increase in per capita GNP
10.2 Increase in energy consumption
10.3 Increase in exports from selected African countries
10.4 Regional imbalance in two African states
χ
LIST OF PLATES
Plates 1-8 between pages 40-41
1. Traditional Africa: unproductive country in Tanzania
2. Traditional Africa: densely settled country in Rwanda
3. Commercialization in agriculture: a market in Ghana
4. Commercialization in agriculture : coffee in Uganda
5. New techniques in agriculture : ploughing in Uganda
6. New techniques in agriculture : mechanization in Kenya
7. New structures in agriculture: land consolidation in Kenya
8. Plantation agriculture: sugar in Uganda
Plates 9-16 between pages 96-97
9. Oil drilling in eastern Nigeria
10. Oil pipeline in Nigeria
11. Development on the Copperbelt: Nkana Mine
12. Resource-based manufacturing: cement in Uganda
13. Kariba Dam and power station
14. Volta Dam and power station
15. Kainji Dam resettlement: old Bussa
16. Kainji Dam resettlement: new Bussa
Plates 17-24 between pages 160-161
17. Port development at Mombasa
18. The new port of Tema
19. Railway construction in Uganda
20. Road construction in Zambia
21. The indigenous city: Ibadan
22. The colonial city : Nairobi
23. The University of Ghana
24. Adult education in rural Ghana
xi
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
OVER much of tropical Africa, life continues today much as it has done for centuries, but in
various parts of the region exciting changes are taking place. Indeed, in the minds of many
people elsewhere in the world, Africa has been linked throughout the 1960's with "the
winds of change". The most outstanding transformation has been in the political map. In
1956 Sudan became only the third independent state in tropical Africa, yet by 1966 there
were thirty-three sovereign nations within the region. This process of political emancipation
has been accompanied by important social changes, although these have inevitably been
taking place more slowly.
Another form of change sought by the people of tropical Africa, and one which is the
chief concern of most governments now that political independence has been achieved, is
economic development. Most of the people of the region are extremely poor, and an
improvement in standards of living is an urgent need. In this respect, too, change cannot
be brought about as rapidly as in the political sphere, but many forms of development are
taking place, and it is with this economic advance that this book is primarily concerned. At
the same time, attention must be directed to the facts that the rate of economic growth in
recent years has been in many respects disappointing, and that it has been far from uniform
over the region. All tropical African countries fall clearly within the group to which the
term "underdeveloped" was generally applied in the 1950's. This was replaced by "develop-
ing" in the early 1960's, but recently this has in turn given way in many circles to the term
"less developed", and unfortunately this is, in many cases, more realistic.
Much has already been written on current change in Africa, including several studies of
problems of economic development. In addition, a number of books have recently appeared
on the geography of the continent, examining the spatial patterns of both natural and
human phenomena, and the relationships between these patterns. This book is intended to
stand between the texts on African geography and the studies of economic development by
focusing on the changes in geographical patterns that have taken place in recent years, or,
in other words, on the geographical pattern of recent and current economic change.
The area covered is not precisely that lying between the Tropic of Cancer and the
Tropic of Capricorn, but is that of the countries which lie mainly within these limits. The
countries which lie to the north are very different in character, and while their relationships
with tropical Africa are increasing, these are as yet no stronger than their ties with southern
Europe and South-west Asia. In the south, the distinction is in some ways less clear, since
there is no physical divide comparable with the Sahara; but both political and economic
xiii
Preface
conditions in South Afiica are quite different from those in most other parts of the conti-
nent. South-west Africa/Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Swaziland are so closely tied to
South Africa that they, too, have been omitted from this book. The island of Madagascar,
and smaller islands in the Indian Ocean such as Mauritius and Reunion, have also been
excluded.
The period of time with which this book is primarily concerned extends from 1956 to
1970. This time span is to some extent arbitrary, but it has been chosen because 1956 was
the year in which the process of the transfer of power began. In this way attention has been
focused on the pattern of economic development which has accompanied the attainment of
independence. An attempt is made to discover the general trends which are being main-
tained in current change, and it is hoped that this may be of some relevance to the planning
of the accelerated development which is so greatly needed in the 1970's.
The development discussed here is essentially that which is following the path already
trodden by the prosperous industrial nations of the world, and it is sometimes suggested that
this is not appropriate for Africa, which still has time to seek some better way to improve
the quality of life. However, this book is concerned with what is happening rather than with
what should happen, and rightly or wrongly most African governments have been striving
towards a more industrial-urban economy comparable to those which have produced much
higher levels of income in North America, Europe, and the Soviet Union. Perhaps priorities
will change in the future, as they already have to some extent in, say, Tanzania, but that is
for the people of Africa to decide for themselves.
I am greatly indebted to many people who have helped me to produce this book, from
my students in Africa who taught me much about their homelands, to my colleagues in
London who have kindly commented on parts of the manuscript. I am also grateful to
Mrs. E. Jamieson and Mrs. F. Barton for their assistance with typing, and to Mr. A. New-
man and Miss C. Hill for their help in producing the maps. Most of the writing was done
at home, and my greatest debt of all is to my wife for her help and encouragement at every
stage.
London ANTHONY M. O'CONNOR
xiv
