Africa is one of the continents in the world that is known to have a very high poverty rate, so what are the causes of poverty in Africa. This is caused by a number of different factors. We have compiled here, some of the main causes of Poverty in Africa ., hopefully, every patriotic Africans can come together to find solutions to them.

TOP 20 CAUSES OF POVERTY IN AFRICA

  • 1. CONFLICT

Conflict: Most of the countries in Africa are in a state of poverty because of the civil wars and other related issues going on in those countries. During these times, a lot of resources are wasted. After such wars, there is practically nothing for the country to fall back on.

  • 2. CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate Change: The change in the climate of a country such as the lack of or excessive rainfall can hinder the socioeconomic activities of a country and thus bring about poverty.

Causes of Poverty in Africa

  • 3. GOVERNMENT POLICIES

Government Policies: The policies of the government can sometimes be harsh to the common man. Examples include the demolition of residential and official buildings to make new roads or ban on some goods etc.

  • 4. ECONOMIC RECESSION

Economic Recession: Due to the current economic crisis going on in some African countries, buying and selling have become harder. This is due to the increased standard of living which cannot be afforded by many. As a result, the rate of poverty increases.

  • 5. FAMINE AND DROUGHT

Famine and Drought: food and water are the most essential things any country should have. Their scarcity leads to an increased hardship for the citizens of that country.

  • 6. DEFORESTATION

Deforestation: The excessive felling of trees leads to desertification which mitigates against any farming activity. The country would spend more on imported foods than before. This means the cost of food would rise. People would begin to buy less for more which in turn leads to poverty.

  • 7. OVERPOPULATION

Overpopulation: when a country is overpopulated, the scarce resources would not be enough to go round. This, in turn, leads to a high poverty rate.

African Child

  • 8. NATURAL DISASTER

Natural Disaster: disaster such as flooding and the likes displaces people from their homes and also hinders socioeconomic activities. When such natural disasters are prolonged and occur often, poverty sets in.

  • 9. DISEASES

Disease:: Contagious diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDS, and the likes take a lot of useful manpower from the government. When the health of a country is compromised there is a sudden decrease in the socioeconomic activities if the country. This in turn leads to poverty.

  • 10.TERRORISM

Terrorism: Bombings, killings and the likes hinder the growth of a country and increases its poverty rate.

  • 11. LOW LITERACY RATE

Low Literacy Rate: When the government doesn’t adequately invest in education, illiteracy abounds. The people are not acquainted with ways to make their country better. They become more of consumers than producers. This is among the most causes of poverty in Africa .

  • 12. CORRUPTION

Corruption: Bad governance brings about corruption. The scarce resources are unevenly distributed. This results in a few converting resources meant for the public people and many people becomes poor.

13. Educated people leaving the country in search of greener pastures reduces a country’s human resources. This in turn gradually ushers in poverty.

  • 14. NATIONAL DEBT

National Debt: When a country is in debt, nothing can be done to improve the welfare of the citizens. This slowly increases poverty.

  • 15. POOR INFRASTRUCTURE

Poor Infrastructure: if there is no infrastructure put in place for businesses to thrive and investments to be done, businesses will not thrive which will result into another major causes of poverty in Africa.

  • 16). POOR LAND USE

Poor Land Use: There might be an abundance of land that is not utilized optimally. If the people are too lazy to use such land for farming and other similar activities, there is an increased tendency for the rate of poverty to increase.

  • 17). International Trade 

Unfavorable international trade can result in some of the main causes of poverty Africa. If the country has little exports and large imports, there is tendency for the country to run into debt. This can lead to more hardship.

  • 18). NEOCOLONIALISM

Neocolonialism: the indirect rule of a country after it has gained independence from its colonial masters can lead to increase in poverty rate. This is because most of the resources go to the colonial masters leaving little for the citizens of the colonized country.

  • 19. POOR RESOURCE USAGE

: when mineral and human resources are not optimally used, this is another reason for the prevailing poverty.

  • 20. Unemployment

Unemployment: Increasing rates of unemployment in some countries is among the causes of African poverty.

There you have it on top 20 causes of poverty in Africa, share your opinions and suggestions with us through the comment box and like us on facebook.com/36fab or follow us on twitter.com/LagosNW.

Related :

Tags:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *