Poverty in Africa
With industrialization and trade the standard of living and quality of life of people living in Europe and North America has rapidly improved over the last century. Countries in Asia and South America are also making rapid progress. However, there has been little improvement in the life of people in Africa. Despite 11% of the world's population living in Africa, it contributes to about 1% of the GDP. This figure would be even lower if the mineral reserves of South Africa and oil production from Nigeria were excluded.
Some of the poorest people in the world , living on less than a dollar a day live in sub Saharan Africa, and the number of poor people has increased by more than 100 million in the last decade alone. The life expectancy of a person living in Africa is the lowest in the world, and more than 60% of the world's poorest countries (in terms of per capita GDP) are located in Africa.
The poverty in Africa is partly related to the lack of a proper government in many African countries. Many countries have a number of rebel groups who are fighting each other for the control of different regions. Others are ruled by military rulers or dictators, who consider the nations wealth their own personal wealth.
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