Why are 14 out of 15 of the countries with the lowest per capita GDP in Sub-Saharan Africa?

Question

13 if you don't want to count Madagascar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita

Answer 1

the U.N. ( UNICEF) has given them so much for so long and have propped them up as victims for so long, that they can no longer support themselves.
It's time they stand up for themselves without MY tax money.

Answer 2

Mainly a combination of history and geography. Almost all the nations of sub-saharan Africa were cobbled together by European colonialists. Most were not made up of related ethnic groups, so most had no real sense of national identity at independence. And relatively little of the land in sub-saharan Africa is arable, which limits the ability of many of the countries to free people from subsistence farming.

Also, although European colonists enjoyed relatively high living standards in Africa (mainly as a result of huge pools of unskilled labor that were paid almost nothiing), they did not provide much by way of education for the majority of Africans. So when they left, they took most skills with them. So it's something of an error to say that Europeans "gave" western advancement to Africa, which Africans somehow didn't manage to retain when the Europeans left. It would be more accurate to say that Europeans came, exploited natural resources and then left the Africans far worse off than they were before Europeans arrived. Almost none of the skills needed to maintain infrastructure were imparted to Africans during the colonial era. On the contrary, most colonies specifically forbade educating native Africans because they knew that education led to demnds for equality.

The African countries that have done best, like Botswana and to a lesser degree, Ghana, has a strong sense of group identity before colonialism.

Per the Economist, GDP growth in Africa over the past five years has been increasing and many are developing more reliable democratic institutions. In all liklihood, Africa will develop faster and better without the well meaning aid programs that seem to encourage African leaders to look to the West, rather than to themselves, for solutions to their challenges.

Answer 3

Low intelligence is a major cause. Psychological surveys put the average IQ of African Blacks at 70. That means the average African is mentally retarded by our standards. Blacks resident in the United States have been somewhat improved by absorption of White genes during and since the slave days; Blacks in the USA have an average IQ of 85. The reason for the low intelligence is a smaller brain size. Anthropological studies put the pure ******* brain volume at about 1350 cubic centimeters, which is about 10% less than the average brain volume of Whites (or Asians). Additionally, autopsies in which the brains of dead people were examined have revealed that the cerebrums of White brains (the part where abstract thinking occurs) exhibits greater fissuring, or sulsification, giving White cerebrums about 14% more surface area than Blacks cerebrums have.

That's probably the main factor. Leftists (and proud Blacks) will try to blame the consistent failure of Africans on European colonialism and exploitation. Don't believe them. Every ethnic group of Europe has also been colonized and exploited at some point in history, by the Mongols, the Huns, the Arabs, the Romans, etc., but of the subjugated White groups always bounce back fast once their oppressor is gone. The Jews, too, have been slaves at several times in their history, yet you can't exactly say that they are handicapped by a legacy of slavery, can you? No. Slavery is an excuse for failure only while slavery exists. Not one day more.

Answer 4

to sum it all up white people came into africa in the early 1900's. exploited the ppl and the land. created countries that purposefully were divided in ways where rivaling groups were placed in the same territory. so now the gov'ts are unstable and the land is no longer fertile. and ppl are poor. and dying. and no one wants to help b/c nobody cares if they cant get something material out of it. period. our world sucks.

i dont like cursing really but *** all of yall who are saying racist stuff on here. especialli wen its not even their fault. i mean europe literally took over every square land of africa except for ethiopia(mostly dutch, english, french, italian, spanish) and destroyed it and then jus left it there

those of you talking about white genes are some dumbaszes for real... ok maybe i do like cursing i lied. anyways we all started off as black so that dumb and where were you in highschool during the genetics unit. skin color and IQ are not linked genes

Answer 5

It's mostly because of the desert; not the best place on the planet to create a robust economy. Add to that poverty and lack of education.

Answer 6

because your ancestors robbed them naked and it will take YEARS of undoing before any significant change is made....

Don't blame them for things they can't help.