War Resources in Africa

Report Outline
Developed and Undeveloped African Resources
Economic Resources of North Africa
Vichy Territory; Neutral Africa; Former Axis Territory
Contributions of Allied Africa
Special Focus

Developed and Undeveloped African Resources

Principal Raw Materials Available in Africa

Invasion of French North Africa by American and British forces has again focused attention on “the Dark Continent's storehouse of raw materials.” Contrary to popular belief, Africa is not richly endowed with natural resources, nor is it an important contributor to the world's production of wealth. Africa has only 4.5 per cent of the world's export trade and only 4.8 per cent of the world's import trade. On the other hand, the continent produces a large proportion of the World output of certain commodities—gold, diamonds, cobalt, chrome ore, vegetable oilseeds, cocoa, sisal—and important quantities of manganese, tin, copper and phosphates.

Large known reserves of many minerals on the continent are unexploited in certain areas; underexploited in other areas. Similarly, agricultural output lags far behind potential production. Industrial development is negligible except in the Union of South Africa.

Causes of Underdevelopment in Dark Continent

The relative poverty of the Continent of Africa results from a combination of factors—geographical and sociological; political and economic. Large areas, especially the Sahara and tropical coastal regions, are not suitable for agriculture. Among the native population of central Africa, there is a marked prevalence of malaria, sleeping sickness, venereal disease, and intestinal disorders in many forms. Large sections of the continent have shortages of manpower. With 23 per cent of the world's area, Africa (with a total of approximately 150,000,000 inhabitants) has only 7 per cent of the world's population. A serious lack of transportation facilities makes it unprofitable, if not impossible, to exploit the resources of certain regions.