Global Environment Outlook 3 (GEO 3)

4 0

STATE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND POLICY RETROSPECTIVE: 1972–2002

period from 1970–75 to 1995–2000. However, in sub- Saharan Africa progress has been slow and 12 countries suffered setbacks in human development between 1975 and 1999 (UNDP 2001). Close to 350 million people, 44 per cent of the total population, live on US$1 or less a day (as high as 70 per cent in Nigeria) and up to 150 million children live below the poverty line (ADB 2000, UNDP 2001). Income distribution is also highly skewed with the poorest 10 per cent of Africans earning less than 5 per cent of the income and the richest 10 per cent earning 25–45 per cent of the income, depending on the country (ADB 2001). There are also large discrepancies between the status of men and women in Africa, with women prohibited from owning property or land in many societies. Women also generally earn less and do not hold a representative proportion of high-ranking jobs. Access to health services varies but generally lags behind the international average. Poor economic growth and increasing population pressures on existing facilities have contributed to low investment in the health sector. In 1998, government expenditure on health care per capita (at purchasing power parity) ranged from a high of US$623 in South Africa to only US$15 in Madagascar (UNDP 2001). The changing population Africa has had one of the highest population growth rates in the world over the past 30 years; at the current 2.4 per cent a year, it is much higher than the global average of 1.3 per cent. The population more than doubled from 375 million in 1972 to 794 million in 2000, or approximately 13 per cent of the world’s population. Fertility rates in Africa are also among the highest in the world, although they are declining — from 6.8 children per woman in the period 1965–70 to 5.4 children per woman in 1995–2000) (United Nations Population Division 2001). The HIV/AIDS pandemic, which killed 2.3 million people in Africa in 2001, is having an impact on all aspects of human, social and economic development. The continent has the highest new infection rate and the largest proportion of the population living with HIV/AIDS (8.4 per cent of adults) in the world. In 2001, there were 28.1 million people with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa — 70 per cent of the global total. Over the past 20 years, the disease has had a severe impact on life expectancy in the region, and in

Socio-economic background: Africa The African region has a wealth of natural resources, offering myriad opportunities for human, social and economic development. Its diversity of cultures and valuable indigenous knowledge provides the necessary human capital to realize these opportunities. Nevertheless, Africa entered the 21st century facing enormous challenges.

Population (millions) by sub-region: Africa

900

Western Indian Ocean Western Africa Southern Africa Northern Africa

800

700

600

Eastern Africa Central Africa

500

400

300

200

100

0

1972

1974

1976

1978

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

Rates of population

Human development Of the 49 countries in Africa for which data are available, 20 are classified as having medium human development and 29 low human development (UNDP 2001). Generally, this translates to: a low life expectancy — 52.5 years compared to a world average of 66.3 years (United Nations Population Division 2001); low levels of education and literacy — about 60 per cent adult literacy in 1999, compared to an estimated world average of 75 per cent (compiled from UNDP, UNEP, World Bank and WRI 2000); and widespread poverty — per capita GDP (in US$1995) of US$749 in 1999 compared to a global average of US$5 403 (World Bank 2001a). Sub-regional differences are most marked between Northern Africa, where rapid progress has been made over the past 30 years, and sub-Saharan Africa. In the former, life expectancy increased by 14 years in the

growth in Africa are still high — 2.4 per cent a year compared to a world average of 1.3 per cent Source: United Nations Population Division 2001