Peoples of North Africa. Africa - population and ethnic composition The ethnic composition of the population of African countries

Africa is a huge continent, on the territory of which there are 55 states. The population of Africa is 1 billion people. About 130 peoples live here, 20 of which number more than 5 million people each, and 100 - more than 1 million people each. In total, there are about 8,000 nationalities.

Population of Central Africa

The entire population of this region belongs to the Negroid race. This race is characterized by the presence of swarthy, almost black skin, dark eyes, hard dark curly hair. These include the Yoruba, Bantu, Hausa, Athara, Tubu, Kanuri peoples. Among the Tubu and Kanuri tribes, an admixture of the Caucasoid race can be seen. They have lighter skin and less wavy hair.

Representatives of the Nigrill race live in the equatorial forests of the Congo and Gabon. Their feature is short stature (up to 150 cm) and a reddish or yellowish skin tone. In proportion to the body, the head is very large. Many scientists explain their unique characteristics by living in dark forests.

The Bushmen also live in Central Africa. This is a nomadic people, representing a mixture of Negroids with Mongoloids.

Rice. 1. Negroid woman.

Population of North Africa

On the territory of North Africa, mainly peoples belonging to the Caucasoid race live. They have a swarthy (but not black) face, dark eyes and hair. These peoples include Arabs, Nubians and Berbers. On the southern outskirts there are representatives of the Negroid race, as well as many mixed types and mestizos. 90% of the people living in this region are Muslims, and the main language is Arabic. The second language in terms of the number of people speaking it is the Berber language. It is distributed in almost all countries except Sudan.

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Rice. 2. Arab woman in a hijab.

East African population

Ethiopians, Bushmen, representatives of the Negroid and Negril races live on the territory of East Africa. Ethiopians arose as a result of mixing representatives of the Caucasian and Negroid races. In the equatorial forests, which are also represented in East Africa, pygmies also live.

Rwanda is the most populated country in Africa. With a population of 12 million people, the density is 430 people per 1 sq. km. meter.

Rice. 3. Ethiopian.

Population of South Africa

The main peoples of South Africa are the Bushmen and Hottentots. These peoples are characterized by a combination of features of the Negril and Negroid races. Representatives of the Caucasian race and Asians also live here. All of them once emigrated here and stayed forever.

The population in the region is unevenly distributed. The main population is concentrated in large cities: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town.

Population of West Africa

The population of this region is 280 million people. Most of the population belong to the Negroid race (Wolof, Kisi, Serer). Berber-speaking Tuaregs live on the territory of several states. The main religions are Islam and Christianity (to a lesser extent). Of the foreign languages, English and French are common.

What have we learned?

This article briefly examines the characteristics of the population of each of the 5 regions of Africa. Representatives of the Negril race, the Negroid race, Europeans, Bushmen, Pygmies and many other peoples live in Africa. The country with the highest population density is Rwanda and the one with the smallest density is Namibia.

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Africa. Population

Ethnic composition

The ethnic composition of the modern population of Africa is very complex (see map of peoples). The continent is inhabited by several hundred large and small ethnic groups. 107 of them, numbering more than 1 million people each, make up 86.2% of the total population (1983 est.). The number of 24 peoples exceeds 5 million people, and they make up 55.2% of the population of Africa. The largest of them are Egyptian Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Algerian Arabs, Moroccan Arabs, Fulbe, Igbo, Amhara, Oromo, Sudanese Arabs.

The countries of North and Northeast Africa are inhabited by peoples who speak the languages ​​of the Afroasian family. The most common of the Semitic languages ​​- Arabic is native to 101 million people (1 / 5 of all Africans). Arabs - the main population of Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco; 49.1% of them live in Sudan, 26% in Chad.

In the Ethiopian group of Semitic peoples, the largest is the Amhara, which, together with the related Tigray, Gurage, Tigre, form the core of the emerging Ethiopian nation.

Peoples who speak Cushitic languages ​​live in Ethiopia and neighboring countries; the largest of these is the Oromo in southern Ethiopia. The Kushite group also includes Somalis and inhabitants of the mountainous regions of southern and central Ethiopia - ometo, kaffa, shinash, yamma, sidamo, etc. The vast desert expanses in the northeast of Sudan and the adjacent regions of Egypt and Somalia are occupied by the Beja.

The ancient population of North Africa - the Berber peoples (shilh, tamazight, reefs in Morocco, Kabils and Shaviya in Algeria) - survived only in the mountainous and partly desert regions of the Sahara. A special place among them is occupied by the Tuareg (self-name imoshag), who roam the desert highlands of Ahaggar and Tassilin-Ajer in Algeria, occupy the Air highlands and the adjacent regions of the Central Sahara in Niger; there are many of them in Mali.

To the south of the Sahara, there are peoples who speak Chadic languages ​​(or Hausa languages): Hausa, Bura, Vandala, etc. The vast majority of Hausa are settled in Northern Nigeria. They also live in the adjacent regions of Niger. Hausa-related peoples - the Bura, Vandala, Bade, Masa, Kotoko, etc., are settled on the hills in the east of Nigeria.

The most extensive territory in Africa is occupied by peoples who speak the Kongo-Kordofanian languages. Among the peoples speaking the Niger-Congo languages, the ethnic groups that speak the Benue-Congo languages ​​stand out for their multiplicity. They also include the Bantu peoples, who make up the vast majority of the population in many countries of Central, Eastern and Southern Africa. The 43 Bantu peoples number over 1 million people each. The largest of them are rwanda (in Rwanda, Zaire, Uganda and some neighboring countries), makua (in Malawi, Tanzania and other countries), rundi and ha (in Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania and Uganda), congo (in Zaire, Angola , Congo), Malawi (in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique), Zulu (in South Africa), Shona (in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana), Xhosa (South Africa), Luba (in Zaire and neighboring countries). Other major Bantu peoples include Kikuyu, Tsonga, Nyamwezi, Ganda, Mongo, Luhya, Ovimbundu, Pedi, Bemba, Suto, Tswana.

The Benue-Congo languages ​​are spoken by a number of large and small peoples of Nigeria and Cameroon (Ibibio, Tiv, Bamileke, Tikar, Ekoi, etc.).

Kwa-speaking peoples inhabit a vast area of ​​the Guinean coast from Liberia to Cameroon: large peoples - Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, as well as Nule, Gbari, Igbira, Ijo and others in Nigeria, a group of Akan peoples in southern Ghana and in the BSC, Ewe in southern Ghana, Togo and neighboring countries; fon (eastern ewe) in Benin; a group of Kru peoples in the BSC and Liberia, small peoples of the coastal lagoons of the BSC, etc.

The peoples who speak Western Atlantic languages ​​make up the main population of many countries in the extreme west of Africa: Wolof, Fulbe, Serer and others in Senegal, Balante, Fulbe and others in Guinea-Bissau, Temne, Limba, Fulbe and others in Sierra Leone , fulbe, kisi and others in Guinea. The most numerous are fulbes.

The peoples speaking Gur languages ​​are settled in Burkina Faso, Ghana, BSK, Mali. The largest of them is mine, closely related peoples - Lobi, Bobo, Dogon. Other peoples of this group include pears, gourma, tem, cabre, etc.

Of the Mande peoples, the Mandinka are widely settled - in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, BSK. Close to them, the Bamana inhabit the central regions of Mali, the Mende live in Sierra Leone, the Soninka in northern Mali in neighboring states, and the Susu in the coastal regions of Guinea. The Mande group also includes Dan, Queni, Mano, Diula, Vai, Busa, Bandi, Loma, etc.

The peoples speaking the Adamawa-Eastern languages ​​make up the majority of the population of the Central African Republic, they are also settled in Zaire, Cameroon and Sudan. The largest peoples are: Banda, Gbaya, Azande (Zande), Chamba, Mbum.

The Kordofan languages ​​are spoken by the small peoples inhabiting the Kordofan mountains in Sudan: Koalib, Tumtum, Tegali, etc.

The peoples who speak Nilo-Saharan languages ​​make up six groups. Shari-Nile languages ​​are spoken by many peoples of the Nile river basin. Most of the Eastern Sudanese peoples (southern Luo - Acholi, Lango, Kumam, etc.; Joluo, Dinka, Nubians, Kalenjin, Teso, Turkana, Karamojong, Nuer, Masai, etc.) live in southern Sudan, in Uganda, Kenya. The Central Sudanese group is formed by the Moru-Madi, Mangbetu, Bagirmi and Sara, as well as the Pygmies - Efe, Aka, Asua and some others.

Khoisan peoples inhabit semi-desert territories in the southwestern part of Africa (in Namibia, Botswana, Angola, South Africa). These include Bushmen, Hottentots, mountain Damara. The island of Madagascar is inhabited by Malagasy speakers of Austronesian languages.

The Indo-European languages ​​​​(Germanic, Romance and Indo-Aryan) are spoken by the population of European (Afrikaners, or Boers, British, French, Spaniards, Italians, Portuguese, etc.) and Asian (immigrants from India and Pakistan, Indo-Mauritians, etc.) origin. Individuals of European descent make up less than 1.5% of the African population. Their number after the African countries gained political independence has noticeably decreased. However, in South Africa they occupy a dominant position in economic and political life.

In terms of language and partly in culture, the mixed mestizo population adjoins the Europeans. In South Africa, it includes the so-called colored people. They are subjected, along with other "non-white" peoples, to severe racial discrimination. On the oceanic islands surrounding the African continent, as a result of ethnic mixing, various mestizo ethnic groups were formed (Reunion, Green Mys, Mauritian Creoles, etc.).

B. V. Andrianov, S. I. Bruk.

Ethnic processes - a change in the main features of an ethnic community (language, culture, self-consciousness, etc., that is, those features that distinguish this community from others) - are divided into processes of ethnic unification, including assimilation, consolidation and integration, and processes of ethnic separation . In Africa, not only their different types are represented, but also various stages of consolidation, integration and assimilation processes, as well as various forms of ethnic communities - from small wandering groups of gatherers and hunters, preserving the remnants of the tribal system, to various ethnic groups of a transitional type, ethnolinguistic and ethnopolitical communities , large nationalities and multi-million nations.

The formation of the population of Africa took place for a long time as a result of complex migration processes, interaction and mutual influence of various ethno-cultural components. One of the important stages in the ethnic history of Africa is associated with the movement of the inhabitants of the Sahara as it dries up (from the 3rd century BC). Gradually, the Negroid tribes spread to the south of the continent. As a result of centuries-old migrations of peoples, different in anthropological type and language, stages of consolidation and assimilation, a mixed population was formed in West Africa. The next stage is associated with the movement of the Bantu peoples from the west (starting from the 1st millennium AD). In East Africa, they pushed back to the north and partially assimilated the tribes of the Kushites and in the southwest - the Bushmen and Hottentots. As a result of the contacts of the newcomer Bantu-speaking tribes with the original ethnic substrate, the formation of the ethnic image of modern peoples took place. In the VII-XI centuries. Arabs migrated to North Africa, then to Central and Eastern Sudan, to the East African coast and the islands of the Indian Ocean. The ancient and medieval states of Africa - Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Congo, Cuba, etc., had a great influence on the ethnic history. Within their borders, related tribes were united and gradually consolidated into nationalities. However, this natural process was disrupted by the slave trade, which led to the devastation of vast territories. The period of colonialism had a significant impact on the ethno-cultural development of Africa. Colonial dependence, the reactionary policy of the colonialists, aimed at maintaining socio-economic backwardness, at separating peoples, conserving obsolete institutions of the tribal society, separating the borders of colonies of single ethnic groups - contributed to ethnic stratification and isolationism, hampered the process of rapprochement of various ethnic groups. However, unification processes also developed during the colonial period. Centers of ethnic consolidation were emerging in different countries, and processes of ethnic integration were outlined. In the struggle against the colonialists, national self-consciousness developed and strengthened. After the achievement of political independence by the African states, a new stage in their ethno-cultural development began. In the new historical conditions, the processes of formation of large ethnic communities are developing rapidly, capturing at the same time various levels and forms of the ethno-social structure - from families (large and small) to entire nationalities. Most ethno-social communities have already passed the stage of development denoted by the term "tribe". Everywhere there are processes of formation of nationalities, mixing, transformation of ethnic communities of different levels, replacement of tribal ties with territorial ones, strengthening of social stratification.

The conquest of independence contributed to the destruction of the patriarchal-feudal isolation of many areas, the strengthening of economic ties, the spread of common forms of culture and common literary major languages ​​(Swahili in eastern Africa, Hausa and others in the west). There is a process of folding nations in the north, the extreme south (Afrikaners), in a number of countries of Tropical Africa (among the Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo in Nigeria, Congo in Zaire and some others). As a rule, this process takes place on the basis of the consolidation of already existing nationalities. As for the formation of nations within state borders, at the present stage of ethno-social development, one can only speak of the trend of this process.

The diversity, lack of formality and amorphousness of ethnic communities in the states of Tropical Africa, the mobility of ethnic boundaries, the presence of a large number of transitional types do not always make it possible to characterize the level of ethnic development with certainty.

The processes of ethnic consolidation are intensively developing in Africa - the formation of large ethnic communities on a more or less homogeneous ethnic basis, or the further consolidation of the formed ethnos as its socio-economic and cultural development develops. They are observed among the Luhya and Kikuyu in Kenya, among the Akan peoples in Ghana, among the Igbo, Yoruba, Nupe and Ibibio in Nigeria, etc. Thus, ethnic groups close in language and culture living on the southern and eastern slopes of Mount Kenya are grouped around the Kikuyu: Embu, Mbere, Ndia, Kichugu, Meru. In terms of language, Embu, Kichugu, Mbere and Ndia are closest to the Kikuyu. Tribal languages ​​and ethnic self-names are still preserved; Kikuyu, Embu and Meru are counted separately in censuses.

The level of consolidation processes in different ethnic groups is different. The Igbos in Nigeria are compactly settled and have a common material and spiritual culture. However, remnants of tribal division, tribal dialects remain, there are local differences in culture. If, according to the 1952-53 census, all the Igbos considered themselves to be a single people, then during the Nigerian crisis of 1966-70 (see article Nigeria. Historical outline) and subsequent years, there was a tendency to separate ethnic divisions. Ethnic divisions continue to exist among the Yoruba (Ijesha, Oyo, Ife, Egba, Egbado, Ondo, etc.). The trend towards the isolation of individual ethnic divisions is holding back the consolidation processes among the Igbo and Yoruba.

Along with the consolidation in many countries, the processes of interethnic integration, the rapprochement of different ethnic groups, the emergence of common cultural features have developed. They proceed on the basis of the interaction of various ethnic components that differ in language, as well as the level of socio-economic and cultural development. These processes can develop into complete ethnic integration of different ethnic groups within the framework of one state.

Integration processes are taking place everywhere in Africa, and in some countries they are taking place on the scale of the entire state and at the level of individual nationalities. Socio-economic transformations, the creation of a single national market, the gradual emergence of a national culture within state borders, consisting of many ethnic cultures, contribute to the gradual formation of a community consciousness - Nigerian, Congolese, Guinean, etc. Africans are increasingly calling themselves non-traditional ethnonyms, and by the name of the state - Nigerians, Congolese, Guineans, etc.

An example of integration at the level of individual nationalities is the ethnic processes of the Hausa. Around the Hausa, who make up the majority of the population of Northern Nigeria, not only closely related ethnic groups are grouped, but there is also a gradual assimilation of many small tribes in the central regions of the country: the language and culture of the Hausa is spreading more and more. From these heterogeneous ethnic components, the Hausa nation is formed. It consists of: proper Hausa, Angas, Ankwe, Sura, Bade, Boleva, Karekare, Tantale, Bura, Vandala, Masa, Musgu, Mubi, etc. Most of these groups retain their self-names. The majority speaks the Hausa language, while others are bilingual and speak their native languages. Many of these peoples were part of the Hausa states (see Hausa states), their economic and cultural contacts with the Hausa have a long history, which contributes to the integration processes. In some cases, integration processes can lead to the formation of a single ethnic community within state borders. In other cases, in conditions of ethnic pluralism and the complexity of interethnic relations, several centers of integration and, accordingly, several ethno-social communities may arise. As a result of integration processes in African states, new ethno-political ones are being formed. (meta-ethnic) communities.

Assimilation processes are obvious where people live in the neighborhood, which differ sharply in terms of socio-economic development, origin, language and culture. Such are the Kikuyu in Kenya and the Ndorobo groups assimilated by them, the Luo Nilots and the Bantu-speaking Kisii and Suba; in Rwanda, Rwanda and the Twa Pygmies; in Botswana, the Tswana and the Bushmen; in Togo, small ethnic communities gradually merge with the Ewe - akebu, akposo, adele. In Guinea, there is a merger with Kisi close in language and culture to Baga, Mmani, and Landum. At the same time, many Baga and Landuma speak the Susu language and are partly assimilated by the Susu. In the Sudan, the Arabs assimilate the Nubians, the Beja, and others. In the BSK Baule, the Lagoon peoples, the Krobu, the Gwa, and others assimilate.

Along with the unification processes in a number of regions of Africa, processes of ethnic division are also observed, although in the past their role was incomparably greater. Thus, in the history of Africa, widespread migrations of Arab tribes are known, which led to the formation of separate ethnic groups. In ancient times, for centuries in Central Africa, there was a complex process of spreading and separating the Bantu-speaking ethnic groups; Medieval migrations of the Luo from the banks of the Nile to the south - to the Mezhozerie are known, accompanied by their division into a number of ethnic groups; a similar process took place in the 19th century, when part of the South African Zulu (Nguni) tribes migrated north. In Kenya, the Masaba and Bukusu ethnic groups separated from the Gishu.

The nature and pace of ethnic processes in Africa are determined by historical, socio-economic, and political factors: general economic backwardness, the multi-structural nature of the economy, the dominance of foreign monopolies in many countries, the unresolved social problems, the acuteness of the national question, extraterritorial problems inherited from colonialism, etc.

Many of the African ethnic groups retain a complex hierarchical ethno-social structure, when the same set of people is simultaneously part of ethnic communities of different levels. Such, for example, is the multimillion-strong ethnolinguistic community of the Akans, which unites a group of ethnic groups in southern and central Ghana and neighboring regions of the BSC. The proximity of the Akan languages ​​contributes to ethnocultural rapprochement both within the framework of the entire broad ethnolinguistic community, and at the level of large ethnosocial divisions - Ashanti, Fanti, Akim, and others. This process is developing in parallel with the formation of a broad ethno-political community within the state of Ghana.

Ethnic processes in modern Africa are not only complex, but also extremely contradictory. On the one hand, there is an increase in self-awareness, the erasure of tribal differences, the creation of larger ethno-social and ethno-political communities, the rejection of narrow tribal interests and the emphasis on national ones. On the other hand, there is an increase in ethnic self-consciousness, an increase in its role in political life, and an increase in tribal separatism.

Progressive economic and cultural processes, urbanization, and population migration contribute to the rapprochement of peoples. African cities with a rapidly growing working class, developing bourgeoisie and intelligentsia have become the center of the development of consolidation and integration processes. In cities, there is an intensive exchange of cultural values ​​between representatives of different peoples, convergence of languages ​​and dialects, and the formation of literary languages. All this is an important condition for the elimination of tribal isolation (detribalization).

New inter-ethnic ties are emerging in the cities, although this does not mean that the city dweller immediately breaks with his ethnic group. There are numerous ethnic unions and fraternities in the cities, which testifies to the preservation of community-tribal ties.

Mass migrations of the population, work in cities at the same enterprises of people of different ethnicity contribute to the breakdown of traditional tribal structures and activate ethnic processes. Small ethnic groups, as a rule, quickly adapt to a different ethnic environment and can be completely assimilated; numerous migrants prefer to settle together and, to a certain extent, retain the ethnic characteristics inherent in their way of life in their homeland, and a certain specificity of their social organization. In some cases, migrants are forced to stick together not always by the friendly attitude of the local population and the risk of conflict. Ethnic particularism is also facilitated by the order of population distribution established in colonial times in many cities and large villages: settlement in quarters is ethnic in nature, people from the same ethnic group prefer to settle together. In Ghana, the quarters where the alien population lives are called "zongo", in Northern Nigeria - "sabon gari" (in the Hausa language - "new city"). This situation not only does not lead to detribalization, but, on the contrary, strengthens ethnic self-awareness.

The African states that were formed within the framework of former colonial borders inherited all the difficulties arising from the discrepancy between political and ethnic borders. Such large peoples as the Ewe, Kongo, and others found themselves in different states. The division by political borders of a single ethnic territory of a people and the long-term preservation of such a division lead to the emergence of serious differences between parts of the people. The general socio-economic and political conditions in which ethnic processes take place are of significant importance. State policy can promote integration processes and the formation of a single community from different ethno-linguistic components, otherwise several ethnic communities may form. Thus, in Togo, with the favorable development of integration processes, the Ewe can merge into a single Togolese ethnic community; in Ghana, they can remain as an independent ethnic unit.

In the conditions of a multistructural economy, the social structure of ethnic communities, including nationalities and emerging nations, is extremely heterogeneous. The preservation of many archaic institutions and structures that originate from the depths of the tribal society: castes, patriarchal slavery, contempt for certain professions, ethnic prejudices and prejudices, tribal morality, a significant role of traditional power systems, ethnic stratification, etc. - leave a significant imprint on the pace and level of ethnic, primarily integration processes.

Specific historical conditions predetermine various variants of ethnic development. In the countries of North Africa with a more or less homogeneous ethnic composition, multi-million Arabic-speaking nations have already formed - Algerian, Egyptian, Moroccan, etc. In most countries, ethnic development is proceeding along the path of strengthening the largest ethnic communities and strengthening integration processes. The most striking example of the formation of a single ethno-political community is Tanzania, where on the basis of the Swahili language, recognized as the official language of the country, more than a hundred different ethnic groups form a single community that can turn into a Tanzanian nation.

In South Africa, the ethnic development of the indigenous African peoples is deformed by the reactionary racial policy of the ruling circles of South Africa. The processes of formation of large ethnic communities (nationalities and nations) among the Bantu peoples are actively going on. The creation of bantustans and the ongoing conservation of traditional institutions of tribal society in South Africa have a negative impact on the processes of national consolidation.

The population of Africa is about 1 billion people. Population growth on the continent is the highest in the world in 2004, it was 2.3%. Over the past 50 years, the average life expectancy has increased from 39 to 54 years.

The population consists mainly of representatives of two races: the Negroid south of the Sahara, and the Caucasoid in northern Africa (Arabs) and South Africa (Boers and Anglo-South Africans). The most numerous people are the Arabs of North Africa.

During the colonial development of the mainland, many state borders were drawn without taking into account ethnic characteristics, which still leads to interethnic conflicts. The average population density in Africa is 22 people/km², which is significantly less than in Europe and Asia.

In terms of urbanization, Africa lags behind other regions - less than 30%, but the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world, many African countries are characterized by false urbanization. The largest cities on the African continent are Cairo and Lagos.

Languages

The autochthonous languages ​​of Africa are divided into 32 families, of which 3 (Semitic, Indo-European and Austronesian) "infiltrated" the continent from other regions.

There are also 7 isolated and 9 unclassified languages. The most popular native African languages ​​are the Bantu languages ​​(Swahili, Congo), Fula.

Indo-European languages ​​became widespread due to the era of colonial rule: English, Portuguese, French are official in many countries. in Namibia since the beginning of the 20th century. there is a compact community that speaks German as the main language. The only language belonging to the Indo-European family that originated on the continent is Afrikaans, one of the 11 official languages ​​of South Africa. Also, communities of Afrikaans speakers live in other countries of South Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia. However, it is worth noting that after the fall of the apartheid regime in South Africa, the Afrikaans language is being replaced by other languages ​​(English and local African). The number of its carriers and scope is declining.

The most common language of the Afrosian language sacro-family - Arabic - is used in North, West and East Africa as a first and second language. Many African languages ​​(Hausa, Swahili) include a significant number of borrowings from Arabic (primarily in the layers of political, religious vocabulary, abstract concepts).

The Austronesian languages ​​are represented by the Malagasy language, which is spoken by the population of Madagascaramalagasians - a people of Austronesian origin, who presumably came here in the 2nd-5th centuries AD.

The inhabitants of the African continent are characterized by the knowledge of several languages ​​​​at once, which are used in various everyday situations. For example, a representative of a small ethnic group that retains its own language can use the local language in the family circle and in communication with their fellow tribesmen, a regional interethnic language (Lingala in the DRC, Sango in the Central African Republic, Hausa in Nigeria, Bambara in Mali) in communication with representatives of other ethnic groups, and the state language (usually European) in communication with the authorities and other similar situations. At the same time, language proficiency can be limited only to the ability to speak (the literacy rate of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2007 was approximately 50% of the total population)

Religion in Africa

Islam and Christianity predominate among world religions (the most common denominations are Catholicism, Protestantism, to a lesser extent Orthodoxy, Monophysitism). There are also Buddhists and Hindus in East Africa (many of them are from India). There are also followers of Judaism and Bahaism living in Africa. Religions introduced into Africa from outside are found both in pure form and syncretized with local traditional religions. Among the "major" traditional African religions are Ifa or Bwiti.

Education

Traditional education in Africa involved preparing children for African religions and life in African society. Education in pre-colonial Africa included games, dancing, singing, painting, ceremonies and rituals. Seniors were engaged in training; Every member of society contributes to the education of the child. Girls and boys were trained separately in order to learn the system of proper gender-role behavior. The apogee of learning was the rituals of passage, symbolizing the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood.

With the beginning of the colonial period, the education system underwent changes towards the European one, so that Africans could compete with Europe and America. Africa tried to establish the cultivation of its own specialists.

Now in terms of education, Africa is still lagging behind other parts of the world. In 2000, only 58% of children in sub-Saharan Africa were in school; these are the lowest. There are 40 million children in Africa, half of them of school age, who are not in school. Two thirds of them are girls.

In the post-colonial period, African governments placed more emphasis on education; a large number of universities were established, although there was very little money for their development and support, and in some places it stopped altogether. However, universities are overcrowded, which often forces lecturers to lecture in shifts, evenings and weekends. Due to low wages, there is a drain on staff. In addition to the lack of necessary funding, other problems for African universities are the unregulated degree system, as well as the inequity in the system of career advancement among the teaching staff, which is not always based on professional merit. This often causes protests and teachers' strikes.

Ethnic composition of the population of Africa

The ethnic composition of the modern population of Africa is very complex. The continent is inhabited by several hundred large and small ethnic groups, 107 of which number more than 1 million people each, and 24 exceed 5 million people. The largest of them are: Egyptian, Algerian, Moroccan, Sudanese Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Fulbe, Igbo, Amhara.

Anthropological composition of the population of Africa

In the modern population of Africa, various anthropological types are represented, belonging to different races.

The northern part of the continent up to the southern border of the Sahara is inhabited by peoples (Arabs, Berbers) belonging to the Indo-Mediterranean race (part of the large Caucasoid race). This race is characterized by a swarthy skin color, dark eyes and hair, wavy hair, a narrow face, and a hooked nose. However, among the Berbers there are also fair-eyed and fair-haired.

To the south of the Sahara live peoples belonging to a large Negro-Australoid race, represented by three small races - Negro, Negrillian and Bushman.

Among them, the peoples of the Negro race predominate. These include the population of Western Sudan, the Guinean coast, Central Sudan, the peoples of the Nilotic group (upper Nile), the Bantu peoples. These peoples are characterized by dark skin color, dark hair and eyes, a special structure of hair that curls in spirals, thick lips, a wide nose with a low nose bridge. A typical feature of the peoples of the Upper Nile is their high growth, exceeding 180 cm in some groups (the world maximum).

Representatives of the Negril race - Negrils or African pygmies - are undersized (on average 141-142 cm) inhabitants of the tropical forests of the Congo, Uele and other river basins. In addition to growth, they are also distinguished by a strong development of tertiary hairline, even wider than that of Negroids strongly flattened nose bridge, relatively thin lips and lighter skin color.

Bushmen and Hottentots living in the Kalahari desert belong to the Bushman race. Their distinctive feature is lighter (yellowish-brown) skin, thinner lips, a flatter face, and such specific signs as skin wrinkling and steatopygia (strong development of the subcutaneous fat layer on the thighs and buttocks).

In Northeast Africa (in Ethiopia and the Somali Peninsula) live peoples belonging to the Ethiopian race, which occupies an intermediate position between the Indo-Mediterranean and Negroid races (thick lips, narrow face and nose, wavy hair).

In general, close ties between the peoples of Africa led to the absence of sharp boundaries between races. In southern Africa, European (Dutch) colonization led to the formation of a special type of so-called colored people.

The population of Madagascar is heterogeneous, it is dominated by South Asian (Mongolian) and Negroid types. In general, Malagasy are characterized by the predominance of a narrow cut of the eyes, protruding cheekbones, curly hair, a flattened and rather wide nose.

African Vital Movement

The dynamics of the population of Africa, due to the relatively small size of migration, is determined mainly by its natural movement. Africa is an area of ​​high fertility, in some countries it is approaching 50 per thousand, that is, approaching the biologically possible. On average, the natural growth of the continent is about 3% per year, which is higher than in other regions of the Earth. The population of Africa, according to the UN, now exceeds 900 million people.

In general, higher birth rates are typical for West and East Africa, and lower rates for the zones of equatorial forests and desert regions.

Mortality is gradually reduced to 15-17 ppm.

Infant mortality (under 1 year) is quite high - 100-150 per thousand.

The age composition of the population of many African countries is characterized by a high proportion of children and a low proportion of the elderly.

The number of men and women is generally the same, with women predominating in rural areas.

The average life expectancy in Africa is about 50 years. Relatively high average life expectancy is typical for South Africa and North Africa.

Distribution of the population of Africa

The average population density of the continent is low - about 30 people/km/sq. the distribution of the population is influenced not only by natural conditions, but also by historical factors, primarily the consequences of the slave trade and colonial domination.

The highest population density is on the island of Mauritius (more than 500 people per square kilometer), as well as on the Reunion Islands, Seychelles, Comoros and the states of East Africa - Rwanda, Burundi (within 200 people). The lowest population density is in Botswana, Libya, Namibia, Mauritania, Western Sahara - 1-2 people. km/sq.

In general, the Nile valleys (1200 people km/sq.), the coastal zone of the Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia), the areas of irrigated agriculture in Sudan, the oases of the Sahara, the vicinity of large cities (100-200 people km sq. km.) are densely populated. ).

A reduced population density is noted in the Sahara - less than 1, in Tropical Africa - 1-5, in the dry steppes and semi-deserts of the Namib and Kalahari - less than 1 person. km. sq.

African urban population

The annual growth of city dwellers on the continent exceeds 5%. The share of the urban population currently exceeds 40%.

Big cities are growing especially fast: Cairo - over 10 million, Alexandria, Casablanca, Algeria - over 2 million people.

There are large differences in the level of urbanization of individual countries. The largest share of the urban population (50% or more) in South Africa, Djibouti, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritius, Reunion. The smallest - less than 5%, in Burundi, Rwanda, Lesotho.

On the continent, a number of areas with a cluster of cities stand out: the valley and delta of the Nile, the coastal strip of the Maghreb, the urban agglomerations of South Africa, the Copper Belt region in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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POPULATION Ethnic composition of Africa

Ethnic composition of modern, us. A. is distinguished by great complexity (see the map of peoples). The continent is inhabited by several hundreds of large and small ethnic groups. 107 of them, numbering more than 1 million people. each, make up 86.2% of all us- (1983 est.). Number 24 nations exceeds 5 million people, and they make up 55.2% of us. A. The largest of them - Egypt. Arabs, Hausa, Yoruba, Alj, Arabs, Moroccan Arabs, Fulbe, Igbo, Amhara, Oromo, Sudanese Arabs.

Countries North, and North, East. And, inhabited by peoples who speak the languages ​​of the Afroasian family Naib, a common Semitic language - Arabic is native to 101 million people. (V5 of all Africans). Arabs - main, us. Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania. Morocco; 43.1% of them live in Sudan, 26% in Chad.

In the Ethiopian group of Semitic peoples, naib, large - Amhara, to-rye, together with kinships, tigray, gurage, tiger, the core of the emerging Ethiopian, nation

Cushite-speaking peoples live in Ethiopia and neighboring countries; the largest of them - Oromo in the south. Ethiopia. The Kushite group also includes Somalis and inhabitants of the mountainous regions of the South and Center. Ethiopia - ometo, kaffa, shinasha, yamma, sidamo, etc. Vast desert spaces in the north-east. Sudan and the adjacent regions of Egypt and Somalia occupy the Beja.

Older than us. Sev. A. - Berber peoples (shilh, tamazigt, reefs in Morocco, Kabils and Shaviya in Algeria) - survived only in the mountainous and partly desert regions of the Sahara. A special place among them is occupied by the Tuaregs (self-named imoshag), who roam the desert highlands of Ahaggar and Tassilin-Adjer in Algeria, occupy the Air highlands and the adjacent regions of the Center. Sahara in Niger; there are many of them in Mali.

South of the Sahara inhabited by peoples who speak the Chadic languages ​​(or Hausa languages): Hausa, Bura, Vandala, and others. The overwhelming majority of the Hausa are settled in the North. Nigeria. They also live in the adjacent districts of Niger. Hausa related peoples - the Bura, Vandala, Bade, Masa, Kotoks, etc., are settled on the hills in eastern Nigeria.

Naib, a vast territory. A. is occupied by peoples who speak the Kongo-Kordofanian languages. Among the peoples speaking the Niger-Congo languages, the ethnic groups that speak the Benue-Caucasian languages ​​stand out for their multiplicity. The Bangu peoples, who make up the vast majority of us, also belong to them. in many countries Center .. East. and Yuzh. A. 43 Bantu peoples include St. 1 million people each, the most cr. of them - Rwanda (in Rwanda, Zaire, Uganda and some neighboring countries), Makua (in Malawi, Tanzania and other countries), Rundi and Ha (in Burundi, Zaire, Tanzania and Uganda), Congo (in Zaire, Angola, Congo), Malawi (in Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique), Zulu (in South Africa), Shona (in Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana), Xhosa (South Africa), Luba (in Zaire and neighboring countries). Among other cr. Bantu peoples - Kikuyu, Tsonga, Nyamwezi, Ganda, Mongo, Luhya, Ovimbundu, Pedi, Bemba, Suto, Tswana.

In Benue-Congo. says a number of cr. and small peoples of Nigeria and Cameroon (Ibibio, Tiv, Bamileke, Tikar, Ekoi, etc.).

The peoples who speak Kwa languages ​​inhabit the vast zone of the Guinean coast from Liberia to Cameroon: the Kr peoples - Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, as well as Nupe, Gbari, Igbira, Ijo, etc. in Nigeria, the Akan people group in southern Ghana and in BSK, Ewe in the south of Ghana, in Togo and neighboring countries; von (East. Ewe) in Benin; a group of Kru peoples in the BSC and Liberia, small peoples of the coastal lagoons of the BSC, etc.

Peoples who speak Western Atlantic. languages, make up the main. us. many countries at the extreme 3. A.; Wolof, Fulbe, Serer, and others in Senegal, Balante, Fulbe, and others; in Guinea-Bissau; Temne, Limba, Fulbe, and others; The most numerous are fulbes.

The peoples who speak Gur languages ​​are settled in Burkina Faso, Ghana, BSK, Mali, Samaya kr. of them - mine, close relatives. peoples - Lobi, Bobo, Dogon. Other peoples of the ego group include pears, gourma, tem, cabre, etc.

Of the Mande peoples, the Mandinka are widely settled - in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, BSK. Close to them, the Bamans inhabit the center, the districts of Mali, the Mende live in Sierra Leone, Soninka in S. Mali in neighboring states, Susu in the coastal regions of Guinea. The Mande group also includes Dan, Queni, Mano, Diula, Vai, Busa, Bandi, Loma, etc.

The peoples who speak the Adamawa-Eastern languages ​​make up the majority of us. CAR, they are also settled in Zaire, Cameroon and

Sudan Naib, kr, peoples: banda, gbaya, azande (zande), chamba, mbum.

The Kordofan languages ​​are spoken by the small peoples inhabiting the Kordofan mountains in Sudan: Koalib, Tumtum, Tegali, etc.

The peoples who speak Nilo-Saharan languages ​​form a network of groups. In Shari-Nile languages. say many peoples bass. R. Nile. B. part of the Eastern Sudanese peoples (Southern Luo Acholi, Lango, Kumam, etc.; Joluo, Dinka, Nubians, Kalenjin, Teso, Turkana, Karamojong, Nuer, Masai, etc.) live in the south, Sudan, in Uganda , Kenya, the Central Sudanese group is formed by moru-madi, mangbetu, bagirmi and sara, as well as pygmies - efe, aka, asua and some others.

The Khoisan peoples inhabit semi-desert territories in southwestern parts of Africa (in Namibia, Botswana, Angola, and South Africa). These include Bushmen, Hottentots, mountain Damara. A. Madagascar is inhabited by Malagasy speakers of Austronesian from.

Indo-European languages ​​​​(Germanic, Romance and Indo-Aryan) are spoken by us. European (Afrikaners, or Boers, British, French, Spaniards, Italians, Portuguese, etc.) and Asian (immigrants from India and Pakistan, Indo-Mauritians, etc.) origin. European faces. origins make up less than 1.5% of us. A. Their number. after the countries of Azerbaijan won political independence, it decreased markedly. However, in South Africa they occupy a dominant position in economic and political life.

In terms of language and partly in culture, the mixed mestizo us adjoins the Europeans. In South Africa, it includes the so-called. color. Along with other non-white peoples, they are subjected to severe racial discrimination. On the oceanic islands surrounding Africa. continent, as a result of ethnic. mixing, various mestizo ethnic groups were formed (Reunion, Green Mys, Mauritian Creoles, etc. Ethnic processes

Ethnic processes - change osn. signs of ethnicity. communities (language, culture, self-consciousness, etc., i.e. those features that distinguish this community from others) - are divided into processes of ethnic unification, including assimilation, consolidation and integration, and processes of ethnic . separation. In A. not only their different types are presented, but also various stages of consolidation., Integration. and assimilation processes, as well as various forms of ethnic. communities - from small wandering groups of gatherers and hunters, preserving the remnants of the tribal system, to various ethnic groups of a transitional type, ethnolinguistic and ethno-political communities, cr. nationalities and multi-million nations.

Shaping us. A. took place over a period of time as a result of complex migration, processes, interaction and mutual influence of various ethno-cultural components. One of the important stages of ethnic The history of A. is associated with the movement of the inhabitants of the Sahara as it dries up (from the 3rd century BC). Gradually, the Negroid tribes spread to the south of the continent. A. formed a mixed-noe us. The next stage is connected with the movement from 3. Bantu peoples (starting from the 1st millennium AD). In Voet, A., they pushed back to the north and partially assimilated the Kushite tribes and to the southwest. Bushmen and Hottentots. As a result of contacts of alien Bantu-speaking tribes with the original. ethnic the substrate was the formation of ethnic, the appearance of modern. peoples, In 7-11 centuries, there were resettlement of Arabs in the North. A., then to the Center, and East. Sudan, East African coast and Indus Islands, approx. Big impact on social media. the history was rendered by the ancients and the Middle Ages. state-va A. - Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Congo, Cuba, etc. Within their borders, there was an unification of kinship. tribes and their gradual consolidation into nationalities. However, this natural the process was disrupted by the slave trade, which led to the devastation of vast territories. This means that the influence on the ethno-cultural development of A was exerted by the period of colonialism, Colon, dependence, the reactionary policy of the colonialists, aimed at preserving the socio-economic. backwardness, the disunity of peoples, the conservation of obsolete institutions of tribal tribes. society, the separation of the borders of the colonies of single ethnic groups - contributed to ethnic. stratification and isolationism, slowed down the processes of rapprochement decomp. ethnic groups. However, unification processes also developed in the colon period. Ethnic centers formed in different countries. consolidation, processes of ethnic integration, In the struggle against the colonialists, the nat developed and grew stronger. self-awareness. After reaching Afr. state-you political. independence, a new stage in their ethno-cultural development has begun. In new historical conditions, the processes of formation of kr, ethnic. communities are developing rapidly, capturing at the same time decomp. levels and forms of ethno-social structure - from families (large and small) to entire nationalities. Most ethno-social communities have already passed the stage of development, denoted by the term<‘племя». Повсеместно идут процессы формирования народностей, смешение, трансформация этнич, общностей разного уровня, смена родо-плем. связей территориальными, усиление социальной стратификации.

The conquest of independence contributed to the destruction of the patriarchal feud. closure pl. areas, strengthening the economic connections, the spread of common forms of culture and common literary major languages ​​(Swahili - in V.A., Hausa, etc. - in 3.). Nations are being formed in the north, the extreme south (Afrikaners), and in a number of countries in Tropical Africa (among the Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo in Nigeria, the Congo in Zaire, and some others). As a rule, this process takes place on the basis of the consolidation of already existing nationalities. As for the formation of nations within the state borders, then in modern. stage of ethnosocial development, we can only talk about the trend of this process.

Diversity, unformedness and amorphous ethnic. communities in the states of Tropic, A., the mobility of ethnic boundaries, the presence of a large number of transitional types do not always allow us to definitely characterize the level of ethnic. development,

Ethnic processes are intensively developing in Azerbaijan. consolidation - the folding of large ethnic groups. communities on a more or less homogeneous ethnic basis, or further consolidation of the formed ethnos as its socio-economic. and cultural development. They are observed among the Luhya and Kikuyu in Kenya, among the Akan peoples in Ghana, among the Igbo, Yoruba, Nupe and Ibibio in Nigeria, etc. Thus, ethnic groups close in language and culture are grouped around the Kikuyu. groups living in the south. and howls, the slopes of Mount Kenya: Embu, Mbere, Ndia, Kichugu, Meru. In terms of language, Kikuyu Naib is close to Embu, Kichugu, Mbere and Ndia. The tribes are still preserved. languages ​​and ethnic self-names; in our censuses. Kikuyu, Embu and Meru are counted separately.

Consolidation level processes in different ethnic groups is different. The Igbos in Nigeria are compactly settled and have a common core. features of the material and spiritual culture, However, the remnants of the tribes remain. divisions, tribes dialects, there are local differences in culture. If, according to the 1952-53 census, all the Igbos considered themselves to be a single people, then during the Nigerian crisis of 1966-70 (see in the article Nigeria, Historical essay) and subsequent years, there was a tendency towards ethnic isolation. divisions. Ethnic subdivisions continue to exist among the Yoruba (Ijesha, Oyo, Ife, Egba, Egbado, Ondo, etc.). The trend towards segregation ethnic divisions are holding back the consolidation processes of the Igbo and Yoruba.

Along with the consolidation in many countries have developed inter-ethnic processes. integration, rapprochement of different ethnic groups, the emergence of their common cultural features. They proceed on the basis of the interaction of various ethnic groups. components that differ in language, as well as the level of socio-economic and cultural development. These processes can develop into a complete ethnic. integration of different ethnic groups within the framework of one state-va.

Integration processes are taking place everywhere in Armenia, and in some countries they are taking place on the scale of the entire state and at the level of departments. nationalities. Socio-economic. transformation, the creation of a single national. market, the gradual emergence of a national. culture within the state. boundaries, consisting of many ethnic cultures, contribute to the gradual formation of a community consciousness - Nigerian, Congo-Lesian, Guinean, etc. Africans are increasingly calling themselves non-traditional. ethnonyms, but by name. gos-va - Nigerians-mi, Congolese, Guineans, etc.

An example of integration at the department level. nationalities can serve ethnic. house processes. Around the house that make up the majority of us. Sev. Nigeria is not only grouped by siblings. ethnic groups, but there is a gradual assimilation of many others. small tribes center, districts of the country: the language and culture of the Hausa is spreading more and more. Of these diverse ethnic components formed the nation of Hausa. It consists of: proper Hausa, Angas, Ankwe, Sura, Bade, Boleva, Karekare, Tangale, Bura, Vandala, Masa, Musgu, Mubi, etc. Most of these groups retain their self-names. Main the masses speak the language. Hausa, others are bilingual and speak their native languages. Many of these peoples were part of the Hausan states (see Hausa states), their households. and cultural contacts with the Hausa have a long history that promotes integration. processes. In some cases, integration processes can lead to the formation of a single ethnic community within the state. borders. In other cases, in conditions of ethnic pluralism and the complexity of inter-ethnic. relationships may arise. integration centers and, accordingly, several. ethnosocial communities. As a result of the integration processes in Africa. state wah is going on the formation of new ethnopolitical. (metaethnic) communities.

Assimilation. processes are obvious where people live in the neighborhood, sharply differing in the level of socio-economic. development, by origin, language and culture. Such are the Kikuyu in Kenya and the Ndorobo groups assimilated by them, the Luo Nilots and the Bantu-speaking Kisii and Suba; in Rwanda, Rwanda and the Twa Pygmies; in Botswana, the Tswana and the Bushmen; in Togo, small ethnic communities - akebu - gradually merge with the Ewe. akposo, adele. In Guinea, there is a merger with Kisi close in language and culture to Baga, Mmani, and Landum. At the same time, many Baga and Lan-Duma speak yaz. Susu and partially assimilated by Susu. In the Sudan, the Arabs assimilate the Nubians, the Beja, and others; ethnic groups in the Ogoji region are significantly influenced by neighbors - Igbo and Ibibio.

Along with uniting processes in a number of districts of A., ethnic processes are also observed. separation, although in the past their role was incomparably greater. Thus, in the history of Africa, widespread migrations of Arabs and tribes are known, which led to the formation of separate ethnic groups. In antiquity for centuries in the Center. And, there was a complex process of spreading and separating the Bantu-speaking ethnic groups; Wed-age are known. migration of the Luo from the banks of the Nile to the south - to the Mezhozerie, accompanied by their division into a number of ethnic groups; a similar process took place in the 19th century, when part of South Africa. The Zulu (Nguni) tribes migrated to the north. In Kenya, the Masaba and Bukusu ethnic groups separated from the Gishu.

The nature and pace of ethnic. processes in A. are determined by historical, socio-economic. and political factors; general economic backwardness, the multistructural nature of the economy, the dominance of foreign monopolies in many countries, the unresolved social problems, the severity of nat. issues, ethnoterritorial problems inherited from colonialism, etc.

Many of the African ethnic groups retain a complex hierarchy of the ethno-social structure, when the same set of people is simultaneously part of the ethnic. communities at different levels. Such, for example, is the multimillion-dollar ethnolinguistic Akan community, uniting a group of ethnic groups in the south. and center. Ghana and neighboring areas of the BSC communities, and at the level of large ethno-social divisions - Ashanti, Fanti, Akim, etc. Socio-economic. the transformations taking place in Ghana contribute to the formation of ethno-social communities - nationalities - among different peoples of the Akan. This process is developing in parallel with the formation of a broad ethne-political community within the state of Ghana.

Ethnic processes in modern. A. are not only complex, but also extremely contradictory. On the one hand, there is an increase in self-consciousness, the erasure of tribes. differences, the creation of larger ethnosocial and ethnopolitical. communities, the rejection of narrow tribal interests and the emphasis on national interests. On the other hand, there is an increase in ethnic self-awareness, increasing its role in politics, life, strengthening tribes, separatism,

Rapprochement of peoples is facilitated by progressive economic and cultural processes, urbanization, and migration. Afr. cities with a rapidly growing working class, developing bourgeoisie and intelligentsia became the center of the development of consolidation and integration processes. In cities, there is an intensive exchange of cultural values ​​between representatives of different peoples, the convergence of languages ​​and dialects, the formation of lit. languages. All this is an important condition for the elimination of tribes. isolation (detribalization).

In the cities, new inter-ethnic groups are emerging. ties, although this does not mean that the city dweller immediately breaks with his ethnicity. group, In cities there are numerous, ethnic. unions and fraternities, which testifies to the preservation of the community-tribe. connections.

Mass migrations of us., work in cities on the same pr-tions of people of different ethnicity. accessories contribute to the breaking of traditions. tribal structures and activate ethnic. processes. Few. ethnic groups, as a rule, quickly adapt to foreign ethnicity. environment and can be fully assimilated; numerous, migrants prefer to settle together and to a certain extent retain ethnicity. features inherent in their way of life in their homeland, and defined. specifics of their social organization. In some cases, migrants are forced to stick together not always by the friendly attitude of the locals. and the risk of conflict. Ethnic Particularism is also facilitated by the order of placement of us, which was established back in the colon, time. in many cities and large villages: settlement in quarters is ethnic. character, people from the same ethnic group. groups prefer to settle together. In Ghana, the quarters where the newcomer lives are called "songo", in the North. Nigeria - "sabon gari" (in the language of Hausa - "new city"). This situation not only does not lead to detribalization, but, on the contrary, strengthens ethnicity. self-awareness.

Afr. state-va, formed within the framework of the former columns, borders, inherited all the difficulties arising from the inconsistency of the political. and ethnic. borders, In different states, such large peoples as the Ewe, the Congo, and others turned out to be. Separation of the political. borders of a single ethnic territory k.-l. people and continues, the persistence of such a division leads to the emergence of serious differences between parts of the people. Beings, the value in this case are the general socio-economic. and political conditions in which ethnic. processes. State. politics can contribute to integration processes and the formation of a single community from different ethnolinguistic. components, otherwise several ethnic groups may form. communities. So, in Togo, with the favorable development of integration processes, the Ewe can merge into a single Togolese ethnic group. community, in Ghana can be preserved as independent. ethnic unit.

In the context of a multi-structural economy, the social structure of the ethnic. communities, including nationalities and emerging nations, is extremely heterogeneous. Preservation of many archaic institutions and structures, originating from the depths of tribal tribes. society: castes, patriarchal slavery, contempt for certain professions, ethnic. prejudices and prejudices, norms of tribes. morality, hence the role of traditions. power systems, ethnic. stratification, etc. - leave a significant imprint on the pace and level of ethnic, primarily integration processes.

Specific historical conditions predetermine various variants of ethnic development. In the countries of the North A. with more or less homogeneous ethnicity. The composition has already formed many-million Arabic-speaking nations - Algerian, Egyptian, Moroccan, etc. In most countries, ethnic. development is proceeding along the path of strengthening Naib. cr. ethnic communities and strengthening integration. processes. Naib, a vivid example of the folding of a single ethnopolitical. communities - Tanzania, where on the basis of the Swahili language, recognized by the official. the language of the country, from more than a hundred different ethnic groups. groups, a single community is formed, which can turn into a Tanzanian nation.

In Yuzh. A. ethnic. development of indigenous Africans. peoples are deformed by the reaction, racial policy of the ruling circles of South Africa. The processes of formation of large ethnic groups are actively going on. communities (peoples and nations) among the Bantu peoples. The creation of bangusgans and the conservation of traditions carried out in South Africa. tribal institutions. societies have a negative impact on the processes of nat. consolidation.

Ethnic processes are closely connected with linguistic ones. Social shifts, including the transformation of traditional social structures that contribute to households. and political consolidation, not only lead to a decrease in the importance of ethno-separating factors and to the formation of large ethno-political. communities, but also activate language processes. On the one hand, bilingualism and multilingualism are spreading, and on the other hand, the languages ​​of larger communities absorb the languages ​​of small ethnic groups. groups, Economic, social and political, transformations in countries A, lead to the widespread use of interethnic communication languages ​​- Swahili, Kingwana, Lingala, Sango, Wolof, etc. English also plays a significant role. and French languages, especially for interethnic. relationship,

Socio-economic. and lolitic. conversion to African state-wah contribute to the intensification of ethnic. processes. Main ethnic trends. development become the consolidation of individual ethnic. communities and the transformation of some of them into nationalities and nations and intrastate. interethnic integration A characteristic feature is the special role of the state in ethnic. development, acting as a factor in rallying different ethnic groups. groups into a larger community. In state-wah, who have chosen the path of progressive socio-economic. development, pursuing a policy that encourages the rapprochement of different ethnic groups and the formation of a single ethnopolitical. complex within the state. borders, creates the prerequisites for the formation of new nations on the revolutionary-democratic. and in the future -

Africa, with an area of ​​30.3 million km2 and a population of over 700 million people, is now ahead of any other part of the world in terms of the number of independent states. However, the overwhelming majority of African countries gained their independence only after the Second World War,1 to be more precise, starting from the 1950s. Especially many African countries (32) became independent in the 60s. The year 1960, in which 17 African states achieved independence, is sometimes even called "the year of Africa".
Currently, the list of independent African states is as follows: Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Mauritania, Cape Verde, Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast , Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Congo, Zaire, Angola, Namibia, South Africa (South Africa) ), Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles.
Only four African territories have not yet gained independence: Western Sahara - a former Spanish possession, occupied by Morocco and fighting for liberation2, Saint Helena and the so-called British Indian Ocean Territory (the Chagos Archipelago and other small islands), remaining British colonies, Reunion Island, which is an overseas department of France. France actually also controls the island of Mayotte - one of the Comoros (it has the status of an overseas territory), but the Republic of the Comoros believes that this island should belong to it.
Two cities that are enclaves in Morocco - Ceuta and Melilla, as well as located off the Moroccan coast of Chafarinas, Alusemas and Vélez de la Gomera represent an integral part of Spain.
If the division of Asia into regions is more or less generally accepted, then there is still no well-established regionalization of Africa. One can only point to one of these regionalizations, according to which two main regions are distinguished in Africa: North Africa, covering all the Arab countries (Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania) and Tropical Africa (sometimes called Africa south of the Sahara), which includes all other countries.
These two regions are fundamentally different from each other in the ethnic structure of their population. If the countries of the first region (with the exception of Sudan) have a relatively simple ethnic structure, and the composition of the population of all countries is more or less similar, then the vast majority of the countries of the second region are ethnically very complex. It is due to them that the number of ethnic groups in Africa is so large: 1.5 thousand, if we proceed from the assumption that each linguistic community can in most cases be simultaneously considered an ethnic community, or even 7 thousand, if each tribe is considered as a separate ethnic group (which hardly true).
The peoples of Africa are united by language into the following families: Afroasian (34% of the total population), Niger-Kordofanian (56%), Nilo-Saharan (6%), Austronesian (about 2%), Indo-European (2%), Khoisan (0 .05%).
The Afroasian (Semitic-Hamitic) family, represented mainly in North and Northeast Africa3, is subdivided into Semitic4, Berber, Cushitic and Chadian groups. The largest of them is Semitic, which includes 2/3 of the total population belonging to the Afroasian family. The Semitic group includes primarily the Arab peoples of Africa: Egyptian Arabs (55 million), Algerians (22 million), Moroccan (20 million), Sudanese (13 million), Tunisian (8 million), Libyan Arabs (4 million), Moors , or Mauritanian Arabs (1.8 million), Arabs of Chad (1.5 million), Shuva Arabs in Nigeria and Cameroon5 (0.4 million; Saharawi, or Arabs of Western Sahara (0.3 million). To the Semitic group also a number of Ethiopian peoples belong: Amhara (20 million), Gurage (1.4 million), etc., as well as tigers living in Ethiopia and Eritrea (4 million) and tigers living in Eritrea (0.8 million).
The Berber group is formed by closely related Berber peoples. The most significant of them are shilk (3 million), tamazight (over 2 million) and reef (1.3 million) in Morocco, kabils (3 million) and chaouya (1.1 million) in Algeria, as well as Tuareg ( 1.3 million) in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and some other countries.
The Cushitic group includes a large number of ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Oromo (20 million), settled mainly in Ethiopia, the Somali (11 million), living mainly in Somalia, as well as in neighboring countries, the Beja (1.9 million), living mainly in Sudan, Ometo6 (1.2 million) living in Ethiopia, Afar (about 1 million) occupying the territory at the junction of three countries: Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti
The Chadian group also unites a lot of peoples, among which one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa, the Hausa (24 million), settled primarily in Nigeria, as well as in Niger and other countries, stands out sharply in its numbers. Of the other peoples of the Chadian group, we note the Bura (1.8 million), living mainly in Nigeria.
The largest number of ethnic groups in Africa belongs to the Niger-Kordofan family, which, unlike the Afroasian family, is almost entirely limited to the African continent. It covers three main groups: Mande, Niger-Congo and Kordofan.
The Mande group, located on the northwestern periphery of the territory of the Niger-Kordofan family, includes the Malinke (over 4 million) living in Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, the Gambia and a number of other countries, the Bambara (about 4 million ), concentrated mainly in Mali, the Mende (1.6 million), who are one of the two main ethnic groups of Sierra Leone, the Soninke (1.4 million), settled in Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal and some other countries, and many other nations.
The Niger-Congo group is divided into two sub-groups: the West Atlantic and the Central Niger-Congo. The extremely dispersed ethnic community of the Fulbe (20 million) belongs to the West Atlantic subgroup; over half of the Fulani live in Nigeria, and the rest live in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Cameroon and many other countries of Western Sudan8. In addition to the Fulbe, the West Atlantic subgroup includes the Wolof (3 million) and Serer (1.4 million), living mainly in Senegal, and the Temne (1.4 million) - one of the two (along with the Mende) main peoples of Sierra Leone.
The huge subgroup of the central Niger-Congo breaks up into several even more fractional divisions: Kru, Dogon, Gur, Adamawa-Ubanguy, Ijo-Defaka, Western and Eastern.
As part of the Kru division, the largest Bete people (about 3 million), completely concentrated in Côte d'Ivoire and being the most significant of the country's ethnic groups, and the Dogon division consists of only the Dogon people (only 0.4 million people), settled mainly in Mali.In the Gur division there are a number of rather large ethnic groups: Mosi (about 8 million) living in Burkina Faso and Ghana, Senufo (about 4 million) settled at the junction of the borders of Côte d'Ivoire, Mali and Burkina- Faso, Gourma (1.4 million), living in the border regions of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Togo, Lobi (1.3 million), living mainly in Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire.
In the Adamawa-Ubangi division, the Zande (about 4 million), the gang (1.6 million) living in the CAR and Zaire, and the Gbaya (1.1 million), settled mainly in the CAR, as well as in a small number in some other countries.
The Ijo-defaka division includes the Ijo people living in Nigeria (about 2 million).
The Western division consists of a large group of ethnic groups, including such large ones as the Ashanti (over 3 million) and Fangs (1.6 million)13, concentrated in Ghana, the Ewe (4 million), living in Ghana and Togo, background (over 3 million) concentrated in Benin, any (2 million) settled in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and Baul (1.6 million) living within Côte d'Ivoire.
Almost half of all African peoples belong to a very large eastern division. Among these ethnic groups are such large ones as the Yoruba (20 million), Igbo (16 million), Ibibio (5 million), Bini (3 million) and Nupe (1.1 million) in Nigeria, Tiv (2 million) in Nigeria and Cameroon . In addition, this division includes a very large number of closely related peoples settled in Central and South Africa and called the Bantu: Rwanda, Shona, Kongo, Makua, Rundi, Zulu, Xhosa, Luba, Nyamwezi, Kikuyu, Mongo, Tsonga, Tswana and many others (Table 9).
In isolation from the other two groups of the Niger-Kordofan family, on the Kordofan Plateau in the Republic of the Sudan live peoples belonging to the Kordofan group of this family. All these ethnic groups (Tumtum, Katla, Ebang, Tegem, Tegali, etc.) are small in number and together they number only 0.7 million people.
Between the Afro-Asiatic and the Niger-Kordofanian families, directly south of the Sahara, the territory of the settlement of the peoples of the Nilo-Saharan family stretches in a narrow strip. Much smaller than the first two families, this family includes 9 groups: Songhai, Saharan, Maban, Fur, East Sudanese, Central Sudanese, Berta, Kunama, Komuz (according to another classification, East Sudanese, Central Sudanese, Berta and Kunama are not considered separate groups, but subgroups within the Shari-Nil group).
The Songhai group unites three peoples who speak the Songhai language, the largest of which is also called Songhai (1.6 million). It is settled in Mali, Niger and a number of other countries.
The Saharan group also includes three ethnic groups, and only one of them can be classified as large. These are Kanuri (about 5 million) living in Nigeria and some other countries.
The Maban group covers several small peoples (Maba, Mimi, etc.), living mainly in Chad, with a total number of only 0.4 million people.
Only two ethnic groups belong to the Fur group (0.6 million), concentrated mainly in Sudan, named after the larger of them.
The largest group of the Nilo-Saharan family is the Eastern Sudanese, uniting many peoples in eastern Africa. The largest of them are the Luo (about 4 million), living mainly in Kenya, the Dinka (3 million), concentrated in Sudan, the Nubians (about 3 million), settled along the Nile in Sudan and Egypt, the Teso (2 million), living predominantly in Uganda, the Nuer (1.4 million), who live mainly in Sudan, and the Langi, or Lango (1.2 million), concentrated in Uganda.
Of the ethnic groups of the Central Sudanese group, the most significant is the Sara (together with related tribes, it totals 1.5 million), living mainly in Chad and partly in the Central African Republic.
The Berta and Kunam groups each consist of one people of the same name. Both peoples are small. Berta (160 thousand) settled in

border areas of Ethiopia and Sudan, kunama (about 80 thousand) - in Eritrea.
The last group of the Nilo-Saharan family - Komuz - includes several very small ethnic groups in the adjacent regions of Sudan and Ethiopia. Their total number is only 25 thousand people.
In the extreme south of Africa, as well as in two isolated regions of East Africa, there are small peoples whose language belongs to the Khoisan family. The Khoisan peoples living in South Africa are commonly referred to as Hottentots and Bushmen. The total number of all Khoisan peoples is slightly more than 0.3 million.
On the island of Madagascar, the indigenous people - Malagasy - belong to the Austronesian family. Their number reaches 13 million people.
Among the alien population of Africa belonging to the Indo-European family1, the largest national groups are Afrikaners (3 million) and Anglo-South Africans (1.5 million) in South Africa, various groups of descendants of immigrants from India (2 million), as well as the British, French, Portuguese, Italians and others. Along with the Afrikaners, the Afrikaans language, which branched off from the Dutch language, is also spoken by a mixed European-African population - the so-called Cape Coloreds (about 3 million).
The ethnic composition of the African population is very complex. In general, it is even more difficult than in Asia: if about 1200 peoples live in the latter, then in Africa, according to the most conservative estimates, 1.5 thousand ethnic groups live, although its population is 5 times smaller. If in Asia only in five countries the largest people do not form more than half of the population, then in Africa, out of 56 countries with a permanent population,15 almost half (27) do not have a numerical predominance of the largest ethnic group.
According to the proportion in the population of the largest people, African countries can be divided into 10 groups (Table 10).
Almost mono-ethnic country in Africa is only Western Sahara, in which the Arabs form almost 100% of the population. Even countries such as Madagascar, Sao Tome and Principe, Egypt, where the main ethnic group exceeds 99% of the population, cannot be called single-national in the strict sense of the word, since all of them have groups of permanently living foreigners, and in Egypt, in addition, and national minorities of local origin (Nubians, etc.).
The number of peoples in most African countries south of the Sahara is very large and is usually difficult to determine, because due to the incompleteness of the ethno-unification process among most of the large ethnic groups in Africa, and also because of their hierarchical

Table 10. The share of the largest people in the population of various African countries

structures (peoples are subdivided into tribes and other sub-ethnic groups), it is often difficult to resolve the question of what constitutes a specific ethnic community: an already established people or a merging group of related tribal formations.
In most countries of Tropical Africa, there are several dozen, and in some - several hundred ethnic groups. So, in Nigeria, more than 250 peoples are usually distinguished, although a number of researchers believe that there are many more ethnic groups in this country - many hundreds. There are over 200 peoples in Zaire, about the same number in Tanzania, more than 140 in Chad, over 100 in Cameroon, about 100 or less in Burkina Faso, from 90 to 100 in Angola, more than 70 in Ethiopia, over 70 - in Zambia, more than 50 - in Congo, about 50 - in Mozambique, 40-50 - in Kenya, about 45 - in Togo, over 40 - in Uganda, etc.
In some of the African countries with the largest ethnic group, other peoples are comparable in number. These countries are: Guinea - Fulbe (41% of the total population) and Malinke (26%), Guinea-Bissau - Balante (37%) and Fulbe (20%), Sierra Leone - Mende (34%) and Temne (31% ), Liberia - Kpelle (21%) and Bakwe (13%), Ivory Coast - Bete (20%) and Senufo (14%), Ghana - Ashanti (25%) and mine (15%), Togo - Ewe (47%) and Cabré (24%), Nigeria - Hausa (22%), Yoruba (21%) and Igbo (18%), Chad - Arabs (26%) and Sarah (22%) CAR - gang ( 30%) and Gbaya (24%), Zaire - Luba (18%) and the Congo, together with the ethnic groups flowing into them (16%), Angola - Ovimbundu (38%) and Ambundu (22%), South Africa - Zulu (20 %) and Xhosa (19%), Mozambique - Makua (47%) and Tsonga (24%), Kenya - Kikuyu (22%), Luya (14%) and Luo (13%), Ethiopia - Amhara (39%) and Oromo (38%), Djibouti - Afar (42%) and Isa (26%).
In most of the Arab countries of North Africa there is a Berber national minority, however, its share in the population of different countries varies greatly. In Morocco and Algeria, it is quite large (2516 and 17% of the total population, respectively), while in Libya, Tunisia, Mauritania, and especially in Egypt, it is very small (5; 1; 1; 0.01%, respectively).
In Sudan, although there is no Berber minority, there is a large group of Negroid peoples living in the south, whose culture is very different from the Muslim culture of the main population of the country.
Finally, the most difficult ethnopolitical situation is in South Africa, where there are several racial and ethnic groups that differ greatly in their social, economic and cultural potential (Africans - 75% of the country's population, whites - 14, colored people - 8, people of Asian origin - 3%) and where the white minority is in power.
Naturally, the ethnic mosaic of African countries, the presence in some of them of two or more peoples, each of which claims to be a leader in the country, often leads to ethnic confrontation, which is often accompanied by bloody armed conflicts.
Problems in interethnic relations arise in the vast majority of African countries.
True, in the states of North Africa, whose ethnic structure is not so complex, ethnic contradictions are less acute than in the rest of the continent. After the overwhelming majority of the Europeans living in them left for their homeland with the gain of independence by the North African countries (this is especially true of Algeria, where more than 1 million Frenchmen previously lived, and now there are no more than 30 thousand of them left), the main line of ethnic confrontation in most of they lie between the Arabs, on the one hand, and the Berber peoples, on the other. At the same time, it should be noted that the actions of the Berbers usually did not have a separatist character, and their goal was only to protect the civil rights of the national minority (in particular, demands were put forward for adequate representation in government, creating conditions for the development of the native language, etc.). Nevertheless, soon after independence was achieved in Morocco and Algeria, armed uprisings of part of the Berber population took place.
The interethnic struggle in Sudan has taken on a much wider scale, where the population of the southern regions, negroid in their racial appearance and Christian or pagan in religion, has been waging an armed struggle since the mid-1950s, which is interrupted only by short-term truces with the central government. There are also internal contradictions between the peoples of South Sudan themselves, sometimes also leading to armed clashes.
As for the ethnic confrontation in sub-Saharan Africa, in many countries it is almost permanent, leading to civil wars and claiming the lives of tens and hundreds of thousands of people. Particularly acute and prolonged military conflicts took place in such countries of Africa, extremely complex in terms of the ethnic structure of the population, as Nigeria, Zaire, Chad, Angola, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Uganda, in which we will dwell on the ethnic confrontation in more detail.
In the first half of the 60s in Zaire (then called the Congo) there was a struggle between the central government, on the one hand, and the separatists, who announced the creation of independent states in Katanga (the peoples of Lunda and Luba) and South Kasai (the peoples of Cuba and Luba). Although the separatists were defeated, the ethnic confrontation in the country continued to be very significant.
In Nigeria in 1967-1970. There was a civil war between the state of Eastern Nigeria, where the Igbo people played the main role and where the independent Republic of Biafra was proclaimed, and the central government, in which the Hausa enjoyed the greatest influence. This war also ended in the defeat of the separatists.
In Chad, whose ethnic structure is somewhat reminiscent of Sudan (in the north - Arabs and other Muslim peoples, in the south - Negroid tribes who retain traditional beliefs or converted to Christianity), the struggle between the two main groups of the population, which began shortly after independence, continued for for many years, and not only Muslims and Christians, but also co-religionists of different ethnic origins entered into confrontation (for example, Daza Muslims clashed with Zaghawa Muslims).
In Angola, for many years, the rivalry between the Ambundu and Ovimbundu has not stopped, surpassing the first ethnic group in numbers, but inferior to it in their current political influence. This struggle, which at one time also acquired political overtones, led to a long civil war (a war between government troops and armed detachments of the UNITA group, mainly representing the interests of the ovimbundu).
Mozambique has been fighting for many years. Outwardly, it has an ideological and political character, but it also has its own pronounced ethnic aspect.
In Ethiopia, there was also a long armed struggle between the oppressed minority peoples of Eritrea, as well as the Oromo, Tigray, Afar and other Ethiopian ethnic groups, on the one hand, and the central government, where the Amhara occupied the leading positions, on the other. The war led to very serious consequences, causing the death of hundreds of thousands of people. In 1978 alone, 80,000 Oromo peasants were killed in the province of Harerge.
The most uncompromising inter-ethnic struggle took place in Uganda. It was reminiscent of the "war of all against all" proposed by the famous English philosopher T. Hobbes for the primitive era. Almost all more or less significant peoples of the country were involved in internecine conflicts in Uganda: Ganda, Nyankole, Rwanda, Konjo, Acholi, Langi, Teso, Karamojong, Lugbara, Madi, Kakwa, etc. and the Teso fought the Kakwa, the Lugbara and the Madi, which did not rule out rivalry and bloody clashes between the Acholi, on the one hand, and the Langi, on the other. The Karamojong periodically made predatory raids on the Teso living in the neighborhood, as well as on various ethnic groups settled in the north of the country, etc.
Ethnic confrontation is also inherent in many other African countries. So, in Mauritania, difficult relations have developed between the ruling caste of the "white" Moors (Bidan), the "black" Moors (Kharatin) dependent on them, and various black ethnic groups: the Fulbe, Tukuler, etc. In Sierra Leone, there has been a sharp rivalry for many years between the two largest ethnic groups of the country - Mende and Temne. In Liberia, the previously dominant ethnic group of the so-called Americo-Liberians (descendants of freed American slaves brought here in the middle of the 19th century) is in a difficult situation. In Equatorial Guinea, the rights of the indigenous people of the island of Bioko (formerly Fernando Po) Bubi are being violated. In South Africa, the white minority is still in power, and the African majority fighting against it cannot overcome its internal strife (a particularly sharp struggle, accompanied by bloody feuds, takes place between the two largest African peoples of the country - the Zulu and the Xhosa). In Botswana, the backward Bushmen are semi-serfs dependent on the ruling Tswana people. In Zimbabwe, until recently, there was a confrontation between the two largest peoples of the country - the Mason and the Ndebele. In the East African countries, the descendants of immigrants from India who live there are subjected to open discrimination by the authorities. In Burundi, the dominant position is maintained by the ethnic-class group of Tutsis, who are several times smaller in number than the Hutu group, which occupies a lower social position. In Djibouti, rivalry continues between the two main ethnic groups of the country, the Afar and the Isa.
The ethnopolitical situation in the countries of Africa, the relations between ethnic groups that have developed in them, have a very great impact on the demographic processes taking place on the continent, and especially migration and ethnic processes.
Currently, population growth in Africa is much higher than in other parts of the world. However, this was not always the case. Rapid population growth became characteristic of the African continent only in the 20th century. Previously, growth rates were significantly restrained by epidemics that constantly visited Africa, chronic famine for some countries, colonial wars, and even earlier, by the slave trade. The population of the African continent grew much more slowly than the population of other regions of the world. So, if in 1650, according to rough estimates, 18% of the world's population lived in Africa, then in 1900 - only 7.5%.
However, in the last century the situation has changed dramatically, and the population of Africa began to grow very rapidly. This was due to the fact that on the continent, while maintaining the traditionally high birth rate for it, there was a significant decrease in mortality.
Africa as a whole is far ahead of all other parts of the world in terms of fertility. Even Asia, which ranks second among parts of the world in terms of fertility, is much inferior to Africa in this indicator: in 1985-1990. the average annual birth rate in the first was 28%, and in the second - 45%. Africa surpassed Europe in fertility during this period by 3.5 times.
The problem of high birth rates in most African states is very acute, and their leadership, not without reason, fears that as a result of extremely rapid population growth, the already extremely low standard of living of the population will fall even more. However, all attempts to reduce the birth rate through family planning and promotion of the use of contraceptives have not yet yielded any significant results in most African countries, whose population is characterized by a very low cultural level.
Although the birth rate is very high in most African countries, it varies markedly by region. Basically, these differences, as will be shown, are due to socio-economic reasons, but in some cases, the biomedical aspect should also be taken into account. Thus, in Africa south of the Sahara there are vast sparsely populated areas, and their sparse population is not associated with either unfavorable climatic conditions or low soil fertility. These areas are located mainly in Central Africa - between Nigeria and the African Great Lakes. Significant differences in fertility are also observed between different ethnic groups of the same region. It was suggested that the large differences in fertility in different areas and between ethnic groups of the same area can be explained by the unequal intensity of the spread in the regions and among different territorial and ethnic groups of the population of Africa, which is very typical for this continent of sexually transmitted diseases. In some African ethnic groups, the proportion of people who had venereal diseases is extremely high. For example, among the Zande and Nzakara in the Central African Republic, half of the total adult population surveyed was affected by syphilis, and 3/4 of all surveyed had gonorrhea at one time or another.
According to the UN, the average annual birth rate in 1985-1990. in different African countries was next17.
The lowest birth rate - 9% - was recorded in 1990 on St. Helena Island, the small population of which does not allow us to speak of the existence of any regularity here.
A relatively low birth rate - 19% - had an island state in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius18 (conditionally attributable to Africa), which is primarily due to a significantly higher standard of living here compared to the countries of the African continent. Of course, by European standards, this is a fairly high birth rate (only in one European country - Albania - a higher birth rate).
In three more countries, the birth rate was between 20 and 30%. These are located, like Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean, the Reunion Islands and the Seychelles, as well as the North African country of Tunisia with a relatively high, by African standards, standard of living.
Fertility rates ranging from 30 to 40% had in 1985-1990. South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Sao Tome and Principe, Morocco, Lesotho, Cape Verde, Swaziland, Gabon, i.e. countries, by African standards, are also quite prosperous.
This is followed by countries with very high fertility, whose counterparts in non-African countries are relatively rare. Botswana, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Ghana, Libya, Congo, Sudan, Togo, Central African Republic, Senegal, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritania, Kenya, Djibouti, Burkina Faso have a birth rate of 40-50%. , Liberia, Gambia, Burundi, Zaire, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Comoros, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Benin, Zambia, Ivory Coast. the largest impact on the average fertility rate for Africa as a whole, which overwhelmingly includes very poor20 countries with a low level of culture.
Finally, there is also a relatively small group of countries in Africa with a "super-high" birth rate (over 50%), approaching the world maximum. These countries are Somalia, Angola, Mali, Guinea, Uganda, Rwanda, Niger, Malawi. By the way, the latter country gave in the five years of 1985-1990. the highest birth rate for the whole world is 56%.
Mortality in Africa as a whole is also the highest in the world: 15% compared to 10% in Europe and 9% in Asia. However, the differences in mortality between these parts of the world are not as significant as they were several decades ago, when in many European countries the mortality rate fluctuated somewhere around 10%, and in some African countries (for example, Mali) reached 40%. This was due to the fact that in recent decades, with the help of inexpensive medical measures (vaccination of the population, the introduction of effective methods of combating pathogens of certain diseases, etc.), it was possible to drastically reduce the mortality rate in almost all previously "unfavorable" countries of the world.
The relatively high mortality in many African countries is primarily due to their extreme poverty and low level of culture. The health situation in most countries continues to be unsatisfactory.
Since the early 1980s, the AIDS epidemic21 has begun to spread in many African countries, and in several of them on a catastrophic scale (according to reports, about half of the urban population of a number of African countries is infected with AIDS). According to the forecasts of some specialists in medical statistics, at the beginning of the XXI century. Africa can turn into a giant morgue.
Nevertheless, there are still some countries in Africa with low mortality.
Mortality is very low (below 10%) in Saint Helena, Reunion, Mauritius, Tunisia, the Seychelles, Algeria, Cape Verde, Libya, Morocco and South Africa. All these are countries with a fairly high, by African standards, standard of living.
Mortality rates are also low (10-15%) in Egypt, Sao Tome and Principe, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Comoros, and Ghana. Tanzania, Madagascar, Togo, Cameroon, Zaire, Congo.
The mortality rate is higher (15-20%) in Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia, Nigeria, Liberia, Sudan, Gabon, Burundi, Rwanda, Senegal, CAR, Djibouti, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Mauritania, Benin, Chad , Equatorial Guinea.
High mortality by modern standards (more than 20%) was noted in Somalia, Niger, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Malawi, Mali, Angola, Gambia, Guinea and Sierra Leone (in the latter - 23%, i.e. this country, like Afghanistan, has the highest death rate in the world). For many countries of the latter group, a state of permanent civil war is characteristic (or was characteristic until recently) (Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Angola, etc.).
Africa is still notorious for its exceptionally high infant mortality rates.
Thus, in half of the African countries, infant mortality averaged over 100 per 1,000 children under one year of age between 1985 and 1990 (with infant mortality in Sweden, Finland and Japan being 5-6). "Records" for infant mortality are held by such countries as Mali (169 children under the age of one year per thousand born), Mozambique (155), Sierra Leone (154), Guinea-Bissau (151).
However, in Africa, and more specifically in the Indian Ocean, there is one country in which the infant mortality rate is close to the best in the world. This is the island of Reunion, where infant mortality is only 8 children under the age of one year per thousand born. Relatively low (for developing countries) infant mortality in Mauritius: 24 people. And only one other African country has an infant mortality rate below 50 - Tunisia.
In general, in Africa in 1985-1990. the average annual natural increase was 30%. In the vast majority of countries on this continent (43), the ratio of births and deaths gave a natural increase in the range of 25-35%. This is, of course, a very high increase, and there are few countries with similar figures in other parts of the world. The highest natural increase - 35% (the highest rate in the world) in four countries: Kenya, Malawi, Côte d'Ivoire and Libya. In Malawi and Côte d'Ivoire, it is formed primarily due to exceptionally high birth rates, in Kenya and Libya, due to both high birth rates and low death rates.
The lowest rates of natural increase on the two islands - Mauritius (12%) and Reunion (18%).
In most African countries, the demographics of the different peoples of each particular country do not differ very much from each other. Some exceptions are only those countries where, along with agricultural peoples, live peoples whose main occupation is nomadic pastoralism or hunting and gathering. As a rule, the natural increase among pastoral nomads is significantly lower than that of farmers, and among hunters and gatherers it is even lower than that of pastoralists. Such differences in natural growth are typical, for example, for Chad, Niger, Mali, Guinea, where, along with a settled agricultural and agricultural-pastoral population, there are nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists (most of the tuba, some of the Arabs, Tuareg and Fulbe, etc.) .
Equally strong differences in natural increase among the main racial and ethnic groups of South Africa, where the rate of natural increase of the African population is several times higher than the corresponding indicator for the white population, as a result of which the share of the latter in South Africa, despite the migration of people of European origin, is decreasing. .
Many countries in Africa are characterized by large-scale migration, mainly for economic, but also political and military reasons.
Let us first dwell on migration due to economic reasons.
From the North African countries (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) for many decades there has been constant migration to the former metropolis - France, where Arab immigrants usually get jobs that do not require much knowledge and therefore low pay (chauffeurs, unskilled industrial workers, etc.). d.). Moroccans also migrate to Belgium in large numbers. To date, there are 1 million Algerians in Europe (primarily in France), almost the same number of Moroccans, 200 thousand Tunisians. There is also migration from Tunisia and Egypt to neighboring rich Libya, where immigrants work in oil and other enterprises. People come to this country to work from some Asian countries, primarily from Turkey and Pakistan.
From Mauritania, a significant group of residents moved to Senegal, but the pogroms of the Moors forced some of the migrants to return.
People also come to Senegal from other neighboring states - Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, as well as from Cape Verde. Many of these immigrants are seasonal workers working on peanut plantations.
From Cape Verde, there is also migration to the former (like this state itself) Portuguese colonies - to Guinea-Bissau, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola, as well as to Portuguese-speaking Brazil, Argentina, and the USA.
Significant migration flows are directed to the Gambia, which wedged into the territory of Senegal. They migrate there for seasonal work on peanut plantations from neighboring Senegal, as well as from Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau.
From Mali, a very poor and economically underdeveloped country, in addition to Senegal and the Gambia, they also leave for temporary work in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. These are mainly Bambara, as well as representatives of other related peoples.
Migration to Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana from another poor country, Burkina Faso, has become even larger, and the main contingent of migrants is supplied by the largest people of this state, the Mosi. In addition to Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, emigrants from Burkina Faso go as seasonal workers in Senegal, Mali, Togo, Cameroon, Gabon. 1.7 million people born in Burkina Faso live outside of it.
In addition to immigrants from Burkina Faso, migrants from Niger, Nigeria and some other countries go to Ghana. Immigrants mostly work on cocoa plantations.
Emigrants from Nigeria are also sent to Sudan and neighboring Cameroon.
From Equatorial Guinea, the population leaves for Cameroon, Gabon, Nigeria, and from these countries (especially from Nigeria), in turn, to Equatorial Guinea to work on cocoa and peanut plantations. Migrants from Equatorial Guinea can also be found in Spain.
A significant number of immigrants are attracted to Gabon, where there is a shortage of labor. They come from Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal and other countries.
Sao Tome and Principe has a bilateral exchange with Angola.
Outward migration is also typical for Zaire, where immigrants from Rwanda and Burundi moved (for economic and other reasons).
Of all the African states, external migration to South Africa received the widest scope. They are mostly organized. Two special South African organizations are busy recruiting in neighboring states - Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, as well as in Angola, Zambia and Malawi - labor for work in mines and mines. Work in South Africa and people from Tanzania. Usually there are from 1 to 2 million immigrants from African countries in the country.
The Republic of South Africa also receives replenishment of the European population, and, unlike African immigrants who are recruited for six months or a year, Europeans usually stay here forever. Among immigrants of European origin in South Africa, a significant proportion of people who arrived from African countries after their independence.
A very large number of immigrants are attracted by Zimbabwe, where workers from Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana, and Lesotho are recruited for mining enterprises and agricultural farms. Since the second half of the 1970s, there has been a gradual outflow of the white population from this country.
Zambia, giving a significant number of emigrants to South Africa and Zimbabwe, at the same time accepts immigrants from the same Zimbabwe, as well as from Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Zaire, Tanzania, who come to work in the mining enterprises of the so-called Copper Belt.
Malawi gives a large number of emigrants. They, as already noted, are sent to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and also to Tanzania. On the other hand, Malawi has a rather large number of people born in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and some other countries. The Macua dominate among the Mozambicans.
In Tanzania, in addition to immigrants from Malawi, there are also immigrants from Mozambique, Zaire, Rwanda and Burundi. Tanzanians, as noted, can be found in South Africa and Zambia, they are also in Kenya.
Quite a lot of immigrants live in Uganda. These are people from Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Kenya, Sudan and other countries.
Migration processes are also typical for the islands of the Indian Ocean, which are conventionally attributed to Africa. So, from the Comoros, migration was observed to Madagascar, from Mauritius and the Seychelles - to the UK (from Mauritius - also to South Africa), from Reunion - to France.
External migrations caused by economic reasons can also include movements from Morocco, Mauritania and Algeria to Western Sahara of nomads together with their herds for the winter season with a subsequent return. The number of these nomadic groups, periodically crossing the state border, reaches 100 thousand people.
Along with external migrations, caused mainly by economic reasons, there are many migrations on the African continent associated with political confrontation, interethnic struggle, military operations and other similar circumstances. Thus, the struggle of Western Sahara for independence forced 100,000 of its indigenous inhabitants, the Saharawis (that is, 2/3 of their total number), to temporarily move to Algeria, to the area of ​​the military base in Tindouf.
The Mauritanian-Senegalese conflict of 1989 led to the forced migration of 100-200 thousand Moors from Senegal to Mauritania, on the one hand, and the forced migration of 50 thousand Senegalese and 30 thousand black Mauritanian citizens from Mauritania to Senegal, on the other.
Since the late 1970s, the civil war in Chad has led to a mass exodus of the population from this country to neighboring states. In 1987, there were 200,000 refugees from Chad in Cameroon, 100,000 each in Libya and Sudan, and 30,000 in the Central African Republic.
The totalitarian regime that existed in Equatorial Guinea in the late 1960s and 1970s led to the migration from the country of many tens of thousands of its citizens, as well as Nigerian agricultural workers who worked there on plantations.
In 1972, the bloody conflict between the two class-ethnic groups of Burundi - the Tutsi and the Hutus - resulted in the flight to neighboring Zaire, Tanzania and Rwanda of about 150 thousand people, mostly Hutus. Some of the refugees later returned home, but many remained abroad. In 1988, there were bloody clashes between Tutsis and Hutu again in the country, and 50,000 Hutus fled to Rwanda.
The repressive regimes that have succeeded each other in Uganda have caused several migratory waves from this country. In mid-1983, there were over 200,000 Ugandan refugees in Sudan and 60,000 in Zaire. one of the class ethnic groups of the Nyankole people is Hima. In total, 75 thousand people were evicted, of which 35 thousand were settled in camps and 40 thousand fled to Rwanda. At the end of 1983 another 20,000 Rwanda were evicted.
The Museveni government, which came to power in Uganda in 1986, attempted to mitigate interethnic confrontation, which led to a return in 1987 and 1988. Ugandan refugees from Sudan.
In Sudan itself, the war between the Arabs and the peoples of the south of the country also caused several emigration waves. More than 300 thousand people fled to Ethiopia from Sudan, a significant part of them are Dinka. In May 1988, 20 thousand refugees from South Sudan moved to Uganda, in mid-1989 another 30 thousand South Sudanese arrived in the same country.
However, the largest number of refugees was given by Ethiopia, whose totalitarian regime "pushed" out of the country, according to one estimate, 2.5 million people. Refugees settled in Somalia, Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya, in the countries of the Middle East. Among the refugees, more than half were Oromo, whom the Ethiopian authorities resettled from their ancestral lands to territories that were difficult to develop. In Sudan, among the 500 thousand Ethiopian refugees, most of all came from Eritrea, which fought for independence. The Tigrays also fled to Sudan, who, like the Oromo, suffered the fate of "organized resettlement" in Ethiopia.
A somewhat special character was the migration from Ethiopia in the late 70s and 80s of the Falasha - black Jews who have long lived in the country and speak the Kemant language (one of the so-called Agau languages ​​\u200b\u200bbelonging to the Cushitic group). Emigration was at first agreed with the Israeli government (which promised to continue supplying weapons to Ethiopia if emigration was allowed), and when the exit was suspended, another Falasha group, which had previously fled to Sudan, was delivered to Israel by plane in agreement with the Sudanese president Nimeiri.
Concluding our review of external migrations on the African continent, let us also mention the mass exodus of Indians (or, as they are now called, Indo-Pakistans) after the countries of East and Central Africa achieved independence. This departure was associated with a policy of discrimination, which began to be carried out (to one degree or another) by all African countries that gained independence, where there was an Indian population. Indians traveled to the UK, India and, in smaller numbers, to Pakistan, Canada and the United States. From 1969 to 1984, the number of Indians in Kenya declined (in thousands) from 139 to 50, in Tanzania from 85 to 30, in Zambia from 12 to 5, in Malawi from 11 to 3, and in Uganda from 74 to 1.
External migrations between different African countries (not counting seasonal movements) have no doubt further complicated the ethnic structure of the population of African states, and some of them have very large non-indigenous African populations.
In those cases when non-indigenous people (for example, Indians) left African countries, the ethnic composition of their population was somewhat simplified.
The ethno-demographic situation was somewhat influenced by internal migrations. Their main direction in African countries (as, indeed, in countries around the world) is moving from villages to rapidly growing cities. Such migrations undoubtedly contributed to the development of ethno-unifying processes (consolidation, assimilation, etc.).
A certain development in African countries has received internal migrations of a non-urban character: the movement of the population to plantation areas (for example, in Ghana and Nigeria - from north to south), mining areas (for example, in Zambia - to the Copper Belt region), etc. Migrations of this kind also usually intensified ethno-unification processes.
Finally, one more thing needs to be said about organized internal migrations. So, in Zimbabwe in the 50s, 70 thousand representatives of the Tonga people who lived in the valley of the river. Kariba were resettled because a hydroelectric dam was to be built at their place of residence. Large-scale migrations of various ethnic groups to specially designated camps were carried out by various Ugandan rulers.
Even more massive were the resettlements carried out by the repressive regime of Ethiopia. By September 1987, 8 million Ethiopian peasants (about 20% of the total rural population) were resettled in the so-called centralized villages, on the basis of which collective farms were supposed to be created. By the end of 1989 it was planned to collectivize up to 40% of the entire rural population. Peasants were ordered to work for the collective farm and the police up to five days a week. But these plans were not fully implemented due to the fall of totalitarianism in Ethiopia. Particularly affected by the plans to build socialism in Ethiopia were two of its largest peoples (not counting the politically dominant ethnic group of the country - the Amhara) - Oromo and Tigray, whom the Mengistu Haile Mariam regime did not particularly trust and therefore resettled them on marginal lands in the south of the country, where special camps.
Naturally, such transfers of the population (primarily those carried out in Ethiopia and Uganda) had a significant impact on the demographic situation, sharply increasing, first of all, the mortality rate.
The ethno-demographic situation in Africa is also undergoing serious changes as a result of ethnic processes. The processes of ethnic fusion and ethnic consolidation are especially characteristic of most African countries, which are characterized by ethnic mosaicity. As indicated in Chap. 8, these processes, although they belong to different typological groups, are often difficult to separate from each other, since ethnic fusion eventually turns into ethnic consolidation.
Let us first give some of the most typical examples of the process of ethnic fusion in Africa. So, in the western part of Côte d'Ivoire, from the so-called Kru Bete, Bakwe, Grebo, Crane, Gere peoples, a new ethnic community is being formed. , bomofwi, ndame, vure, ngano.
In Liberia, in the near future, it is possible to merge into one ethnic group peoples belonging, like the ethnic communities of the western regions of Côte d'Ivoire, to the ethnolinguistic subdivision of the Kru: Kru proper, Grebo, Klepo, etc.
In Burkina Faso, the cores of ethnic fusion have become, in particular, such significant peoples as the Lobi and Bobé. Mbuin, ga, turuka, dian, guin, puguli, komono, etc., related to them, will probably merge with lobbies in the future, with bobo - nienege, sankura, etc. In the process of ethnic fusion in the same country there is also a group of related peoples, collectively known as the Grusi: Buguli, Kurumba, Nunuma, Sisala, Kasena (the latter are quite different from other ethnic groups in their language), etc.
In Cameroon, there is a gradual merging of closely related peoples, which are often united under the common name Fang (or Pangwe); this, yaounde, bula, bene, mwele (bebele), mwal, tsing, basa, gbigbil, ntum, etc.
In Zaire, on the basis of the Lingala language, a large ethnic community is being formed, uniting the peoples of the Ngala, Bobangi, Ngombe, and others. Processes of ethnic fusion are also taking place in a number of other regions of the country.
In Botswana, the closely related tribes of Mangwato, Kwena, Ngwaketse, Tawana, Kgatla, Malete, Rolong, Tlokwa, and also Kalagadi (an assimilated group of Bushmen) who speak different dialects of the same Setswana language, have almost merged into one Tswana people.
In Malawi, an ethnic fusion is taking place based on the Chinyanja language of the Nyanja, Tumbuka, Chewa, and other peoples.
In Tanzania, ethnic groups speaking close languages ​​or dialects of Nyamwezi, Sukuma, Nyatura and Mbugwe will soon merge into a single people of 6 million people, which will be called the largest of the constituent components - Nyamwezi.
The processes of ethnic fusion are very typical for Kenya. Thus, related ethnic groups living along the northern and eastern shores of Lake Victoria and formerly known as the Bantu Kavirondo, from the middle of the 20th century. began to merge into a single people Luhya. On the coast of the Indian Ocean, from the Islamized Bantu tribes that switched to the Swahili language - Giryama, Digo, Segeju, Duruma, Gonya, Rabai, Riba, Jibana and Kaumakabe - the Mijikenda people are formed (translated from Swahili means "nine water tribes"). Finally, a number of related Nilotic peoples living in the north-west of Kenya - find, kipsigis, elgeyo, marakwet, pokot, sabaot and tugen, despite significant economic and cultural differences, after Kenya achieved independence, a desire for unity and after some time, likely to merge into a single ethnic group. Already now these peoples have a common name: Kalenjin.
With regard to some of the ethno-unifying processes taking place in Africa, it is rather difficult to say whether they are in their type an ethnic fusion or an ethnic consolidation. It is very difficult, for example, to classify the process taking place in the southeast of Nigeria in the area of ​​distribution of one of the most significant speakers of African languages ​​- Igbo, where the tribes of Abaja, Onicha, Oka, Aro, Ngwa, Isu, Ika, Ikverri, Owerri, Auhauzara , Oru, Oratta, Yusanu, etc., who speak different dialects of this language and have a common material and spiritual culture, have almost rallied into a single people. The presence of a common ethnic identity among the Igbos was manifested, in particular, during the 1952-1953 census, when the vast majority of them self-identified themselves as Igbos, and not as representatives of various tribes, and especially during the existence of the state of Biafra they created. At the same time, the demands of individual units of the Igbo in 1975 for the creation of special states for them within the Nigerian state shows that the Igbo still has strong centrifugal tendencies. And yet, the ethno-unification process going on among them at this stage should rather be considered an ethnic consolidation than an ethnic fusion.
Ethnic consolidation can also be called the process taking place in Benin, where the Aja, Aizo, Mahi, Ge, related to them, are becoming more and more close to the Fon tribe.
The vast majority of large and medium-sized ethnic groups in Africa are not yet well-consolidated formations and usually consist of a larger or smaller number of sub-ethnic groups, the differences between which are smoothed out in the process of consolidation.
The above can be illustrated by the example of the Hausa and the Yoruba, the two largest peoples of Nigeria, which is the most populated country in Africa.
The House can be considered a fully developed people, but significant local differences remain within it, which are gradually overcome in the process of ethnic consolidation. This process is complicated by the simultaneous conversion of several closely related ethnic groups within the Khausan people.
The Yoruba are less consolidated than the Hausa, and within them there are clearly defined sub-ethnic divisions: oyo, Ife, Ijesha, Egba, Egbado, Ijebu, Ekiti, Ondo, etc. The Yoruba, like many other peoples of Africa, is characterized by hierarchy (multi-stage) ethnic self-consciousness, and in some cases a lower sub-ethnic level of self-consciousness manifests itself quite strongly (for example, the Yoruba sub-ethnic divisions, like the Igbo sub-ethnic groups, demanded the creation of separate states for them). Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the consolidation process among the Yoruba is quite intensive.
Sometimes consolidation processes still cannot prevent acute intra-ethnic rivalry. So, in Somalia, a country that has existed for several decades as an independent state and, unlike most African countries, has a simple ethnic structure (the vast majority of its population is one ethnic group - Somalia), a sharp intertribal and inter-clan struggle has been going on for a long time. It testifies, in particular, that the Somali people are still far from completing the process of ethnic consolidation.
Probably, the degree of ethnic consolidation of the population of Madagascar - the Malagasy - was somewhat exaggerated in our scientific literature. This people, although it represents a single ethnic whole, breaks up into a number of sub-ethnic groups that differ significantly from each other in dialect, culture, and sometimes racial appearance: Imerina, Betsileu, Antanala, Sihanaka, Tsimiheti, Betsimisaraka, Antaisaka, antandrui, bara, mahafali, sakalava, etc. The process of ethnic consolidation of the Malagasy people has already gone quite far and the common Malagasy self-consciousness is expressed quite clearly in the vast majority of cases. Nevertheless, the separatist tendencies that have intensified in recent years among some sub-ethnic groups, and above all among those sharply different from the main part of the Malagasy people in terms of the Sakalava racial type, the demands of a number of sub-ethnoses to create separate literary languages ​​in their dialects - all this suggests that the ethnic cohesion of the Malagasy has not yet reached a particularly high degree.
In North Africa, ethnic consolidation is expressed primarily in the growing rapprochement with the main settled part of the local Arab peoples, their nomadic and semi-nomadic sub-ethnic groups. The Bedouin groups of Maaza, Kharga, Dakhla, Bahariya, Saadi, Khaveitat approach the main body of the Egyptians, with the settled Sudanese - Kerarish, Kababish, Gaaliin, Batakhin, Shukria, Rufaa, Gimma, Hasaniya, Selim, Bederiya, Fezara, Messiria, Habbaniya, Tungur and others, with the Tripolitans, Sirticans and Cyrenaikians (settled groups of Arabs of Libya) - riyah, Khasawn, Kadarfa, etc., with the majority of the agricultural part of the Tunisians - hamama, jerid, arad, riyah, etc., with the main core of the Algerian Arabs - Suafa, Ruarha, Ziban, Nail, Laguat, Sidi, Dui-Meniya, Tadzhakant, etc., with settled Moroccan Arabs - Jebala, Yahi, Gil, Dui-Meniya, etc. There is also a consolidation of the Moors (Arabs of Mauritania): they are increasingly rallying the Arab tribes of Trarza, Regeibat, Dilim, Imragen, Tadjakant, etc. living in the country. An important center of consolidation is the capital city of Nouakchott, where in a difficult time for the country (during the years) gathered over 100 thousand people (mainly to full-timers).
In the formation of the Saharawi people, which was probably formed in the process of the struggle for the independence of Western Sahara, to a large extent the same tribes participated as in the formation of the Moors: Imragen, Dilim, Regeibat, Tarzhakant. The further rallying of the Saharawis is quite intensive, in particular, at their military base in Tindouf (Algeria).
In addition to ethnic fusion and ethnic consolidation, in some countries of Africa there was also such an ethno-unifying process as ethnogenetic mixing. He walked on a number of islands in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, where immigrants of African, European, and partly Asian origin mixed (before these islands were not inhabited). There were such racially mixed ethnic groups as Reunion, Mauritian-Creole, Seychellois and some others.
Assimilation processes are also going on in Africa, although they are still less typical for the continent than ethnic fusion or ethnic consolidation.
So, in Morocco, Algeria and some other countries of North Africa, the Berber population is gradually assimilated by the Arabs prevailing there in terms of numbers.
In Sudan, local Arabs assimilate the Nubians and a number of other Islamized peoples.
In Ethiopia, the Agau tribes are assimilated by the larger peoples of the country - the Amhara, Tigray and Tigre. Three tribes - Kuara, Kayla and Hamir - have already completely switched to the Amharic language.
In Nigeria, the Hausa are dissolved in their environment by smaller ethnic groups: Angas, Ankwe, Sura, Boleva, Karekare, Tangale, Bade, Afusare (mountain Jerawa), etc. If the gradual absorption of Afusare, belonging to a language family other than Hausa, is common assimilation process, then the dissolution in the Hausa environment of the other peoples noted above, which are very close to them in language and culture, can be defined as ethnic conversion.
Assimilation processes have affected many peoples of Nigeria. In particular, ekoi and bok are being assimilated by the Tiv; ron, attack and gvandara - birom; Benu, Konu, Gbari-Baute and a number of other ethnic groups - Nupe.
In Togo, the largest Ewe people assimilate the small tribes living in the neighborhood: Adele, Akposo, Akebe, etc.
In Côte d'Ivoire, the Baule gradually dissolve in their environment various so-called lagoon tribes: Krobu, Gwa, etc.
Peoples lagging behind in their development are assimilated by more advanced peoples in some other African countries. Thus, in Botswana, the pastoralists and farmers of the Tswana partially assimilate the Bushmen engaged in hunting and gathering, in Rwanda the hunters and gatherers of the Pygmies Twa are assimilated by the farmers of Rwanda, in Kenya, the largest and most developed ethnic group of the country, the Kikuyu, assimilates the Ndorobo hunters, which are much inferior to it in terms of their level of development.
The Kikuyu gradually dissolve in their environment and the Embu, Mbere, Meru and some other ethnic groups close to them in language and culture. Probably, this process can be considered ethnic conversion.
In many multi-ethnic countries of the African continent, processes of inter-ethnic integration are underway. They take place in Senegal, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Ghana and some other countries and lead to the emergence within each of these states of large ethno-political formations, in which ethnic groups are significantly closer to each other, although they do not merge into one whole.
The processes of ethnic division are currently not typical for Africa. As an example of ethnic separation, one can name isolation as a result of migration in the 19th century. from South Africa to Lake Nyasa part of the Zulu. The new ethnic group is now called Ngoni.
Assessing the influence of ethnic processes on the dynamics of the ethno-demographic situation as a whole, we can say that, despite a certain enlargement of African peoples and some simplification of the ethnic picture, it is difficult to expect a significant reduction in the ethnic mosaic of African states in the foreseeable future.