PHA-Exchange> Africa, some sobering numbers

[claudio]

1. With 10% of the world's p[opulation, 1% of the global GDP and <10% of
primary exports of all developing counties, in 2002, Africa produced the
same type of commodities and exported them to the same markets as it did in
the 1970s and 80s.

2. In no other continent is poverty more pervasive than in Africa. In 2000,
out of a population of 765 million people, about 350 million lived on
<$1/day. This places Africa as the continen with the highest share of poor
people and that figure is onthe rise. [In E Asia and the Pacific the
proportion of poor people fell from 27 to 15 % between 1990 and 1998; in
Latinamerica,/Caribbean it also fell from 17 to 12%; in South Asia it fell
from 44 to 40%; in SS Africa it rose from 47 to 48%.

3. In terms of the Human Development Index, in 1998, only S Africa,
Botswana, Gabon, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Kenya and the R of Congo had HDIs
between 0.5 and 0.7; all others were below 0.5. More than half of low HDI
countries are in the continent.

4. The continent's debt stood at 334 billion dollars in 2000. That same
year,the debt to GDP ratio was 58% and the debt to export ratio 182% while
debt servicing, as a % of exports was >16%. Tanzania spends 9x more on debt
repayment than on health and 4x more than on education. In all of Africa,
some 8 bill dollars are being paid every year while 5-6 billion is due but
rescheduled. In Zaire and Zambia, the arreaers alone acconts for 30% of
outstanding debt.

5. Africa's terms of trade have continued to be weak and plunged by 0.5%/yr
on average between 1980 and 1990 and 0.3%/yr between 1991 and 1999.

Claudio Schuftan, Ho Chi Minh City