Sub Saharan Africa Research Paper

Sub-Saharan Africa is the part of the African continent that is located south of the Saharan Desert. Per the New World Encyclopedia the actual line of demarcation is the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. (New World Encyclopedia). Sub Saharan African is different from the rest of Africa in many ways. These differences are mostly a result of geography and climate. “Since the end of the last ice age, the north and sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara, forming an effective barrier interrupted by only the Nile River” (New World Encyclopedia). This barrier basically isolated Sub Saharan Africa from the rest of the world allowing the region to develop a distinct culture and language from that of North Africa, which was heavily influenced by Islam and Arabic culture.
The citizens of the Northern part of Africa are predominantly Muslim and speak Arabic, identifying more with the Middle East than Africa. These norther countries are “more economically successful than their Sub Saharan counterparts”, this is due in part to the discovery of oil and natural gas in Algeria and Libya and the tourism industry in Egypt (New World …show more content…
For example in 2008 48% of the population was living on less than $1.25 a day. Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Sierra Leone are some of the poorest countries in the world (Harrison). The difference in economy between the rest of Africa and the Sub Sahara may be the result of several factors including climate. The Sub Saharan countries experience more severe weather than the rest of Africa, some areas experience heavy rain fall and others suffer from droughts. These climates make economic development more challenging. Northern and Southern Africa are the most prosperous regions in Africa and they are also the regions that enjoy the most temperate weather.