Under developed African Countries

There are a number of factors contributing to a countrys development or keeping it in a state of underdevelopment:

● Economic factors
- countries with large stocks of natural resources (coal, oil, diamonds, etc) tend to be more developed.
- However, poor exploitation of natural resources with, for example, the wealth gained going only to a very few people can also lead to underdevelopment.

● Social factors
- The more a country develops,  the more it has to spend on ensuring its population is healthy and well-educated and likely to generate more wealth in the future.

● Political and historical factors
- countries without stable governments, those run by dictators and those involved in civil and external wars tend to be less well developed.
- Countries which were colonised by other powers have historical factors that may have worked to keep them poor.

● Environmental factors
- Harsh climates (in Africa this would include countries affected by drought) can lead to problems of crop failure, pests such as locusts and poor water supplies