Then again, Harare doesn’t look bad from the air, either, although looks can be deceiving. Large lots, large houses, plenty of swimming pools, paved roads, and oh-so-British neighborhood and street names. I’ve read that Kampala also used to be a pleasant city in the days before Idi Amin.
I’ve heard Togo cited as a fairly stable, prosperous African country before, but I know it’s still a pretty dangerous place. Assaults and carjacking in broad daylight are not uncommon in the capital. And I’m not sure about Nigeria getting an “unfair reputation”; apparently at least three separate regions of the country are so dangerous and unstable they are literally off-limits.
Benin should probably be getting some love in this thread as well, shouldn’t it? I mean, sure, it’s pretty darned poor, but it’s got a decently democratic government.
See, this? This kind of discussion, with real-world answers from people who’ve been there and know what they’re talking about? This is why I love the Dope. Thanks, everyone.
You Are most Welcome, Mr. elindil’sheir. Please to be announcing to you the sum of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND MILLION U.S. dollars to be given to you should you reply to this post in a hurriedly fashion. Time must be not wasted!!!
Wait a second - how the hell did Egypt beat out Madagascar? Madagascar has relatively free and fair elections on a fairly regular basis! I mean, sure, they’ve trended downwards on press freedoms for a few years - but they were also in the first group of states to get a grant from the US’ Millennium Development Corporation! And that org is set up specifically to promote democratic development.
Nevermind - took a look at the cite. The Ibrahim Index combines economic development and political/human rights factors. On the breakdown, Egypt trounced Madagascar on development, but trailed badly on human rights/political participation. Which actually sounds about right.
We can debate how these categories are scored, and the Ibrahim Foundation admits there are holes in their data sets. But, overall, they’re looking at many more indicators than the Human Development Index cited earlier.
I have been to Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, DR Congo… Kigali and Kampala seem to function quite well on the whole, and the paved roads in Sudan as well as internet everywhere in northern Sudan via the mobile network work well.
It is hard to find good things to say about DR Congo… the place is a mess and given the terrain a very difficult place to develop.
In Cameroon, we only half jokingly referred to Nigeria as the “land of plenty.” Because they have a bit of a manufacturing base, consumer goods were available at affordable prices- something that was not at all true of Cameroon, where the few things available for purchase were often insanely priced imports. Nigeria was seen as a land of universities, good jobs, decent roads and comfortable cities. Yes, crime is a massive problem- but economically it stands head and shoulders over anything in the area.
Equatorial Guinea is by no means a functional country. Despite having one of the highest GDPs in Africa, something like 70% of the country lives on less than a dollar a day. It’s probably one of the more purely corrupt places on this planet. I flew on a Malabo-bound plane once stuffed with huge women wearing three gold rings on each finger clutching dozens of Dubai Duty Free luxury brand shopping bags. Meanwhile, the vast majority of the country has no clean water, no health care, limited access to schools, etc.
I’d put Cameroon smack in the middle. Certainly starvation is not a big problem, war is unlikely, and crime is somewhat under control. The government is corrupt but at this point stable. Basic infrastructure is lacking, but for most people day-to-day life is not too bad. A middle class is slowly emerging. Community life and traditions remain strong and fulfilling.
