15 things you didn’t know about Africa’s borders

[SBGroup]

Africa is the world’s most diverse continent – there are more ethnic groups living on the continent than anywhere else on earth. Many were separated into different countries by the arbitrary drawing of colonial boundaries. Although this has been said to be the source of much conflict and strife, it is also a source of strength and innovation. Here are fifteen things you probably didn’t know about Africa’s borders, and the resilient communities that straddle them:

One:

Nearly half (44%) of Africa’s borders are straight lines or follow lines of latitude or longitude, which was the simplest way for colonial powers to demarcate their areas of influence

Two:

At least 177 ethnic groups are split in more than one country; four in ten Africans belongs to a community that has kin across the border.

Three:

Africa is so diverse that if each ethnic group was to have its own country – like was the case in Europe, Germany was for the Germans, France for the French etc. – we would have more than 2,000 countries. That’s ten times more than all the countries in the world today

Four:

One study showed that having a split ethnic group increases the risk of conflict in a country; since independence, around 20% of civil wars have a secessionist undertone, with a partitioned community wanting to join up with their kin across the border, or create their own state

Five:

The official data shows that formal trade between African countries makes up just 11% of the continent’s total trade, compared to 22% in Latin America and 50% in Asia

Six:

Formal trade between countries and between sub-regions is typically hampered by supply and demand factors on the one hand (e.g. import quotas and anti-dumping regulations), and technical barriers to trade, such as standards, phytosanitary measures and rules of origin regulations. Poor infrastructure and connectivity is also a major barrier to trade

Seven:

Still, border communities are also incredibly enterprising, in making the most of the situation they find themselves in, and leveraging their mobility and ease of communication across borders to trade. Informal cross-border trade represents 43% of the official GDP of the continent. That’s almost equivalent to the entire formal sector – that is, all of the value created in Africa’s offices and factories, only that it’s largely off the official books

Eight:

The types of products traded informally are mainly agricultural and unprocessed goods, as well as bulky intermediate products such as cement and fertiliser. In West Africa, they include cotton fiber, cement, vegetable oils, petroleum products, fertilisers, and pesticides. In East Africa, it’s mostly livestock, veterinary drugs, milk and dairy products, chickens, grains, clothing and electronic goods

Nine:

One report from USAID estimates that there are about three million informal cross border traders in West Africa, who each conduct an annual average of $20,000 in transactions

Ten:

Informal exports that find their way into the wider West African region from Nigeria are estimated to be worth between $1.5 and $1.9 billion every year, and 15% of Nigeria’s imports enter Ghana informally. Informal cross border trade is estimated to range from 20% of GDP in Nigeria to 75% in Benin

Eleven:

Cross-border trading has a long history in Africa. Lagos’ “Tinubu Square” was labeled after a famous Yoruba informal cross border trader by the name of Madam Efunroye Tinubu. Madam Tinubu owed her economic success and fame to massive, cross regional informal trading in salts and arms during the British colonial era. However, Madam Tinubu’s fame pales in comparison to the modern day women informal cross border traders of Togo known as the “Nana-Benz”. Then, as now, these women conduct their businesses on the regional and even international stage, drawing on a long history of trading experience as informal cross border traders.

Twelve:

Livestock are some of the most extensively traded commodities across borders, In the Horn of Africa, cross-border trade in camels, cattle, sheep and goats through Ethiopia/ Djibouti, South Sudan/ northwestern Kenya and eastern Uganda/ northwestern Kenya is estimated to be worth more than $5million every year; informal trade represents 85% of the total trade in livestock in the region

Thirteen:

In 2006, the value of Ugandan informal exports to its five neighboring countries – Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, DR Congo and Sudan stood at an impressive $223.89 million, corresponding to around 83% of official exports to these countries over the same period.

Fourteen:

Although most informal cross-border trade is characterised smuggling (thus denying governments tax revenues), the official procedures to comply with formal imports and exports of goods is incredibly tedious – so much so that it can be virtually impossible to comply, particularly if you are trading in perishable goods.

Fifteen:

One study from the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa (UNECA) showed that in most African countries, there are two sets of documents to be filled on either side of a border, which means that that average customs transaction involves at least 40 documents, 200 data points (30 of which are repeated at least 30 times), and the rekeying of 60-70% of all data at least once.