EAST AFRICA

THE PEOPLE

DENSITY AND DISTRIBUTION

• Population is widely uneven because of climate.
• For example in Tanzania in some areas there are 3 people per square mile
• And in another region of Tanzania there are 133 people per square mile
• The people are mostly city dwellers, nomads, and farmers
• But the main economic activity is farming because of the high population.

HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT

• East Africa's inhabitants have included:
• The worlds first humans
• Countless indigenous people
• And various European colonizers

EARLY PEOPLES AND KINDOMS

• East Africa is considered the place of origin for all human kind.
• Archaeologists have found bones dating back 3.2 million years.
• Since the beginning the people have been an agriculture trading country because of location
• Trading relationships include: Arabian peninsula, china, and India

EUROPEAN COLONIZATION

• The Portuguese explored along the coast in the 1400s
• They brought Roman Catholicism to Ethiopia
• This led to hostility to Christians
• Europeans took over all coastal towns and divided them between themselves
• They took out local agriculture and made huge plantations that focused on coffee and tea

FROM COLONIES TO COUNTRIES

• African groups attempted resist colonial rule but were unsuccessful
• Independence movements were more successful calling for self government
• In the 1960s European powers granted independence
• Countries did not know how to be independent which caused to fighting which is still going on

LANGUAGE AND RELIGION

• The three major languages include: Congo kordofianian, Nilo Saharan, Afro asiatic
• There are only mostly two religions in east Africa are: Christian and Muslim

EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE

• In urban areas the literacy rate is higher compared to rural areas
• Literacy rate is about 35 percent
• Only a small percentage of people ever complete secondary education
• Advances have been made in health care but poor nutrition, famine, over population, and inability to cure have made issues
• Aids is still being fought

THE ARTS

• Dance, mask arts, and oral traditions are all expressions of East African cultures
• Taarab is the most popular type of music

VARIED WAYS OF LIFE