In 2015, two separate rankings for the most expensive cities for expatriates listed African
cities as first.
Luanda in Angola, and Juba in South Sudan, offer a high standard of living for foreigners
at a high price.
But as some drive Porsches around the neighborhoods, many others lack regular access to electricity
or clean water.
So are the profits from African oil reserves really going towards African people?
And, in the end, will Africa’s oil profits be a help or a hindrance to the continent’s
modernization?
Well, of the top 20 most expensive cities for expatriates, roughly a fourth are African
oil boomtowns in places like: Angola, Chad, the Democratic of the Congo, Seychelles, and
Nigeria.
But many people in these cities are still plagued by high levels of poverty, unemployment,
crime, and infant mortality.
The reported “richness” of the cit y, on average, belies the significant wealth
gap between the haves and have-nots.
Endless slums in Luanda are home to those who make less than $2 dollars per day, while
gated communities and skyscrapers house the wealthy elite.
Yachts, nightclubs, and expensive restaurants are available to only a select few.
According to the BBC, cocktails can cost $60 dollars, and a watermelon can cost $100 dollars.
In the mid 2000s, because of oil wealth, the city infamously racked up Billions of dollars
in budget surplus, while about 3 thousand of the poorest residents died in a Cholera
outbreak.
Nigeria, with it’s significant oil reserves, is also an oil boom-NATION.
In 2014, their national GDP overtook South Africa’s.
By 2030, the USDA has predicted the nation will have the 19th largest economy in the
world.
In some cities, Nigeria is experiencing a tech-hub and economic boom.
Increased oil wealth there has resulted in an encouraging decline in poverty rates nationwide.
However, according to the UN, about 54% of the population subsists on one dollar and
twenty-five cents per day.
But poverty and violence still plagues much of the African continent.
And many blame the oil industry for increasing corruption in the workforce and destroying
the environment around the oil wells.
According to reports, the Nigerian government misplaced $20 billion in oil profits in 2014.
So could oil wealth improve Africa?
If reserves don’t dry up, the money flow could eventually make huge benefits in the
lives of many Africans.
To combat the corruption in oil companies, several human rights groups are already making
progress imposing new regulations on the industry.
Perhaps, in a matter of years or decades, with proper oversight, the oil industry will
become the most significant factor in Africa's rising living standards across the board.
Oil isn’t the only African resource drawing billions of dollars in outside investment.
To learn about why China and America have focused so much on the continent in recent
years, take a look at our video here.
Thanks for watching, and please remember to subscribe!