Paradoxes of poverty and inequality in Africa

The greatest rate of poor people is found in Africa, and of all the African nations, the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC), which gained independence in 1960, perhaps best exemplifies the paradoxical situation and terrible poverty which characterises them.

The RDC is the largest Subsaharan country and one of the richest in the world because of the fertility of its land, its large stretches of forest along the river Congo, and its abundance in essential natural resources: gold, diamonds, copper, cobalt, uranium, oil and coltan. However, this country has the largest proportion of people in the world who live below the international poverty line, 77%.

The gender inequality index is of 0.663, which puts it176th in the world. Of the components of this index, it is interesting to note that maternal mortality is very high and that the number of women in Parliament is very low, although the workforce is similar for men and women, as is the case in most predominantly agricultural Subsaharan countries.