ABSTRACT

This chapter deals with the area of Central Africa which formerly made up the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Discussion is focussed on the ten year life of the Federation which terminated on December 31, 1963. Since that time substantial changes in finance, money, trade and economic policy have taken place. Nevertheless, the basic economic structures remain substantially unchanged and the fundamental economic problems which faced the former federation have been inherited by Rhodesia, Zambia and Malawi. 1 This chapter provides a brief review of the economic structure of the area and focuses attention on the role of the former federal government in economic policy. Its aim is not merely to examine a particular historical era but also to furnish statistical and economic data on a country basis which provides a background for an understanding of present day development in Rhodesia, Zambia and Malawi.