ABSTRACT
No four countries can be typical of a continent. Indeed the four countries studied in this book-Tunisia, Botswana, Lesotho and Upper Volta-are in a sense untypical since, as explained in Chapter 1, they were selected as being ‘good of their kind’. However, while they are obviously not typical or representative, between them they do illustrate many facets of contemporary Africa, and most of the ways in which food aid can be supplied and used. Table 3.1, below, sets out a few comparative economic indices for the four countries, from which it is clear that they vary widely in terms of size, wealth and growth rates. They also differ in historical and cultural backgrounds, and importantly, in their prospects for economic growth. Tunisia’s GNP is 21 times the size of Lesotho’s, and even in per capita terms it is over four times as great. Botswana’s per capita GNP growth rate during the period 1960-75 was over eight times more rapid than Upper Volta’s. Population densities range from 40 persons/sq km in Lesotho to 1 person/sq km in Botswana. Tunisia and Upper Volta are French speaking and have administrative traditions inherited from French colonialism; Botswana and Lesotho are English speaking and their administration has been influenced by British practice. Tunisia is also Arabic and wholly Muslim, Upper Volta is partly Muslim, while Botswana and Lesotho are both firmly Christian.
