Geography 2011

A high rate of natural increase characterises Africa: birth rates across the continent remain among the world's highest while death rates have fallen with wider immunisation and health care, leaving a broad gap between the two. Infant mortality stays high and life expectancy comparatively short.

Political instability and poor governance hold back development in much of Africa, because conflict, corruption and weak institutions deter investment and divert public money from schools, roads and production. The continent is richly endowed with minerals, so poor resources cannot be the explanation.

Research methodology is the term for the specific techniques and procedures used to collect and analyze data in a study, covering the tools and processes applied from data collection through analysis. A research approach is the broader strategy, such as quantitative or qualitative, that a study follows before those techniques are chosen.

Isopleth maps join points of equal value with a line, as isotherms do for temperature and isohyets for rainfall, so they suit phenomena that change continuously across space. Choropleth maps shade whole administrative units instead.

Absolute location is position fixed by latitude and longitude, and time zones are set by longitude. The Horn states, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, lie near 45 degrees east, which places them three hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).