خرید و دانلود نسخه کامل کتاب Healthcare and Disease Burden in Africa The Impact of Socioeconomic Factors on Public Health – Original PDF

Chapter 2 Country Demographics 2.1 Country Profiles A total of eight African countries are selected as samples in this book: Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tunisia. Three of the countries are from North Africa, three are from West Africa, one from East Africa, and one from South Africa. The diversity in the location, culture, and economic development of the countries should provide a comprehensive profile of the African continent. North Africa has a stronger public healthcare system compared to other parts of Africa. This chapter presents the country profiles of these countries, which includes the basic demographics (life expectancy, median age, fertility rate, popu- lation distribution), economic status (GDP and GNI), gender ratio, and education system. 2.1.1 Algeria The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria in northern Africa has a population of 43,900,000 (World Bank, 2020) with an average life expectancy of 76.95 years (World Bank, 2020). The median age is 28.1 years (27.8 for men and 28.4 for women). The fertility rate is 2.946 (World Bank, 2020), resulting in annual population growth of 1.85% (World Bank, 2020), as shown in Fig. 2.1. Algeria’s gross national income (GNI) per capita is $3,948.3 (World Bank 2019). Spoken languages include Arabic (official), French (lingua franca), Berber or Tamazight (official), and dialects of Kabyle Berber (Taqbaylit), Shawiya Berber (Tacawit), Mzab Berber, and Tuareg Berber (Tamahaq). The main religion is Islam (99%), with Christianity and Judaism accounting for <1% (2012 est.). The northern capital, Algiers, is the most populous city (1,977,663), followed by Boumerdas (786,499), Oran (645,984), and Tebessa (634,332) (Population Data, 2021). Most © The Author(s) 2023 I. Niohuru, Healthcare and Disease Burden in Africa, SpringerBriefs in Economics, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-19719-2_2 7 8 2 Country Demographics Fig. 2.1 Projected population growth in Algeria, 1960–2080 (Data source United Nations—World Population Prospects. Map source Macrotrends) Algerians live in the northern part of the country, as the southern part is mainly a desert. The gender ratio in Algeria fluctuates. The 2020 average was 102.10 men to 100 women, but at younger ages, there are more males than females. By age 45, the number of females surpasses that of men (Fig. 2.2). Education in Algeria is free, starts at age six, and continues for nine consecutive years. Although mandatory, many children do not attend school, especially girls. Among girls who do attend, however, many complete secondary school and univer- sity. The government of Algeria funds a public healthcare system that is accessible and free to all Algerian citizens. This healthcare system generally favors preventative healthcare and clinics over hospitals.