Some of the poorest countries on Earth are in Africa and there are a wide array of reasons behind this phenomenon. The reason behind the success of one country over another can’t be deduced to only one reason. There are many factors at play. In this article, we’ll take a look at what makes a country rich and a country poor.
Table of Contents
1. Corrupt government
The more corrupt a government is the poorer a country tends to be. Corruption comes in many different forms.
One type of corruption is nepotism where someone gets hired based on their close ties with the decision-maker. This restricts the country from a whole array of talents in their country.
Your immediate family members aren’t always the best person for the job you see.
Another way government can be corrupt is if they steal the money from its people. Instead of using it to build infrastructure, libraries, schools, etc it’s used to enrich someone’s bank account. That money lost is more than the face value as the money could’ve made more money for the country if it was spent in the right place.
For instance, the money could be used to build roads that lead to nearby countries opening up options for trade but a lack of roads built means the option for trading between nations would be close off.
2. Roads and infrastructure
Roads and infrastructures are necessary for the economical development of a country. If there are no roads, goods can’t be transported. Anything that’s produced is limited to the locals-only thus restricting their economical growth.
Any sane government would prioritize the roads and infrastructures to be built first should they have the funds but many governments in poor countries would let bribery influence the choice of who gets the road-building projects. Selecting the wrong company could often mean roads with lower quality gets built or in many cases, no roads at all. The money gets into the wrong hands.
3. Geography
The geography of a country can greatly impact its economical development.
Countries in tropical regions have a harsher time cultivating crops for consumption and raising livestock that can help their population boom. Crops die and people starve.
The hot weather is also a breeding ground for lots of tropical diseases like Malaria that affect livestock and humans.
Landlocked countries have no rivers and oceans to navigate reducing their trading opportunities. Africa has 15 countries that are landlocked. They depend on the Nile a lot. It’s not a surprise that 11 of those countries in Africa have an annual income of <$600 per year.
4. Ease of starting a business
The easier it is for a country to open a business, the easier it is for a country to get richer.
Think about some of the biggest companies in the world such as Facebook and Microsoft. If its founder was born in a different country, it may not have succeeded at all.
Entrepreneurs build companies that employ workers. If it’s harder for entrepreneurs to open their businesses, the employment opportunities decrease for its people and with it potential revenues that will make its country rich.
It serves a country’s best interest to have more jobs created for its people because more salaries mean more taxes and more taxes mean more money for the government to build infrastructures that are good for its people and the economical growth of the country.
5. Religiosity
There is such a thing as being too religious. The more religious a country is, the less wealthy a country tends to be with the exception of the United States.
19 of the richest countries in the world have the majority of their population saying that religion isn’t important to them at all.
In places where civilians don’t have a lot and every day is a struggle, relying on God as a place of refuge is simply a must for them and in their vulnerable states, many may have the belief that better things will come after death and therefore, there’s no need to improve their current life.
In rich countries, people are confident in their capability to improve their lives through hard work. Poor countries, on the other hand, have gods as their backbone, people don’t think they are capable and so they focus more on spiritualism and actively anticipate the next life.
6. Natural resources
Countries with valuable natural resources can either become rich or poor depending on how corrupt the country is. Corrupt countries would obtain the natural resource to sell without the collective agreement of the whole country whereas less corrupt countries would obtain the natural resources for a collectively agreed-upon purpose that will make the country richer.
7. Education quality
A country with a low quality of education can’t expect efficient workers. Would you ask someone who doesn’t know how to drive to teach you how to drive? An ineffective school system means its people will go to the workforce not knowing what they should know. How can you expect someone to teach you something they don’t know?
Ineffective education is also a waste of resources. Imagine going to school where they teach you how to mop the floor, that in itself is a skill but not a profitable skill to learn.
For a country to be rich, it must teach the right skills to its students.
8. Emotional intelligence of its leaders
Believe it or not, the emotional intelligence of a country’s leaders will impact how rich a country would be. Leaders with low emotional intelligence can drive their entire country into conflicts with another country over something small.
A country with emotionally intelligent leaders is able to form a better relationship with leaders from other countries which no doubt aid in trade and other business opportunities.
It’s always better to have a relationship with your neighbor doesn’t matter whether that neighbor is an individual or a whole country.
9. War
War is a great way to drain a country’s resources. If you want to make a country poor, start a war with it. The Russian-Ukraine war has devastated the country’s Rouble (Russian currency). The rouble has dropped more than 29% since the beginning of the war. Currently, 1 Rouble is worth $0.012USD.
War isn’t healthy for a country’s economy and it requires a lot of manpower and investment in the military to fund the operation. It places the entire country on hold while the war is going on and it displaces the relationship between countries (which is obviously not good for trade).
A nuclear war would be even worst. Currently, 10 countries have nuclear weapons and if any of those countries decide to use their nuclear weapon, other countries would join in. The aftermath would be devastating. The entire world’s economy would be in ruins. No doubt, a nuclear war or a war of any kind would not be conducive to creating a wealthy nation.
Final thought
There are many factors that determine the wealth of a country some of those are outside human interference. For others, it requires strong leaders and smart citizens to turn their countries forward.
What do you think other reasons may be that impact how much rich a country is?
