Foreword

    For many people in other parts of the world, the mention of Africa evokes images of civil unrest, war, poverty, disease, and mounting social problems. Unfortunately, these images are not just fiction. They reflect the dire reality in some African countries - though certainly not in all.

   At the turn of the millennium, African countries - together with the United Nations and the whole international community - still face great challenges in their efforts to promote peace, economic prosperity and sustainable development for Africa's people.

   The main impetus for improving political, social and economic conditions must come from Africans themselves. Even so, the international community has a vital role to play. The United Nations, for its part - as I stressed in my report to the Security Council last year - sees Africa as one of its top priorities. Together with other international institutions, the Organization has committed itself in various ways to assisting the efforts of African countries to attain peace and economic stability, reduce poverty and solve other persistent social problems.

   We are determined to help Africa to develop and to play its full part in the global economy. To achieve this, it is essential to mobilize private capital flows as well as to reverse the shameful decline in official development aid. We are particularly concerned to help promote investment - domestic as well as foreign - as a means of strengthening the supply side of the African economy. This booklet and the fact sheet that comes with it are an important contribution to that effort. They should help to spread the word, among foreign investors especially, that the opportunities Africa has to offer deserve a much closer look.

Kofi Annan
Secretary-General of the United Nations

New York, June 1999

 
 
 
 
 
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Note

   The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) serves as the focal point within the United Nations Secretariat for all matters related to foreign direct investment and transnational corporations. In the past, the Programme on Transnational Corporations was carried out by the United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations (19751992) and the Transnational Corporations and Management Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Development (19921993). In 1993, the Programme was transferred to UNCTAD. UNCTAD seeks to further the understanding of the nature of transnational corporations and their contribution to development and to create an enabling environment for international investment and enterprise development. UNCTAD's work is carried out through intergovernmental deliberations, technical assistance activities, seminars, workshops and conferences.

   The term "country" as used in this study also refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas; the designations employed and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. In addition, the designations of country groups are intended solely for statistical or analytical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage of development reached by a particular country or area in the development process.

   The following symbols have been used in the tables:

  • Two dots (..) indicate that data are not available or are not separately reported. Rows in tables have been omitted in those cases where no data are available for any of the elements in the row;
  • A hyphen (-) indicates that the item is equal to zero or its value is negligible;
  • A blank in a table indicates that the item is not applicable;
  • A slash (/) between dates representing years (e.g. 1996/97) indicates a financial year;
  • Use of a dash () between dates representing years (e.g. 19961998), signifies the full period involved, including the beginning and end years;
  • References to "dollars" ($) are to United States dollars, unless otherwise indicated;
  • Annual rates of growth or change, unless otherwise stated, refer to annual compound rates;
  • Details and percentages in tables do not necessarily add to totals because of rounding;
  • Systematic, reliable and up-to-date data on Africa are often difficult to obtain. They need, therefore, to be interpreted with caution;
  • The material contained in this study may be freely quoted with appropriate acknowledgement.