25 American Ceramic Society Bulletin, Vol. 100, No. 8 | www.ceramics.org Celebrating 100 years AFRICA MARKET SNAPSHOTS A wealth of contradictions (cont.) To learn more about this market, see the U.S. International Trade Administration’s Morocco Country Commercial Guide,o the World Bank’s Doing Business guide for Morocco,p and resources available through the American Chamber of Commerce in Morocco.q Nigeria: Strong in funda- mentals—and in need for reform Oil-rich Nigeria, the largest economy in sub- Saharan Africa, has sought to diversify its engines of economic growth since the global financial crisis of 2008–2009. However, growth in agriculture, telecommunications, and services since that time have not delivered prosperity at the household level: “over 62% of Nigeria’s over 180 million people still live in extreme poverty,” the CIA World Factbook reports. “Despite its strong fundamentals,” the authors add, “Nigeria has been hobbled by inadequate power supply, lack of infrastructure, delays in the passage of legislative reforms, an inefficient property regis- tration system, restrictive trade policies, an inconsis- tent regulatory environment, a slow and ineffective judicial system, unreliable dispute resolution mecha- nisms, insecurity, and pervasive corruption.” Services generated 56.4% of GDP in 2017, followed nearly neck-and-neck by industry (22.5%) and agri- culture (21.1%). Leading industries include crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, rubber products, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertil- izer, printing, ceramics, and steel. The labor force numbers 60.08 million, with 70% employed in agri- culture, 20% in services, and 10% in industry. Export volume was $34.54 billion in 2020, down sharply from $62.52 billion in 2019 (which had seen a rise from $60.54 billion in 2018). Leading export commodities are crude petroleum, natural gas, scrap vessels, flexible metal tubing, and cocoa beans. Chief export partners include India, Spain, the U.S., France, and the Netherlands. The most recent data for import volume is $32.67 bil- lion in 2017, led by refined petroleum, cars, wheat, laboratory glassware, and packaged medicines. China, the Netherlands, the United States, and Belgium are major import partners. To learn more about this market, see the U.S. International Trade Administration’s Nigeria Country Commercial Guide,r the World Bank’s Doing Business guide for Nigeria,s and resources available through the Nigerian–American Chamber of Commercet and the Nigerian–USA Chamber of Commerce.u South Africa: Can this emerging economy con- tinue to ascend? This middle-income emerging market has both natural resource wealth and well-developed finan- cial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors. Its stock exchange is Africa’s largest and ranks in the top 20 globally. But South Africa also is distinguished by having one of the world’s highest persistent inequality rates. The pandemic exacerbated the country’s chronic problem of unemployment, which reached 32.5% at the end of 2020—and that rate skyrockets to 63% for work- ers age 24 or younger. The CIA World Factbook lauds South Africa’s “modern infrastructure,” which “supports a rela- tively efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region,” but also notes the negative impact of “unstable electricity supplies” as well as “skills shortages, declining global com- petitiveness, and frequent work stoppages due to strike action.” South Africa is the world’s largest producer of platinum, gold, and chromium. In addition to min- ing, major industries include automobile assembly, metalworking, machinery, textiles, iron and steel, chemicals, fertilizer, foodstuffs, and commercial ship repair. For 2017, services generated 67.5% of GDP, followed by industry (29.7%) and agriculture (2.8%). The majority of the labor force of 14.68 million is employed in services (71.9%), followed by industry (23.5%) and agriculture (4.6%). In 2019, export volume was $123.86 billion, driven by gold, platinum, cars, iron products, coal, manganese, and diamonds. The biggest export partners are China, the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, and India. Import volume for the year was $131.72 billion, led by crude and refined petroleum, cars and vehicle parts, gold, and broad- casting equipment. Chief import partners include China, Germany, the United States, and India. To learn more about this market, see the U.S. International Trade Administration’s South Africa Country Commercial Guide,v the World Bank’s Doing Business guide for South Africa,w and resources available through the U.S.–South Africa Business Centerx and the American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa.y References a United Nations Environment Programme, “Our work in Africa.” https://www.unep.org/regions/africa/our-work-africa b L. Christiaensen, “Africa imports billions in food a year. It could be creating local jobs instead,” World Bank Blogs, November 9, 2020. https://blogs.worldbank.org/jobs/africa- imports-billions-food-year-it-could-be-creating-local-jobs- instead c S. Varrella, “African countries with the highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2020 (in billion U.S. dollars),” Statista, February 18, 2021. https://www.statista.com/statistics/ 1120999/gdp-of-african-countries-by-country d International Trade Administration, “Algeria Country Commercial Guide,” https://www.trade.gov/algeria-country- commercial-guide e The World Bank, “Ease of doing business in Algeria,” https:// www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/algeria# f U.S.–Algeria Business Council, https://www.us-algeria.org g International Trade Administration, “Egypt Country Commercial Guide,” https://www.trade.gov/egypt-country- commercial-guide h The World Bank, “Ease of doing business in Egypt,” https:// www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/egypt# i U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “U.S.–Egypt Business Council,” https://www.uschamber.com/us-egypt-business-council j American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt, https://www.amcham.org.eg k International Trade Administration, “Kenya Country Commercial Guide,” https://www.trade.gov/kenya-country- commercial-guide l The World Bank, “Ease of doing business in Kenya,” https:// www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/kenya# m American Chamber of Commerce Kenya, https://amcham.co.ke n World Atlas, “Strait of Gibraltar,” https://www.worldatlas.com/straits/strait-of-gibraltar.html o International Trade Administration, “Morocco Country Commercial Guide,” https://www.trade.gov/morocco-country- commercial-guide p The World Bank, “The ease of doing business in Morocco,” https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/ morocco# q American Chamber of Commerce in Morocco, https://amcham.ma r International Trade Administration, “Nigeria Country Commercial Guide,” https://www.trade.gov/nigeria-country- commercial-guide s The World Bank, “Ease of doing business in Nigeria,” https:// www.doingbusiness.org/en/data/exploreeconomies/nigeria# t Nigerian–American Chamber of Commerce, https://nigerianamericanchamber.org u Nigeria–USA Chamber of Commerce, https://nusacc.us v International Trade Administration, “South Africa Country Commercial Guide,” https://www.trade.gov/south-africa- country-commercial-guide w The World Bank, “Ease of doing business in South Africa,” https://www.trade.gov/south-africa-country-commercial-guide x U.S.–South Africa Business Center, https://www.usafricabusinesscenter.com/u-s-south-africa- business-council y American Chamber of Commerce in South Africa, https://amcham.co.za 100