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such as South Africa and Swaziland have experienced severe drought conditions over the past few years. This drought, coupled with an increasing demand onwater as urbanization continues to spread, has led to water shortages. A third area in which nearly all of the countries in middle, western, and southern Africa need improvement is access to advanced education. The main reasons for their low SPI scores in this category are the lack of funding for education and the high costs of schooling. In many of these countries the cost of education is a big percentage of an average family’s income, making it difficult to send children to primary schools, much less to secondary schools or universities. As regional economies improve, though, it is likely that funding for education will also improve.

A man walks along a dry ravine in the St. Phillips area of Swaziland, where drought can make life hard.

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S OCIAL P ROGRESS IN A FRICA : M IDDLE , W ESTERN , AND S OUTHERN