9781422283868

Gas flares behind a Nigerian oil worker.

For example, Botswana has exploited its abundance of diamonds to build its economy, while Nigeria has capitalized on its rich reserves of oil and natural gas. In contrast, Swaziland relies on its neighbor South Africa for 90 percent of its imports and 60 percent of its exports, due to its lack of natural resources. More details about Swaziland’s imports and exports can be found in Chapter 4. The beauty of these countries, with their plains, tropical coastlines, and mountains, along with their abundance of wildlife, makes many of them leading travel destinations, and the tourist industry has become an important and growing sector of their economies.

16 A FRICA : M IDDLE , W ESTERN , AND S OUTHERN