Trends to Watch

A few of the major international trends are given for prayerful attention

1 AIDS in Africa now overshadows the future of the continent — 71% of the world's AIDS cases in 1999 were in Africa

a) The focal areas of infection

b) Radical changes in society that deal with the moral, social and spiritual deficiencies that spread the disease

c) Mobilization of churches to tackle the causes and effects of AIDS

d) Deployment of Christian agencies and skills to empower the Church in this new realm of ministry

2 The ongoing weaknesses of African democratic institutions

3 The Muslim-Christian fault-line stretching from Senegal across the Sahel to Ethiopia and along Africa's Indian Ocean seaboard

4 Africa's deepening poverty and the right means to alleviate it in the long-term

a) The governments of richer trading nations need to implement a range of measures to ensure a fair price for African produce and realize that failure leads to raised need for aid

b) Secular and religious NGOs from the World Bank to the smallest Christian aid agency need a humble sensitivity to local culture and needs in the short- and long-term

5 The continued power of African traditional religions

Economy

Africa's economy has stagnated for 40 years; many countries have become poorer, a few have made progress. HDI is a measure of the quality of life of 174 nations. Of the bottom 40 in this list, 33 are in Africa. Income/person $660 (2% of USA). Only 1.7% of the world's GNP is generated in Africa.

Politics

Black Africa's isolation from the rest of the world ended in the 'Scramble for Africa' by the European colonial powers in the 19^th Century.

Religion

Religious freedom has increased over much of Africa during the 1990s, but persecution of Christians by Muslims has also increased in Egypt, Sudan, northern Nigeria and the Comores.

Missionaries from Africa

12,442 in 620 agencies with 3,126 in other lands.

Missionaries to Africa

17,737 expatriates in 620 agencies.

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Geography

Area 30,212,000 sq.km; 22.3% of the surface area of the world's 238 countries.

Population (2000) 784,315,000 +2.41%AGR

Peoples

African 77.9%; Arab 17.3%; Imazighen (Berber) 2.6%; European 1.1%; Mixed race 0.7%; Asian 0.4%.

Languages 2,110; 30.5% of the world's total. Official languages Arabic in North Africa (7 countries). Elsewhere French (22), English (21), Portuguese (4), Spanish (1). The increasing use of European languages in education is at the expense of local languages. In only 6 nations is an African language officially used as the main means of conducting the nation's business.

Bible translation Africa is the greatest remaining challenge for Bible translation with existing openings for missionary translators. Languages with Scriptures 130Bi 237NT 250por. There is work in progress in 373 and a definite need for translators in 297 more. This latter number could rise to 1,290 after careful field research.

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