All Sand But No Beaches: Landlocked Africa Quiz

Answer: Senegal

Mali is the eighth largest country in area in Africa. It is a peanut-shaped country with a fertile southwest section where most of the population resides. Mali borders Senegal to the west, Mauritania to the northwest, Algeria to the northeast, Niger to the east, Burkina Faso to the southeast, Ivory Coast to the south, and Guinea to the southwest. The small southern portion is cultivated around the Niger and Senegal Rivers, while the central semi-desert is the Sahelian semi-arid zone, separating the green of the south from the harshness of the vast northern desert Saharan zone.

The closest coastline is through the Senegal River to the Atlantic but it is not navigable for its entirety. There is a road from the capital Bamako to the Atlantic coast through Senegal but it is 1200 km and of poor quality. The Niger (with 1,700 kilometres in Mali) is Mali's largest river. According to the Library of Commerce, the Niger is generally described as "Mali's lifeblood", a source of food and drinking water, its main irrigation source, and historically for transportation. However, it is a long way to the ocean. It flows northeast from Bamako to Timbuktu where it swings hard right and travels to the coast via Niger, Benin and Nigeria, a distance of 3400km. In modern Mali, the main transport route from Mali is south, 1100km by road to the Ivory Coast port city of Abidjan.

Sixteen of Africa's 55 countries are landlocked. Africa's landlocked countries are some of the poorest countries in the world with 14/16 classified as "low" on the Human Development Index. Africa's landlocked countries must all depend on neighbouring countries that have marine borders for the transportation of goods. This means potential delays, certainly higher costs such as additional costs from tariffs and duties placed on international border trade, and even the lack of development of economies. (This causes a lack of ability to export goods competitively). Most of Africa's landlocked countries are also poorly governed and have been troubled with civil unrest.

Trouble exporting goods suppresses growth in the manufacturing sector and, as such, landlocked African nations (LLN) tend to rely on commodities and natural resources for income. In some cases only one or two commodities. eg Botswana and the Central African Republic are dependent on gold and diamonds with price drops causing chaos in such countries' economies.

Most African LLNs have poor governance as they are generally young independent countries with little experience in running countries. Robert Mugabe ruined the once prosperous country of Zimbabwe which he ruled for forty years. Ethiopia became landlocked because it allowed a Marxist regime that presided over civil war and famine, to release part of it to secede to form a new country leaving Ethiopia landlocked.

Most of the landlocked countries in Africa have gone through civil wars and similar conflicts, often fuelled by the differences between ethnic groups and religious groups. This is because Africa's borders, were, in the main, drawn up by the former European colonial powers, without any regard for pre-colonial allegiances of local ethnic and religious groups.

Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1 was pleased to add his virtual signature as a footnote as it means he finally reached the end of the question.

Answer: Mali

Burkina Faso has its capital at Ouagadougou. It was previously known as Upper Volta, and changed to its current name in 1984. The new name derives from two local languages, and means 'upright' and 'fatherland', anglicised to 'land of the honest men'. It is not a wealthy country, with many of its 20 million inhabitants involved in subsistence farming. Its health and education standards are also rather lacking, and the political situation is often unstable.

The Niger River bypasses this country altogether, running just east of its eastern boundary before turning sharply to the west in Mali. Burkino Faso's main river system is the Volta which has a red, black and white branch which drain into a single river before reaching the Atlantic.. It is about three times the area, with a similar population. Much of its northern areas are covered by the Sahara Desert.

None of the incorrect options border Burkina Faso.

This question was submitted by ozzz2002, who thinks 'Ouagadougou' is just fun to say!

Answer: 80%

Named after the Niger River, the longest of the few rivers which run through it, Niger lies on the border between the Sahara Desert and the sub-Saharan region of West Africa. With an area of 1,267,000 kmē (489,100 sq mi), it is the world's 21st-largest country and the fourth-largest landlocked country. Like its neighbours Algeria, Mali, Chad, Benin, and Burkina Faso, Niger is a former French colony, which became independent in 1960. Most of the country, except the tropical southwest, lies within the Sahara Desert, with very little arable land. Not surprisingly, recurring droughts are a major cause of concern, resulting in severe poverty and food insecurity in the affected regions.

The Niger River is the third-longest river in Africa and the 12th-longest in the world. Nigeria is also named after it. Despite what many think, the river's name does not come from the Latin word for "black", but from a Berber phrase meaning "river of rivers".

This question flowed directly into the quiz from the keyboard of LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew.

Answer: Togo

With a huge area of 1,284,000 kmē (496,000 sq mi), Chad is the world's 20th largest country and the third-largest landlocked country after Kazakhstan and Mongolia. A former French colony that gained independence in 1960, Chad is located at the intersection of North and Central Africa and comprises three distinct zones, each with its specific climate and ecology: the Sahara Desert in the north, the Sahelian Belt in the centre, and the Sudanian savanna in the south. The country was named after Lake Chad, which lies in the Sahelian zone, and is shared by Chad and its three western neighbours, Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon.

Libya lies to the north of Chad, Sudan to the east, and Nigeria to the southwest. Togo, on the other hand, is located in West Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea. It is also considerably smaller than the other three countries, with an area of 56,785 kmē (21,925 sq mi).

A vastly impressed LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew wrote this question.

Answer: Cameroon

Central African Republic (CAR) is a central, landlocked country entirely south of the Sahara Desert and is surrounded by six African countries. Beginning at the north and going clockwise, you have Chad, Sudan, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, and Cameroon bordering CAR. Cameroon and the Republic of the Congo border the Atlantic Ocean with Cameroon in its more northerly position bordering the Gulf of Guinea. CAR is just north of the equator and has a tropical climate. The north country has a wet season in the summer, while the southern end has a wet season stretching a couple more months.

Roughly 90% of the people are Christian, with the remaining being Muslim. CAR is a war-torn country, with a civil war almost continuously since 2012 and is extremely poor. With that said, diamonds are the most important export, with cotton and coffee being the biggest cash crops.

Even though Cameroon is the only country separating CAR from the Atlantic Ocean, it is still 1400 kilometres by road from Bangui, the CAR capital, to Douala, Cameroon on the Atlantic coast.

This question was polished into Red Crew's team quiz by Phoenix Rising's jaknginger.

Answer: 25%

After a referendum held on 9-15 January 2011, South Sudan became independent from Sudan on 9 July 2011. The world's most recent sovereign nation as of 2022, it covers an area of 644,329 kmē (248,777 sq mi), making it the 41th-largest country, slightly bigger than France. Also known as the Nilotic Republic, South Sudan comprises about 25% of the area that was formerly part of Sudan, which before the split was the largest country in Africa.

South Sudan's territory comprises a vast swamp, the Sudd, formed by the White Nile, which in the past made penetration into equatorial Africa extremely difficult. The country's ecosystems also include tropical forests and grasslands, home to plentiful wildlife. A very poor country, ravaged by years of civil war, South Sudan has one of the world's youngest populations. Unlike in largely Muslim Sudan, the majority of the country's population are followers of Christianity or indigenous belief systems.

This question was written by LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew with an eye to proportions.

Answer: Eritrea

In 1952, Eritrea (a former Italian colony) and Ethiopia became a federation, as sanctioned by the United Nations. However, in 1962 this federation - which gave landlocked Ethiopia access to the Red Sea - was dissolved by Haile Selassie, the Ethiopian emperor, who quickly annexed Eritrea against the wishes of its population. This resulted in a bloody armed struggle that lasted until 1991. In 1993, Eritrea became officially independent, taking away Ethiopia's coastline. The Ethiopian Navy, which had been headquartered in Massawa, a port city in northern Eritrea, had to be dismantled.

Even after losing part of its territory, Ethiopia is still a very large country - the world's 26th-largest, and the sixth-largest landlocked country, with an area of 1,104,300 kmē (426,400 sq mi).

Like Ethiopia and Eritrea, both Djibouti and Kenya are located in East Africa, while Equatorial Guinea is located in West Africa.

This question landed into the quiz courtesy of LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew.

Answer: Great Britain

The Republic of Uganda is situated in East Africa, bordered by Kenya, South Sudan, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania. The capital city, Kampala, is located in the Buganda Kingdom, a region of Uganda, which is the source of Uganda's name. In the late 1800s, The Imperial British East Africa Company (IBEAC) were directed by the British government to negotiate trade deals, but following religious wars breaking out in Buganda, the IBEAC withdrew to protect their economic interests and the British government moved in and annexed the area.

Uganda has very diverse geography encompassing mountains, volcanoes, and lakes, including Lake Victoria, which it shares with Kenya and Tanzania. The country has many bodies of water throughout and is situated in the Nile basin, with some areas, especially near the centre of the country near Lake Kyoga, being extensive marshland. Its geography supports a vast number of animals, including mountain gorillas and hippos.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew's smpdit paddled her way through many waterways to land this question.

Answer: Germany and Belgium

The Republic of Rwanda is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa. Just south of the Equator, Rwanda has borders with Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The entire country is elevated, affording the country the nickname of "land of a thousand hills". With a 2020 population of over 12.6 million jammed into 26,338 km2 (10,169 sq mi) of land, it is the most densely populated mainland African country by far. The capital Kigali is notable for not being on a river or lake but the Nyabarongo River runs to the south and west of the city on its rural outskirts. The city has over one million people.

By 1700 approximately eight kingdoms existed in what is now present-day Rwanda. One kingdom, the Kingdom of Rwanda, became increasingly dominant in the mid-eighteenth century. A single kingdom evolved during the nineteenth century under King Kigeli Rwabugiri who overcame several smaller states, expanding the kingdom west and north into what are still almost the exact boundaries that exist today.

The Berlin Conference of 1884 assigned Rwanda to the German Empire, which proclaimed it as part of German East Africa. The Germans did not significantly alter the social and internal structures of Rwanda but exerted their authority by supporting the king and delegating power to local chiefs. In WWI when it was apparent that Germany would lose the war, Belgian forces took over control of Rwanda and neighbouring Burundi in 1916.

The Belgians exerted a more direct colonial rule ruling both Rwanda and Burundi as a League of Nations mandate called Ruanda-Urundi. This continued until after WWII when the UN proclaimed that the Belgians should oversee the independence of the conjoined trust territory. In 1961, Belgians held a referendum in which the country voted to abolish the monarchy. Rwanda was separated from Burundi and gained independence on 1 July 1962. Burundi, Rwanda, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini are the only direct territorial continuations of pre-colonial era African states - Notably, all are landlocked.

This question was declared constitutional and was drafted into the quiz by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: Lake Tanganyika

Located in Eastern Africa, Burundi is landlocked by Uganda to the north, Tanzania to the east, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Lake Tanganyika separates southwest Burundi from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In terms of volume, this lake is the second largest lake in the world. It empties into the Congo River and eventually the Atlantic Ocean.

Burundi was an independent kingdom before African colonization. Ruled by Germany and Belgium, Burundi has survived with boundaries similar to its prior kingdom. It became independent in 1962 but remains one of the poorest nations on earth relying on subsistence farming and exports of coffee and tea. A manufacturing industry is limited to some consumer goods like soap and blankets.

Jaknginger claimed this question for the Red Crew's team quiz during Phoenix Rising's Global Tour.

Answer: Copperbelt

Zambia is a large landlocked country in South Central Africa wedged in between the former Portuguese colonies of Angola to the west and Mozambique to the southeast, Malawi to the east, Zimbabwe and Botswana to the south and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north.

When Zambia became independent of Great Britain, it found itself with, for an African landlocked nation, a myriad of natural resources including minerals, especially copper, wildlife, forests, freshwater and arable land (even though only 5% is arable the total area was large).

Zambia has fortunate geography. It is drained by two major river basins: the Zambezi basin in the centre, west, and south which covers 70% of the country and the Congo basin in the north which covers nearly all the rest. Both rivers are navigable making the landlocked issue less of a problem compared with other African landlocked nations. The land itself is fairly fertile with rolling hills and uplands being essentially free of desert and facilitating a moderate climate.

After independence, Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president of a single party (socialist United National Independence Party) which maintained power from 1964 until 1991. However, the government was stable and free from civil unrest. The new country built a railway to the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam to avoid existing routes through trouble-ridden Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe territory (a master stroke) and built a solid economy based on regional service industry in the capital Lusaka in the centre of the country and a thriving export copper industry in the province of Copperbelt to the south. Nickel is now mined in the same region and is reaching a production total similar to copper. Nearly all of it is exported.

Zambia received an economic boost later in the 90s when many white Zimbabwean farmers were expelled from Zimbabwe, so brought their skills and machinery with them and were able with Zambian farmers to create enough corn, tobacco, wheat, and chilli peppers to create an export economy.

This question was wedged into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1.

Answer: Most of its eastern border

Lake Malawi also borders Tanzania (where it is called Lake Nyasa) and Mozambique (Lago Niassa there). The lake lies in the East African Rift, and is the fifth largest freshwater lake in the world. It is approximately 570km long and up to 75km wide, with its deepest point 706m. Lake Malawi National Park, at the southern end, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site established to protect the abundant fish species in the lake, including more than 700 species of cichlids.

The Republic of Malawi was formerly known as Nyasaland while it was a British colony. In addition to borders with Tanzania and Mozambique, the country abuts Zambia to the west. The capital city is Lilongue, which is also the largest city by population.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew's pusdoc fished this question out of the water for the Global Tour 2022.

Answer: Zambezi

The Zambezi River, the fourth longest river in Africa, is the border between Zambia in the north and Zimbabwe to the south. Once called "The Jewel of Africa", Zimbabwe has a sub-tropical climate and is mostly savannah plains. Once filled with abundant wildlife, a cycle of droughts, deforestation and poaching has decimated the animal population. Unfortunately, this, coupled with the COVID pandemic, has had a negative impact of tourism to the area. Mining, particularly that of platinum and diamonds remains a lucrative source of income.

The Limpopo River forms part of the border with South Africa.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 has never been to Zimbabwe, but would love to see the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River. And a sneaky trip to a diamond field wouldn't go astray either.

Answer: Most prosperous African landlocked nation

The Republic of Botswana is the oldest democracy on the African continent, and is considered to be the least corrupt as well, which may partly explain the success of the economy. According to "World Atlas" Botswana's GDP is twice as high as the next landlocked nation and five times the average of all landlocked African nations' GDP.

The largest city is the capital, Gaborone. The country is sparsely populated, with 70% of the land lying within the Kalahari desert. The 1980 movie "The Gods Must be Crazy" (of Coke bottle fame) was filmed in part in the Botswanan portion of the Kalahari. Known for its biodiversity, Botswana has become a tourist destination with several National Parks and Game Reserves. Prior to independence, the country was part of the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland. The predominant cultural group, the Tswana, provides the origin of the country's name.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew's pusdoc completed this question.

Answer: Borders only one other country

Lesotho is not only landlocked, but it is also country locked! Officially known as The Kingdom of Lesotho, it is an enclave of South Africa - its only border. It was previously known as Basutoland until it achieved independence from the UK in 1966. Lesotho translates to 'land of the Sotho'.

A mountainous country, existing at elevations greater than 1000 metres (3281ft), it is home to Thabana Ntlenyana, the highest mountain in southern Africa. Its geographic situation means there is not much arable land, rainfall is sporadic and periods of drought leading to famine are not uncommon. It is split into ten districts each with a capital, known as a 'Camptown'.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew's smpdit generally only borders on the extreme.

Answer: Mozambique

The Kingdom of Eswatini, previously named Swaziland, is located in southern Africa. One of the smallest countries in Africa, it is bordered to the east by Mozambique, and the rest of the country is surrounded by South Africa. Although small, it has a rich diversity of climate dictated by the topography.

It is divided into four regions with regard to their altitude: The Highveld, a temperate region, lays claim to the capital Mbabane; the Middleveld is more heavily populated, with the commercial, industrial city of Manzini, seeing less rainfall; the Lowveld is a lot warmer, with summer temperatures reaching 40C, which leads to grasslands resembling typical bush country; and the Lubombo mountain range is situated to the east forming the border to Mozambique. It is only another 50km to the coastal capital of Maputo in Mozambique.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew's smpdit is also small, but diverse.