§37
Transport
THE THESIS
Africa has 680,000km of paved roads — six times less than India for a similar population (§2.7). Trains cannot cross most African borders because the colonial powers laid incompatible track. Flying between African capitals routinely means connecting through Europe. A billion Africans live more than 2km from an all-season road. Every corridor foreigners have financed runs mine-to-port; almost none runs African city to African city. The AR builds the physical spine of the superpower — and it builds it to connect Africans to Africans, which is the one route map no empire ever drew.
THE DISCONNECTION AUDIT
| No. | Metric | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| 37.0.1 | Paved roads | 680,000km — six times smaller than India's network for a similar population (§2.7) |
| 37.0.2 | Africans >2km from an all-season road | ~1 Billion — locked out of markets (§2.7) |
| 37.0.3 | Countries with no operational railway | 13 sub-Saharan states have none at all (§2.7) |
| 37.0.4 | How intra-African freight moves | Overwhelmingly by road — about three-quarters — with maritime next and rail a rounding error (UNECA): a continent hauling its trade on trucks over broken roads |
| 37.0.5 | Intra-African trade share | 15–18% of Africa's trade is with Africa (§3.2) — vs ~60% intra-European |
| 37.0.6 | Logistics burden | Transport/logistics up to 40% of total costs in Africa vs ~10% in developed economies (AfDB) |
| 37.0.7 | Port dwell times | Container dwell at many African ports runs about 20 days against a 4-day global benchmark (AfDB) |
| 37.0.8 | Road deaths | The world's highest road-fatality rate: Africa holds ~3% of the world's vehicles and roughly a fifth of its road deaths (WHO Global Status Report) |
| 37.0.9 | African airlines' share of Africa's air traffic | Under 20% — Africa's major carriers combined carry a small minority of the traffic on their own continent (AFCAC) |
No.
37.0.1
Metric
Paved roads
Figure
680,000km — six times smaller than India's network for a similar population (§2.7)
No.
37.0.2
Metric
Africans >2km from an all-season road
Figure
~1 Billion — locked out of markets (§2.7)
No.
37.0.3
Metric
Countries with no operational railway
Figure
13 sub-Saharan states have none at all (§2.7)
No.
37.0.4
Metric
How intra-African freight moves
Figure
Overwhelmingly by road — about three-quarters — with maritime next and rail a rounding error (UNECA): a continent hauling its trade on trucks over broken roads
No.
37.0.5
Metric
Intra-African trade share
Figure
15–18% of Africa's trade is with Africa (§3.2) — vs ~60% intra-European
No.
37.0.6
Metric
Logistics burden
Figure
Transport/logistics up to 40% of total costs in Africa vs ~10% in developed economies (AfDB)
No.
37.0.7
Metric
Port dwell times
Figure
Container dwell at many African ports runs about 20 days against a 4-day global benchmark (AfDB)
No.
37.0.8
Metric
Road deaths
Figure
The world's highest road-fatality rate: Africa holds ~3% of the world's vehicles and roughly a fifth of its road deaths (WHO Global Status Report)
No.
37.0.9
Metric
African airlines' share of Africa's air traffic
Figure
Under 20% — Africa's major carriers combined carry a small minority of the traffic on their own continent (AFCAC)
SEE ALSO
§16 Continental Infrastructure Master Plan · §17 Industrialisation Continental Master Plan · §36 Energy · §50 The Blue Economy: Fisheries, Ports & Maritime