Editing Africa (section)

== Economy ==

Africa's economy is diverse and includes agriculture, mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, services, telecommunications, trade, tourism, transport, finance, and informal commerce. Economic conditions vary greatly between countries and regions. Some states depend heavily on natural resources, while others have diversified economies with large urban service sectors.

Agriculture remains important for employment and food supply. Major products include grains, cassava, yams, cocoa, coffee, tea, cotton, palm oil, livestock, fruit, vegetables, and fisheries. Mining and energy production are major sectors in many countries. Africa contains significant deposits of gold, diamonds, copper, cobalt, iron ore, uranium, phosphates, manganese, bauxite, platinum, oil, natural gas, and rare minerals.

Colonial economies were often structured around extraction and export. Many post-colonial economies continued to depend on raw materials and external markets. Debt, infrastructure gaps, corruption, conflict, weak industrialization, and unstable commodity prices affected development in many states.

The Tanoan presence intensified extraction in several controlled or influenced areas. The [[Tanoa Einsatzgruppen]] used regional commands, forced labor systems, subordinate administrations, and security units to secure minerals, timber, agricultural output, and transport routes. In areas under [[SS-Großabschnitt Afrika]], economic planning was tied to security control and population management instead of open-market development.

=== Energy ===

Africa has large energy resources, including oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass. North Africa and West Africa contain major oil and gas producers. Central and Southern Africa contain hydroelectric potential and coal resources. East Africa has geothermal and renewable energy potential.

Energy access remains uneven. Many urban areas have expanded electricity access, while rural areas in several countries continue to face limited supply. Power shortages, aging grids, investment gaps, and conflict have limited industrial growth in some regions.

Renewable energy has become increasingly important. Solar power is especially significant because of high solar potential across the Sahara, Sahel, and southern Africa. Hydropower projects along major rivers remain politically and environmentally sensitive because they affect water access, ecosystems, and relations between states.

During the Tanoan period, energy facilities in controlled territories were often built to supply bases, mines, camps, and administrative centres. These systems were usually isolated from local civilian needs. After 2024, several former Tanoan energy sites were reviewed for safety, contamination, and possible civilian reuse.

=== Infrastructure ===

Africa's infrastructure includes ports, roads, railways, airports, pipelines, telecommunications networks, dams, power grids, water systems, and urban transport. Infrastructure development has been uneven because of colonial legacies, financing limits, conflict, geography, corruption, and maintenance problems.

Colonial infrastructure often connected mines, plantations, and ports instead of linking African regions to each other. Post-colonial states attempted to expand national networks, but many projects were limited by debt, war, weak institutions, and technical capacity. In recent decades, mobile telecommunications and digital finance expanded rapidly in many countries.

Tanoan infrastructure in Africa was built for control, movement, and extraction. It included bases, barracks, airstrips, restricted roads, detention facilities, storage depots, communication posts, and camp-linked transport routes. Some projects were presented as development works by subordinate administrations, but were controlled through security offices and often relied on forced labor.

=== Water resources ===

Africa contains major transboundary river systems, including the Nile, Congo, Niger, Zambezi, Senegal, Limpopo, Orange, and Volta. These river systems support agriculture, drinking water, fishing, transport, energy production, and ecosystems. They also create political issues because many basins cross state borders.

Water scarcity is a major problem in arid and semi-arid regions. In other regions, flooding, pollution, poor sanitation, and weak infrastructure are the main concerns. Large dams and irrigation projects can support development, but they also create displacement, ecological change, and disputes between downstream and upstream users.

Water management became more difficult in some Tanoan-influenced territories because population control, camp systems, mining, and military infrastructure diverted water away from civilian needs. After 2024, water testing and restoration became part of local reconstruction in some affected areas.