Types of Transport in Africa and Factors in Their Development

1The five modes of transport

Road transport is the most used mode in Africa for both people and goods. It uses lorries, buses, minibuses, cars, motorcycles and bicycles. Roads reach almost every village, so road transport gives a door-to-door service. Major international routes include the Trans-African Highway network planned by the African Union and the regional corridors such as the Northern Corridor (Mombasa–Nairobi–Kampala–Kigali).

Rail transport carries heavy, bulky goods such as minerals, cement, fuel and grain over long distances. Most of Africa's older lines were built in colonial times to link a mine or a farming area to a port, for example the Benguela Railway from the Copperbelt to Lobito in Angola. Newer lines include Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Mombasa to Nairobi, opened by Kenya Railways on 31 May 2017, and Tanzania's SGR from Dar es Salaam, whose first passenger trains to Morogoro and Dodoma began running in 2024 (Tanzania Railways Corporation).

Water transport has two forms. Ocean transport carries most of Africa's foreign trade through ports such as Durban, Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Abidjan, Tanger Med and Port Said. Inland water transport uses navigable rivers and lakes: the Congo River between Kinshasa and Kisangani, the Nile in Egypt and Sudan, Lake Victoria (ferries between Mwanza, Port Bell and Kisumu) and Lake Kivu between Rubavu, Karongi and Rusizi.

Air transport is the fastest mode. It carries passengers, mail and light, valuable or perishable goods such as flowers, fresh vegetables, medicines and gold. Major hubs include Addis Ababa, Johannesburg, Nairobi, Cairo and Casablanca; Rwanda's main airport is Kigali International Airport, and RwandAir is the national carrier.

Pipeline transport moves liquids and gases: crude oil, refined fuel, natural gas and water. Examples are the TAZAMA pipeline from Dar es Salaam to Ndola in Zambia, the Kenya Pipeline from Mombasa to Nairobi, Eldoret and Kisumu, and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) being built from Hoima in Uganda to Tanga in Tanzania.

2Comparing the modes

The cost of a journey has two parts. Terminal costs are paid at each end, whatever the distance: loading, unloading, port and station charges. Line-haul costs are paid for each kilometre travelled. Water transport has high terminal costs but low line-haul costs, road transport the opposite. Figure 1 shows why, in general, road wins on short trips, rail on medium ones and ships on the longest.

Figure 1 is a model with illustrative numbers. Real break-even distances depend on the goods, the route and fuel prices.

3Factors that influence the development of transport in Africa

• Relief. Mountains, escarpments and the walls of the Rift Valley make roads and railways costly: they need bends, bridges, cuttings and tunnels. Rwanda's steep hills raise the cost of every kilometre of road. Flat plains, such as the coastal plains of West Africa, make building easier.
• Drainage. Rivers need bridges, and swamps need embankments. Many African rivers have rapids and falls near the coast, so ships cannot sail inland: the Livingstone Falls block the Congo River between Kinshasa and Matadi, so a railway carries goods around them.
• Climate. Heavy rain washes away murram roads and causes landslides; in deserts, sand covers roads and heat damages tarmac. Fog and storms can close airports.
• Vegetation. Dense equatorial forest, as in the Congo Basin, is costly to clear and quickly grows back over roads.
• Economic activity. Transport follows wealth: mines, plantations, industrial towns and ports attract railways and good roads. Many colonial lines were built only to export copper, cotton or cocoa.
• Population distribution. Densely settled areas create demand for transport; empty areas such as the Sahara and the Kalahari are crossed by few routes.
• Capital and technology. Railways, ports and airports cost huge sums. Most African countries borrow or seek investors to build them, as Kenya did for its SGR.
• Government policy and political stability. Peaceful countries with clear plans attract investment; war destroys roads and bridges and closes borders.
• Regional cooperation. Corridors that cross several countries need agreements on border posts, axle loads and fees. Landlocked countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi and South Sudan depend on their neighbours' roads and ports.