Economic Activities
Primary 6 · Social and Religious Studies
Economic Activities
Lesson 3 of 4
15 min
Let's begin
Mugisha's teacher puts four things on her desk: a cup of tea, a bar of chocolate, a gold ring and a mobile phone. "Each of these comes from an economic activity somewhere in Africa," she says. "Can you guess where?"
| Country | Main economic activities |
|---|---|
| Kenya | Tea and flower farming; tourism in parks such as the Maasai Mara; trade through the port of Mombasa; geothermal power from the Rift Valley |
| Uganda | Coffee farming; fishing for Nile perch and tilapia on Lake Victoria; cattle keeping |
| Tanzania | Tourism in the Serengeti, on Kilimanjaro and in Zanzibar; gold mining; cloves from Zanzibar; trade through the port of Dar es Salaam |
| Burundi | Coffee and tea farming; fishing on Lake Tanganyika |
| DR Congo | Mining copper and cobalt; forestry; fishing |
| South Sudan | Oil; cattle keeping |
| Activity | Examples |
|---|---|
| Farming | Cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana (Côte d'Ivoire grows more cocoa than any other country in the world); cotton in Egypt; dates at desert oases |
| Mining | Gold in South Africa and Ghana; diamonds in Botswana; copper in Zambia and the DR Congo; oil in Nigeria, Angola, Libya and Algeria |
| Fishing | In the ocean off Morocco, Senegal and Namibia; in Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika and Malawi |
| Tourism | The pyramids of Egypt; wildlife safaris in Kenya, Tanzania, Botswana and South Africa; beaches in Zanzibar |
| Trade | Big ports such as Mombasa, Dar es Salaam, Durban and Lagos. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), agreed in Kigali in 2018, aims to make trade between African countries easier |
| Craft work | Kente cloth in Ghana, Maasai beadwork in Kenya and Tanzania, wood carvings and baskets |
| Manufacturing | Cars made in South Africa and Morocco; cement, drinks and textiles in many countries |
Worked example
Where does the chocolate bar come from?
Step 1 Chocolate is made from cocoa beans.
Step 2 The biggest cocoa growers are Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, in West Africa.
Answer: the chocolate links you to cocoa farmers in West Africa. In the same way, the tea may come from Kenya or Rwanda, the gold ring from South Africa, Ghana or Tanzania, and the tantalum inside the phone from coltan mined in Rwanda or the DR Congo.
Tip
Make a mind map. Write AFRICA in the middle and draw six legs: Farming, Fishing, Mining, Tourism, Trade, Crafts. Add one country to each leg. For example: Farming → Côte d'Ivoire (cocoa); Mining → Botswana (diamonds).
Which East African country is famous for tourism in the Serengeti and on Mount Kilimanjaro?
Answer: Tanzania.
Name a fish caught in Lake Victoria and sold abroad.
Answer: Nile perch (tilapia is also a good answer).
Which country grows the most cocoa in the world?
Answer: Côte d'Ivoire.
Botswana is famous for mining which precious stones?
Answer: diamonds.
Why is tea grown in Kenya's highlands but not in the Sahara?
Answer: tea needs a cool, wet climate and good soil; the Sahara is hot and dry.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
Everything else in this lesson, including the practice questions, was written by Ganzaa.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Match each country to something it is known for.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
